Ryan Hurd plans to pack his performance with “massive slammers,” fan-favorite covers and “maybe one or two surprises,” when he takes the stage over the weekend.

Hurd is part of the star-studded Stagecoach lineup. The iconic festival is returning Friday (April 24) through Sunday (April 26) to the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson and Post Malone are headlining the three-day event, which follows back-to-back Coachella weekends, along with Bailey Zimmerman, Red Clay Strays, Ella Langley, Riley Green, Journey, Litle Big Town, Dan + Shay, Brooks & Dunn, Hootie & the Blowfish, Warren Zeiders and many more. Ahead of his return to the festival, Hurd told iHeartCountry that the crowds “are ready to party,” when they arrive at Stagecoach. “It’s certainly got a vibe.”

“I tell everybody, don’t come [to Stagecoach] if you’re going to have a medium time. It’s going to be awesome,” Hurd said. “I cannot wait. …It’s wild to see that many people enjoying music.”

The Michigan-born artist, 39, is taking the stage shortly after his latest music release. Last month, Hurd debuted his version of “Dress,” a sultry ballad that Taylor Swift released on her 2017's reputation (the cover could lead Hurd to “get a buzz cut” if he reaches a streaming goal, he said of a deal his manager made with him). Hurd had played the song during live shows before, and delivered it as the sophomore release of his evergreen project, COVER TOWN, which kicked off in August 2025 with his rendition of Dashboard Confessional’s “Vindicated.” Hurd said he’s also had “a blast” playing Kenny Chesney’s songs and other genre-spanning hits during his live performances, in addition to original music from his latest album, 2025’s Midwest Rock & Roll.

“When you’re touring, you always try to throw in some fun covers, and Taylor is a really fun person to cover because she’s such an incredible songwriter,” Hurd shared with iHeartCountry. “And usually, my fans know all of those records, too, so if you do something that’s just a little unexpected, I’ve found that that’s really fun for the fans to discover. …Usually, I’ve covered that song a lot in my live set. So, it’s been something that they’ve asked me to do, and it’s fun to have it finally coming out and get us ready for some original music coming soon. …I’m really excited about what we have coming up, and just really blessed to continue to make music and have people give a sh*t about it.”

Throughout his career, Hurd has delivered original music of his own — including “Chasing After You,” “To a T,” “Every Other Memory” and more — in addition to penning hits released by other artists. Hurd said he’s “really proud of my little piece of country music history,” including writing music for Lady A, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Morgan Wallen and Diplo, and Maren Morris (they were married from 2018 to 2024, and share son Hayes, who celebrated his 6th birthday last month), to name a few.

“I think music is something that you fall in love with over and over,” Hurd said. “And I have periods of my life that I can point at albums and be like, ‘oh I was listening to this during this time,’ and the last couple years, I’ve really enjoyed…finding inspiration in other people’s music that I have no part of.” He spotlighted Summer Overstreet — whose father, hit songwriter Paul Overstreet, is a 2026 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee — and her project that released earlier this year, The Women of Cheatham County. “I just absolutely can’t get enough of [the album],” Hurd said. “The writing is so good.” He also nodded to Mumford & Sons’ new album as an example of a body of work that’s “so special. …I think the cool part about the way we listen to music now is there’s just so much of it, and if you are a fan of music or passionate about it, you’ll always be able to find something inspiring.

“The first thing that inspires me to write music is I have to make a living, so that is first and foremost. It’s my job,” he said with a laugh. “Second of all…I think it’s new every day,” he went on, crediting songwriter Rodney Clawson with his perspective on the creative role. “You walk in and you make something with all of your creative spirit, and you leave that day with something that your hands and your heart made, and I find a lot of satisfaction in that. And I don’t think there’s ever going to be too much music in the world. I think that, of all the things we can spend our time doing, why not create something special if you have the ability and the time to do it? This is the most human thing on the planet, is making art. And I am just really proud that I still get to do it every day.” Now, Hurd finds how growing achievements in the industry “surreal. …I don’t take that for granted at all.”

Ahead of his Stagecoach performance, Hurd told iHeartCountry that he plans to “slam as much as we can” into his set, with “two electric guitars ripping the entire time.” He plans to include original music, his COVER TOWN releases, plus “some other massive slammers that I love to do in our set. …I’m just excited.”

Kathi Yeager