Darden Smith (born March 11, 1962, in Brenham, Texas) is an Austin-based singer-songwriter known for his lyrics and for weaving folk and Americana influences with rock, pop, and the musical roots of his home state.

[4] Both use collaborative songwriting to work with groups ranging from children in the classroom to military members returning home from combat.

In 1976, after his family moved to Humble, Texas, in the Houston suburbs, Smith spent his teen years listening to Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, and Bob Dylan.

[1] His musical influences expanded when he moved to Austin to attend The University of Texas and was exposed to blues and reggae, as well as musicians coming out of the United Kingdom such as Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, and The Pretenders.

By the time Smith graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies (1985),[8] he was a regular on the local and Texas music scenes.

[9] After releasing Native Soil in 1986,[10] Darden Smith was signed by Dick James Music to a publishing deal.

[14] He self- released a collection of his favorites from his previous albums, After All This Time,[15] in 2007, to Marathon[16] (2010), a 15-track cycle of songs named for a remote town in West Texas, described by one reviewer as "a peak in [Smith's] 25-year songwriting career.

He co-founded SongwritingWith:Soldiers in 2012 with Mary Judd to bring professional songwriters together with military members and their families to process the effects of combat and the return home.