Congratulations on your time [on stage]!
Thank you!
How have you found it? Has it kind of settled in yet?
Yeah, I feel like I need to go back and look at the stage and be like: “wow, I just played that! But no, it was definitely such a crazy moment! A big bucket list for me.
Were there any memorable moments from it that stand out to you?
Yeah, I think what was really cool was when I said I didn’t think anyone was coming, everyone started cheering. I was like, “oh, you want to be here? Yay!” This is so nice. And also how… just seeing people sing along. Seeing people running from other points of the stage, singing my songs, coming forward, was really, really special.
What song were you most looking forward to performing before going on and did that change?
It changes. It changes every time I do a show. I mean, I think I always love the opening song, but we start slow and it feels like a real fun moment to kind of, like, throw yourself in the deep end. But actually, I let my audience pick a song. Today on my Instagram, I put a little poll up, “which one do you want to hear?”
So being able to play the song that they all asked for was really nice as well.
For a stage this big, this monumental for you, are you a massive overthinker and planner for this, or do you go with the flow?
I definitely I wish I could go with the flow, but I don’t think there’s any flow apart from plan flow for me. I definitely overthought it a lot from, what I was going to wear to what we were going to play. But I think it’s just also my way of, like, preparing for things and making sure that I can do the best job. This is ultimately my biggest passion and what I love to do, but I want to I want to give people a good show as well.
And so… trying to pick songs I think the crowd are gonna want to hear, and give them some new stuff as well… give them a cover for the people who have just stumbled upon me and don’t know my set… I definitely plan it all out. There’s been lots of rehearsals and a full day of kind of like… a day of structure to get here, but we’re here, and now I feel like I can sit back and just go ‘ah!’
Nice! You’ve talked a lot about your songwriting process and how personal your music is. Can you take us through every step of developing one of your songs?
So it kind of changes [with] each song. I would say a lot of my songs start out with me going on walks and writing, which is something that I really love to do. I feel like when my body is moving or when I’m like, slightly distracted, I can just write easier.
And like, I can get inspired by things I see and people I see along the way, or sounds I hear. That’s one of my favorite ways of writing.
So I put my voice note on: I’ll just start singing or talking into my voice note, and if I start getting an idea I like, I normally go home and then take it to guitar, you get some chords going… I try and get like a verse chorus or sometimes, you know, I finish the song on the spot. If I haven’t finished it, I’ll take it into the studio with one of my friends or a producer I love working with, and we kind of continue working on it together. I go from there.
What’s your favorite song you’ve ever written? Is it something your fans would expect, or is it? Is it more of a deep cut?
Okay… I think it’s going to be a deep cut because it’s a new one. Maybe. But I have a song called “Guys Like You”, which I did play today, and I think that’s one of my favorite ones.
It was a slightly different lyric to what I normally write. It’s a little bit more tongue in cheek, maybe a little more funny and less serious.
That’s one that I’m excited to kind of get out and have people hear and was one of my favorites to write, and I think I had the most fun writing it.
You have listeners that love you from all over, not just from the UK. What’s that been like, seeing the international response?
Oh, it’s been so cool. I mean, when you look at your analytics or you get a message and you’re like, “wow, someone from Venezuela!” or someone from, you know, Australia or Japan listening It’s it’s really crazy. I think I just got like, I hit like a hundred or like a thousand or something milestone on Apple Music of Shazams in Japan. I was like, “that’s really cool”. My music’s just randomly playing in like a shop or a cafe maybe, or someone showing their friend, and to know that it’s being able to reach places that I’ve never been to.
It’s really cool, and hopefully one day I’ll be able to get out to all these countries and see everyone and play for them.
The country genre’s never been bigger than it is now. Why do you think people have come to it so readily, not just from the UK, but from everywhere?
vI think honestly, social media has been a really big part of like broadening its reach to people. I think a lot of people had the stereotype that country music was just like white guys who sing songs about beer and drugs. And while there is that aspect of it, I think it can be a very diverse genre. You know, people cross the genre with pop. You got pop country, indie country, like rock, rap… I mean, I spotted Breeland, who’s on tour, and he’s a mix of gospel, R&B, rap, country altogether. It’s a kind of selection of music that you might not always think about getting together.
But actually when artists are doing these, it’s reaching all different types of people and all different types of fan bases. That’s been really cool to see.
Tthen you have people like Zac Brown who are kind of like paving their own way in country and releasing like… 30 track albums?! There’s just so much music out there for people to discover now and it’s really great.
You talked about your influences before. Do you remember the very first country song you fell in love with? Oh, I’m trying to think. I mean, it’s going to be probably be a bit of a cliche one, but “Country Road Take Me Home.”
I think that was the first one I really remember thinking, “oh, this is like a country song, right?” But I think it was probably Kacey Musgraves ultimately who really drew me in. I think… “Merry Go Round.” I mean, I know that is so many people’s favorite song, but it’s just so cleverly written and I think it’s so good. I
If you ever got to share a stage with her, is that the song you’d want to perform with her?
Yeah, that or “Slow Burn”. I think I would pass out if I got to share a stage with her, so I wouldn’t be able to sing anything, but definitely those two.
You dropped Diary of an Overthinker last year!
Yes!
How was that roll out for you? Did it go the way you expected?
Yeah, it was crazy! It’s always so interesting when you’re releasing music to see which songs like people relate to, because you never really know. So I kind of had the EP tracklist planned, and then last minute we threw in “Just a Girl” and started releasing that one, and that was one that I didn’t expect to resonate with so many people.
So it was really cool and interesting to see that a lot of people out there were feeling things that I felt, and [that] I thought no one else was ever going to go through or ever going to feel. But it’s always amazing when you get to just put out a body of work that you know you’ve been playing or you’ve been keeping to yourself, and to see its reach and to see, as you said, people from all over the world saying, “oh, I found you through this song, or I heard you on this playlist”.
Half the time I don’t even know I’m on the playlist! This is really cool! So it’s lovely.
In the spirit of the album, what top three things right now would you say you’re overthinking?
Oh, I was definitely overthinking the set and my outfit today. I was worried I was in a too sheer outfit, but I think it’s fine.
I feel like with the heat as well, people are vibing!
I think I overthink, ooh… I probably overthink like little things I’ve said to people a lot. L ike I’ll say something and I’m like, did I saw the right name? Did I did I hug someone weirdly? I don’t know.
Then right now… I’m actually kind of hungry. So I’m thinking about the catering back there and what I’m gonna have.
Have you seen it?
I have seen it. And I’ve seen some cinnamon rolls. I could really could really eat a cinnamon roll right now. I’m trying to think about which thing I’m going to go for when there’s a buffet. It’s kind of like, “well, I want a bit of everything.”
Would you say you’re a foodie?
Yeah, yeah.
Do you have a favorite cuisine that you go for?
I would say top three… if I could go for top three?
Go for it.
Definitely, like, Japanese food. I love Japanese food. Then I would say second is kind of like, Mediterranean… I love, like, fish and all that kind of stuff.
Then maybe Mexican food. I love tacos and we don’t have very good Mexican food in the UK. So whenever I’m in the US, I go and get a good taco.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.