Danny Kensy shares a "Smoke with an Old Flame" in his video

Danny Kensy was crowned 2022 Male Vocalist of the Year at the Josie Awards, and he hasn’t slowed down since then. He just released his fourth album, and now he’s touring all across the Southern US. He performs solo acoustic concerts and fronts a five-piece band called Cedar Creek, playing more than 250 shows a year. His singles have topped charts in Europe, while he’s been winning songwriter awards in the US.

The video for his newest song “Smoke with an Old Flame” opens with Danny on stage singing about a couple on a date, while the camera shows him acting out his lyrics. She comes up behind him, covering his eyes, but he of course knows who it is. She asks him to light her cigarette, and the play on words begins by smoking with an old flame. The old lovers reunite for an evening of flashbacks and memories, enjoying the good times one more time.

Danny remains on stage in his standard attire – t-shirt, ball cap with no logo, jeans, and a black denim jacket. He doesn’t look like a cliché cowboy, but he sure sounds country. The Danny on the date wears a red plaid flannel shirt over a grey t-shirt, but it’s his smile we notice the most.

Danny’s clever lyrics tell the story perfectly.

Watching your lips kiss a whisky glass

Then tip it on back with a tipsy laugh …

You’re lighting me up, lighting me up like a cigarette

Rewinding my mind back to when

You were mine like an old cassette

Funny how some fires they tree

The video continues the scene, with the couple enjoying catching up at the bar and then playing skee ball and video arcade games. He says he remembers when they were too young to buy cigarettes together, so she stole some Pall Malls from her grandma’s purse.

He describes their relationship in terms of smoking. He says he was hooked on her from his first drag, and he got a headrush when they were burning down a midnight kiss, but they never quit.

The song continues telling the story, and the video shows Danny spending an afternoon with the lady. Sitting on the tailgate, she rests her head on his shoulder as the sun sets. He pulls out his guitar and they sing together, and she walks around in the field watching the sky change colors.

As Danny is singing on stage, the camera zooms in on different band members and their instruments. We realize there is a smoke machine on stage, giving the illusion of the band in a smoky bar, but aside from the opening image of a cigarette, no one actually smokes on camera. The couple on the date is having too much fun laughing and talking.

Even though the song is about cigarettes, it’s nice not to show the couple bonding over smoking together. The video left off that part, and never shows them blowing smoke on each other’s face. It’s a lot better to show the clean air outside and to show that even the bar smoke isn’t the unhealthy kind. The actual image of Danny smoking on the screen would detract too much from this great song, and Danny’s too good for the listeners to be distracted.

Click here to watch “Smoke with an Old Flame”

Songwriters: Dakota Jay, Daniel Kensy, Garry Wood

Keep up with Danny at: Artist Website Instagram Facebook