TRAVEL: Berlin, Germany - serenity, street art, and surprises

Berlin is a very cool city, there’s absolutely no doubt about it. I remembered this from having visited the city a few years ago, but it became clear to me again as soon as I left the airport to catch the train, as we sailed through hip neighbourhoods with buildings covered in graffiti.

This helped take my mind off of the fact that I was not entirely sure that I was on the right train, having jumped on the one waiting on the platform as I legged it to the train station, and was likely to miss the tour I had booked for that day if I encountered any problems, not having left myself sufficient time to make it from the airport to our meeting point at Brandenburg Gate.

Miraculously, I made it to Brandenburg with seconds to spare before the tour officially started and met my newberlin tour guide and about ten other members of the group. We headed back to the train station to buy ABC day tickets (if only I’d known they would have covered my train from the airport too, I could have saved myself buying multiple tickets!) and began our journey first to Wannsee, and then by bus to Potsdam.

I’d chosen Potsdam as I was in Berlin to meet a friend who had to work that day, and knowing that we would spend our weekend ‘doing Berlin’, felt it would be a better use of my time to explore a different city, with Potsdam being relatively nearby and recommended in my guide book.

We began at Glienicke Bridge, aka the Bridge of Spies which was used during the Cold War for the exchange of captured spies between West Berlin and East Germany, and has since been immortalised in the Tom Hanks Movie.  A pretty cool way to start my introduction to Berlin’s vast and often tumultuous history.

We crossed the bridge, passing by some fantastic houses which at the fall of the Berlin Wall had not been in the most desirable location, but certainly are now with their riverfront views and vast acreage. This led us into Neuen Garten where we were told about its creation during the Prussian era and its current status as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The garden is expansive, and home to plenty of palaces including the Marble Palace and Cecilienhof Palace, designed to resemble an English Tudor manor house and most famous for its role as the location of the Potsdam Conference in 1945, in which leaders from the Soviet Union, the UK and the USA made important decisions regarding post WWII Europe. It certainly looked like the type of place which held a lot of history.

We then took the bus into the centre of Potsdam, a beautiful town with lovely architecture and where we took our lunch, with myself opting for currywurst (when in Germany, do as the Germans do…) at Der Hot Dog Laden. Not bad for 3 Euros!

We strolled past the original Brandenburg Gate (yes, the inspiration for Berlin’s famous landmark and into the edges of Park Sansoucci to Friedenskirche where we learnt more about Prussian King Frederick the Great and his motivations behind constructing Park Sansoucci, and Sansoucci Palace. The palace required little more introduction than ‘oh wow’ as we turned the corner to see a pastel yellow palace perched atop tiers upon tiers of flora. It truly was stunning.

It was here that our tour ended, with the suggestion made that if we wanted to, we could walk a further twenty minutes through Sansoucci to Neues Palais, which I certainly did want to do. All in all, I did enjoy the tour as otherwise would have had no idea where to go in Potsdam and our guide was very informative. My only criticism was that it was advertised as a six hour tour online, when in fact two of these hours were travelling to and from Potsdam, and one was having lunch independently.

Now on my own, I strolled blissfully through Park Sansoucci in a state of contentment that I wasn’t sure I’d experienced before. I was astonished that such a wonderful park and all of the incredible architecture within it (even on my straight walk down to the Neues Palais, I passed two more palaces and their associated gardens) were free to the public, and even more so that they were so quiet and peaceful.

Neues Palace loomed before me, and I felt sorry for my tour companions who had opted just to head straight back to Berlin. If I’d thought Sansoucci Palace was impressive, I had another think coming as this monster of a building put even that to shame. What a place, and one that I would thoroughly encourage you to visit, even if not to go inside any of the Palaces – I was more than happy to admire them from outside.

A bus and a train, all included on my day card which was valid until 3am the next morning, brought me back to central Berlin and Alexanderplatz, with a short walk leading me to my accommodation for the next three nights, the Leonardo Royal Berlin Hotel. Picking up my companion there, we Tripadvised where to go for dinner, settling on A Mano, a nearby Italian. I had a delicious truffle gnocchi which arrived less than five minutes after we’d ordered it, and went home full and happy.

The next morning, I had convinced my friend to try out one of my favourite pasttimes of any trip, a free walking tour of the city, of which there are many to choose from. I’m a firm believer that if you want to get a feel for a city and make sure you’re seeing the main things you should, this is the way to do it. We chose one organised by Original Berlin tours and headed off on a three hour tour, which brought us past Museum Island, Humboldt University, Gendarmenmarkt with its nearly identical French and German Cathedrals, Checkpoint Charlie, parts of the wall, and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, with its imposing stone blocks filling the square.

After the tour was finished, we stopped for lunch at Steel Vintage Bikes – a bike store/café, and continued on our own little tour past the Reichstag, the oyster like House of World Culture, and to the Victory Column in the centre of Tiergarten, without a doubt the furthest in Berlin that you must go if you want to say you’ve seen the city.

The walking didn’t stop there, and we continued through Tiergarten past the zoo, which I love the fact that you can see through the railings to some of the animal enclosures as you walk through the park, and to Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtnis-Kirche (what a mouthful!) This is well worth the walk  to see the ruins of the old church and its jagged spire, and also the new church which is utterly beautiful, covered floor to ceiling with blue stained glass and a large golden statue of Christ in the centre.

Having passed the day pretty well, it was then time for dinner near the Reichstag as we’d managed to book ourselves a tour of the Reichstag at 8:30 that evening. Another amazing thing that you can do free in Berlin! The elevator takes you up to the impressive glass dome atop the building where an audio guide tells you about the building and what you can see from the height (or not, in our case as it was pretty dark outside). A very cool activity to do.

The following morning, feeling like we had achieved our goal of ‘doing Berlin’, we dedicated our final day in the city to a self guided graffiti tour. Our first stop was Dircksenstrasse, a street between Alexanderplatz and Hackescher Markt full of paste-up graffiti, with dancers covered in glitter, political statements and satirical images lining the walls. Next was Haus Schwarzenberg, a reasonably difficult to find alley but worth the excursion, with exquisite paintings and portraits that you might even expect to see in a gallery.

Since we were relatively central, we decided to pop into the Marienkirche and Nikolaikirche before paying entry into the Berliner Dom, definitely worth it half due to the beautiful interior and the informative display screens regaling the history of the church, and half for the Dome Viewing Platform which gave you great views all across the city. We’d initially intended to either go up the TV Tower or to the Park Inn Panorama, but after this we felt we’d got a great birds eye view, and in a fascinating building to top it all off.

Our tour continued with the huge murals around the Kreuzberg area, including the Astronaut, abstract images and even one which could be 3D (bring your red/blue glasses to find out!) before heading to the East Side Gallery, probably the most famous remaining section of the Berlin Wall. After the fall of the wall, artists were invited to brighten up the then dull sections of the wall which they certainly did, and provided us with a very enjoyable wander.

Legs completely dead, we headed back to Alexanderplatz for a pleasant drink in the square at Kaffee Einstein before the biggest pizza my eyes have ever seen at L’Osteria Berlin Mitte. This place really impressed me with their delicious food in huge quantities and cheaper than you’d find at the likes of Pizza Express. Alas, it was then time for the trip to end, with a 4am wake up call the following morning (thank you, Berlin, for your reliable trains!) looming. All in all, a wonderful trip to a fascinating city. I don’t know if I’ll be back, but I’ll always have fond memories of the German capital.  

Tips for visiting Berlin: GO. TO. POTSDAM. In my opinion, this was even nicer than Berlin itself, and is a great way to pass the time if you’re there for longer than a few days, as really Berlin can be done in a day or so. I also really enjoyed having different days for different elements of the city – one day was more for history, another for culture. It would be very easy to just go to Berlin to see the relics of the war, but the graffiti is certainly worth seeing. Finally, don’t go expecting wholly ‘German food’. Yes, I did have currywurst on Day 1, but Berlin’s cosmopolitan nature means they have a great international food scene which we were more than pleased to try. Happy traveling!

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s blog! I love city trips and can’t think of a better way to spend the weekend. I’d love to know where you think I should visit next, so drop me a message in the comments below or on Twitter @CiarasCountry. What else would you have done in Berlin? Let me know!

Interview: TWO WAYS HOME, Nashville Meets London, Canary Wharf

At festivals like Nashville Meets London (the Day 2 review of which you can read here), we’re all about international influences, and you can’t get much better than Two Ways Home, who hail from Austria and the UK. In our interview, we caught up about where the band name came from, hosting Nashville style rounds, writing songs about prison, and working with NML alumnus, Logan Brill. Hope you enjoy!

Ciara’s Country (CC): Welcome back to Ciara’s Country! I’m here with Isabella and Lewis from Two Ways Home after their set at the third annual Nashville Meets London festival in Canary Wharf. Thanks both for taking the time to talk with me!

Lewis Fowler (LF): Thanks for talking to us! Very nice to meet you.

CC: So, Two Ways Home, that’s a catchy name. Where did it come from?

Isabella Mariee (IM): We really like this New Zealand artist called Kimbra, and she has a song called Two Way Street.

LF: We had the previous band name which will go unnamed, and we decided we needed a new band name, and I think we had the song on at the time. Issy’s from Austria and I’m from London so wherever we are, there’s always Two Ways Home, and it fit with the song we were listening to. I guess the idea just came after a long search for it, and now it feels like a proper name.

CC: And of course, you do have quite different backgrounds. Has that helped to influence the music you create?

IM: I think definitely. For me, I did listen to country music a little bit when I was younger, but not so much because in Austria, we have more RnB, soul vibes; and my parents listened to a lot of Michael Jackson and Prince – those kind of Motown artists. I brought those melodies in and then I think Lewis listened to more of The Eagles and that.

LF: Yeah, I grew up on rock and roll. Sweet Home Alabama was one of the first guitar solos that I learnt. That was as country as I got growing up.

IM: But then when we sang together, that’s when we saw that we sound a little bit country. We had a lot of American friends who told us that and to check it out, and then we found a load of artists and fell in love with the genre. That’s how we got into country music!

CC: Given we’re at a country festival, you certainly fit in and got a great reaction from the crowd. Country fans must think you’re country enough!

LF: I think that’s good. I hope we’re treading a nice line.

IM: Country, Americana, something along those lines.

CC: Aside from this festival, what else have you been up to this year?

LF: It’s been a great year.

IM: We host this night called ‘The Round Up’ every month which is a writers round in the style of a Nashville writers round, and we always get our favourite artists or friends to play with us on the round. We do that every month. We also went to Nashville in April.

LF: We had an incredible trip. We started off in Nashville writing some great songs, I hope! And played some shows. We played a show in Las Vegas which was quite cool. We watched the ACM Awards, saw pretty much every top ten country act we could think of. And then we checked out Austin, Texas which was also an epic music scene.

IM: We have festivals coming up, we’re doing the Long Road, and then we’re doing Millport Country Festival, and then we’re gearing up to do a new project I guess!

LF: Which we are on the cusp of announcing! A body of work…

CC: Any hints?

LF: It’s pretty top secret stuff right now to be honest! But definitely watch this space. Watch the next few weeks.

CC: And having played to both US and UK audiences, how would you say the two cities compare?

LF: It’s hard to say, and I don’t want to generalise, but I feel like sometimes if we play Nashville, people go nuts and are dancing on tables.

IM: Yeah, they drink a lot!

LF: And know how to party. And the Brits also drink a lot and know how to party.

IM: But they do it more in a sombre fashion!

LF: If we played shows like The Round Up in the UK, I find the UK audience are incredibly attentitive and listen to every word. But then we’ve had both in both neighbourhoods!

IM: I feel it depends on what kind of show you’re playing. Here, if you play a full band show, you want people to dance and be loud, but when you’re in a little writers round, you’re hoping for people to be silent and listening. I feel like we’ve gotten that down now.

CC: In writers rounds as well, lyrics are hugely important – where does your inspiration for good lyrics come from?

LF: I like to read a lot of cereal packages… No, I’m just joking!

IM: You should actually write a song about cereal now. Or serial killers…eating cereal.

LF: Ease up now, this is backfiring on me!

CC: Is this the new project?

LF: Yeah, this is serious behind the scenes stuff! Seriously, I don’t want to say the cliché of ‘we right what we know’ because we don’t always do that. A lot of the songs are about personal experiences like anything relationship based, one of us has been through it I’m sure. I think everybody can relate to that kind of thing. We have a song in our set about going to prison which isn’t from personal experience.

IM: Although Lewis always says I’ve been to prison!

LF: She hasn’t, yet!

CC: Hopefully not pre-empting anything.

LF: Yeah, I’m trying to keep her on the straight and narrow. We tend to write a lot just the two of us, but just recently we’ve got more into co-writing. In a situation like that, somebody will bring an idea to the table and we’ll riff on it and talk about what that idea means to us.

CC: Speaking of co-writes, you’ve co-written with another Nashville Meets London alumnus. I loved her in the first year, so what an artist to work with!

LF: Yeah, whenever we’ve been to Nashville since we’ve known Logan we also go and write, and normally go for tacos afterwards.

IM: She’s coming to the UK soon, in September!

LF: Yes, we’ll be at the shows, for sure.

IM: She’s supporting an act at Bush Hall on September sixth – it should be fun.

CC: Is there any scope for a joint venture with you an Logan? Maybe a tour?

LF: I would love that! And last year at Country Music Week, she did get up and sing a song with us. Logan, if you’re reading this, we’d be well up for the tour!

CC: And in terms of your rounds, where do you find the artists to play for you?

LF: Mainly on the street…

IM: No! Basically we go to a lot of gigs, and then if we like an artist, we’ll ask them right then if they want to come and play. I think it’s very important for us to actually see the artists playing because it can be so different if you hear someone on a CD or the internet than if you actually hear them live. You know that they’re going to be great. That’s how we find our artists mainly.

LF: We’ve booked some friends who are always awesome. We’ve made some friends from booking them. It’s a great way for us to socialise. We’re trying to build the UK scene up, the London scene in particular, and get acts from around the country and around the world to come and play. If people come to The Round Up, people are starting to know everybody, it’s a really good social night as well as the music.

CC: Well I think you’ll be the perfect people to ask this question – festivals like this are great to introduce people to lesser known artists and I’m sure you’ve seen loads of artists who fit that bill. Who out there do people need to be listening to?

IM: In the UK, there’s a girl who I really love called Izzie Walsh. She’s still quite unknown but I think she’s going to be really big. She’s quite young still, so she’s still growing but I think she’ll be one who’s going to shoot up.

LF: I’m going to give a shoutout to a friend who’s already coming up, but I do feel he’s one of the best male vocalists in the country – Robbie Cavanagh, he’s incredible. I always say his surname wrong! I saw him in the crowd today, and he’s very supportive of us and a great songwriter. People should check him out for sure.

CC: I thought I saw him!

My Nashville shoutout is Shawn McConnell – I’ve fallen in love with his voice. He’s written some incredible songs. We saw a writers round a few months ago, and it was Lucie Silvas, who played Nashville Meets London last year; Shawn McConnell, who was incredible; an artist Shawn McConnell is producing; and Dan Tyminski, who’s playing today! It did feel like a full circle of a round.

CC: Thanks for your recommendations! Final question, what’s an interview question you’ve never been asked but wish you were?

LF: Oh, mama! I mean there certainly is. There’s definitely a question out there…

IM: I’d like to be asked what the height difference is between us.

CC: What is it?

IM: I’m wearing really high shoes today!

LF: Eight foot heels! I’m about 6 foot, so if we do the maths…

IM: I think it’s a one foot difference.

CC: Good for the readers to know! Thank you both for chatting with me!

Both: Thank you so much!

Thanks for reading today’s interview! If you enjoyed today’s interview, or have any questions for me, make sure to leave a comment below, and follow me on Twitter @CiarasCountry. More interviews and reviews coming soon, stay tuned!

Interview: WORRY DOLLS, Nashville Meets London, Canary Wharf

Country music is so very varied – my last interview was with country/rock band Holloway Road, and today’s is with indie/folk band Worry Dolls, who wowed everyone at Nashville Meets London with their soft and haunting melodies (you can read my review here). I caught up with band members Rosie and Zoe after their set to discuss their unique sound, the next Adele, and representing redheads in country music – read on!

Ciara’s Country (CC): I’m joined by Worry Doll’s Zoe and Rosie here at Nashville Meets London in Canary Wharf! Fantastic set today, very different from some of the other stuff that we’ve heard. How did you find that unique sound?

Rosie (R): We started off as solo artists and we gigged for years on our own. When we got together, the sound that we create is very different to what we do solo. Our voices are quite different but when they come together it’s like one voice.

Zoe (Z): We found the sound from working together for so many years and being in tune with each other and bringing our different influences and fusing them together. And also writing together as well – we write differently when we write together.

R: Zoe comes from more of a folk background and I come from more of a country background so it’s a fusion of the two that makes it a bit different. It’s not straight country and it’s not straight folk.

CC: So you didn’t necessarily come into this partnership thinking ‘this is the type of music we’re going to make’?

Z: Not at all. We started off very indie/folk and it developed from there. Mainly with just influences – our trip to Nashville made a big difference.

CC: I was going to ask about your trip to Nashville – that’s where you recorded your debut album, right?

R: Yeah, we lived out there for three months. We recorded the album out there and wrote most of the songs out there, bar two I think.

CC: And we’re of course at Nashville Meets London – how do you compare the two cities?

Z: Well we live here! So it’s very different. When we go out to Nashville, we’re living in a dream world, but living somewhere is very different. We love London. In London, you just need to know where to go because it’s so big! And you’re not driving everywhere, you’re getting on the Tube. It’s a different experience.

R: London is London! It’s incredible. We never tire of London. The thing we love about Nashville is that it’s very kind of ‘small town’ – they call it Little Big Town, right? So we love being able to nip from one place to another, we can go to three or four gigs in one night and just drive to someone’s house and play, write a song, and then drive to somewhere else and play a gig.

Z: It’s so much more music focused too. In Nashville, everyone’s doing music so it’s easier to find it. In London, you just have to know where to go.

CC: But living there for three months didn’t convince you that that’s where you want to live instead?

Z: I think we just love being able to go out there and spend time there, because anywhere is different to live. For us, it means so much to keep going back to visit. We’d love to go out there for longer periods as we develop, but we love London as well. Home. We’re very lucky to be based here.

CC: I’m hoping for a London Meets Nashville festival.

Z: Yeah, that’s a great idea!

CC: I think you brought a lot of people into the festival today during your set, the crowd swelled. How did you feel about today’s set?

R: It felt amazing. We had so much fun out there.

Z: There’s such a buzz, seeing familiar faces in the audience. The sun kept coming out at point, it was really emotional! So great.

CC: As well as having beautiful voices, you’re also multi-talented instrumentalists – I saw a banjo and guitar, do you play any other instruments?

R: A bit of lots of things really. I actually grew up playing clarinet, but I can play a lot of things at a small level. Guitar’s my favourite instrument.

Z: Yeah, Rosie’s a multi-instrumentalist. She can pick up anything. We’re doing our demos at the moment for our next album and she’ll just pick up a bass or put some electronic drums on it. She’s super talented, she’s selling herself short to you! I’ve started playing the piano recently – I find it so relaxing and it’s a very different sound to what I do on the banjo. It’s really nice to be able to start performing with my new Roland.

R: It’s really nice to have a band as well and switch between instruments, because when it’s just the two of us, you’re having to hold down the rhythm the whole time. When you have a drummer, you can move around a bit more.

Z: We can just stop playing!

CC: It’s nice that because you have this skill of being able to play your own instruments, you can switch easily from a band to an acoustic set.

Z: I think that was actually something that was really important with the album. We didn’t want to go out to Nashville and make a record that wasn’t us, with a bunch of Nashville session musicians (who are all absolutely incredible) but we wanted to be able to come back home and recreate as a duo. We’d been touring that album for a good few years just as a duo so it’s nice to be able to have the band for special moments like this, but we need to be able to recreate that live. I think we’ve got that balance because we’ve worked with a very sensitive producer, and he was all about female vocals and wanted to keep it very sparse – Neilson Hubbard – he was honestly the best producer we could’ve picked for our debut album. He was so in tune with us and I felt so comfortable working with him and that was super important going out to Nashville, working with these big time musicians and this producer, but it felt like home. We recorded all our parts in such a short space of time because we felt so comfortable.

CC: When you were recording and writing your songs, were you drawing on your London-based influences?

R: Yeah, I mean we’re very influenced by a lot of UK folk music, but also a lot of friends here who are in the folk and Americana scene that we’ve been hugely inspired by. Also, we took a lot of inspiration from bands in Nashville as well. It was definitely the case that we wanted it to feel like a British record by a British band but it drew influences from all over the place.

Z: The best of both worlds.

CC: Well that’s exactly why we’re here today! And you mention there that you were listening to different kinds of bands here and abroad – were there any lesser known artists you think need their time to shine who people should be listening to?

R: One of our favourite artists is Aubrey Sellers.

Z: We met her at Country 2 Country a few years ago when she was doing an acoustic set with her guitarist.

R: She’s Lee Ann Womack’s daughter. She’s just absolutely incredible. They need to bring her over here. She’s very busy over in the States touring with Chris Stapleton.

Z: We also got to tour with two wonderful guys called Robert Vincent and Dean Owens back in December last year. I think they’re both incredible.

R: I tell you who’s going to be the next superstar is Jade Bird. She’s going to be the next Adele. The next Americana Adele.

CC: High praise indeed!

R: We met her when she was 17, just did a show together in a tiny bar in Camden, and we were like ‘this girl is going to be mega.’

CC: And what about the next steps for you two then?

Z: Undecided! We’re off to Holland, then Portugal, and then Germany in November. We’re also going to be coming back and playing a couple of UK dates at Americana in a Day, the Long Road.

R: And then we’re going to Nashville!

CC: Nice for some! So a very busy rest of the year! And to finish up our interview, what’s a question you would love to be asked, but never have been?

R: I don’t know!

Z: That’s a really hard question!

R: I don’t know, I’m not an interviewer! What about you, what’s a question you’ve never asked anyone but have always wanted to?

CC: Well, I’ve never interviewed fellow redheads like myself. Good to see you representing!

Z: We actually have built quite a strong redheaded team.

R: No one’s asked me about my haircare routine… I wash it with shampoo and conditioner.

Z: A lot of people think Rosie has blond hair because when she’s next to me it looks a lot more blond.

R: It’s definitely red, I didn’t get bullied my entire life for nothing!

Z: Redheads have to stick together!

CC: Absolutely! Well thank you to you both for taking the time to talk to me today!

Thanks to Rosie and Zoe for chatting to me – I hope you enjoyed this interview! If you did, make sure to drop me a message in the comments letting me know who else you’d like to see me interview, and follow me on Twitter @CiarasCountry for more Nashville Meets London reviews and interviews coming soon. Thanks for reading!

Interview: HOLLOWAY ROAD, Nashville Meets London, Canary Wharf

If you hear ‘UK country’, one of the acts you probably think of is Holloway Road. They’ve been on the UK country scene for a fair while now, so it was great to catch up with them at Nashville Meets London this year (you can read my review of their set here). Read our interview for info on their *secret* upcoming EP, the evolution of UK country music, and the influence of Essex on their songs.

Ciara’s Country (CC): Welcome back to Ciara’s Country! I’m joined by Holloway Road’s Robert and Jack at the third annual Nashville Meets London festival in Canary Wharf.

Jack (J): Woohoo!

CC: I’m thrilled to meet you both – back on my radio show I used to play your stuff and the listeners loved it! It’s lovely to see how far you’ve come and watch you perform today.

J: That’s awesome. It’s great to be here.

CC: We’re halfway through the year now – how has 2018 been going for you guys?

Robert (R): It’s been busy. We’ve been doing a lot of behind the scenes type stuff this year – new EP, recording, that kind of thing. We’ve been trying to squeeze these shows where we can. It’s been good so far.

CC: You hinted on stage about this new EP.

J: Yeah, we’ve been hinting about this new EP for ages – ever since C2C I think we’ve been hinting about it. But it’s coming, we promise.

CC: Any more hints you can give us?

J: It’s going to be the next month or two. That’s all we can give you!

CC: That’ll have to do for now.

J: It’s going to be quite a long body of work for an EP.

R: All the bangers.

J: It’s going to be awesome. There’s going to be more tracks than the last EP.

CC: Have you decided on a name for the EP yet?

R: We have. We kind of have…

CC: So much secretiveness!

R: With a name, you’ve got to stick with it so we can’t get it wrong.

J: It’s coming. And it’s going to be great.

CC: I look forward to it. You kicked off today’s festival in the rain, how did you think the set went?

J: The rain was out but the people still came out so that was brilliant. We were a bit worried at first if people would show in the rain, but there’s loads of people here.

CC: You mentioned as well your quarter of a million streams on If She Falls – I saw some people singing along to that.

J: It’s good having people know the words. It never gets old.

CC: What’s your favourite song to perform live?

J: We’ve never been asked that! My new favourite is a new one called Get The Girl, that’s my favourite to play live at the moment.

R: I quite like Broke, the other new one.

J: Yeah, I think both of those are fun to play.

CC: From my perspective, Holloway Road has been a staple of UK country over the years.

R: Thank you!

CC: How has the UK country scene evolved since you’ve been in it?

R: The amount of it is the most obvious thing I would say. I think it’s just changing towards a more commercial direction.

J: I think people are stepping up a lot more now. A few years ago, UK country was finding its feet. It’s really getting there now.

CC: And you guys proudly announce you’re at the crossover of country with pop and rock.

R: Yeah, quite proudly announce that.

CC: So must be good with the direction the genre’s going.

J: Yeah, absolutely.

CC: Who are you listening to at the moment?

J: Russell Dickerson, Morgan Wallen. They’re our two favourites at the moment.

CC: Well, Nashville Meets London is a great opportunity for lesser known acts to make their names, is there anyone who falls into that category you think people should be listening to?

J: Everyone we like has got a bit of a fanbase already!

R: You’ve stumped us!

J: If you haven’t listened to Russell Dickerson, listen to him.

R: He played here last year as well.

J: We’ve got a great friend from Essex called Lisa Wright, she’s awesome. Check her out. Nashville Nights, that was where we started – we were the first band to play. That’s a good place to find people.

CC: Speaking of Essex, has growing up there influenced your music?

J: Yes, absolutely. People always say ‘you don’t look like you’re country stars, you look like a couple of guys from Essex,’ that’s because we are! Country’s all about being real, and we’re just being ourselves, so if we can put a bit of that into what we do, or a lot of that into what we do, then we’re doing something right.

CC: Is there a song that you’ve written that you’re particularly proud of?

J: All of them.

R: Apart from that one we wrote the other day, that was toilet.

CC: So that one’s not on the upcoming EP, then?

J: No. But all the one’s you’ve heard, we’re proud of!

CC: Okay, final question! What’s one question you’d love to be asked in an interview but never have been?

J: Ooh! See if you asked us what question we’d not want to get asked or get asked all the time, we’d be able to tell you, but I’ve never thought of that.

CC: What’s that question then?

J: Where’d you get your name? Why country music?

R: One question I’d like to be asked is what my favourite crisp product is.

CC: And the answer is?

R: Wheat Crunchies every day of the week.

J: My favourite crisps are Salt and Vinegar Squares. And Discos.

R: Or Roysters. I like them too.

CC: Well when you hit it big time, all the fans will just be sending you loads of crisps then.

R: Good, I don’t do one pack of crisps, it’s got to be two.

J: At least!

CC: Thanks for the tip! And thanks for answering my questions today!

All: Thank you.

And if you’re wondering, my crisp picks would be Doritos Chilli Heatwave or Paprika Pringles! I hope you enjoyed today’s interview – if you did, be sure to drop me a message in the comments below and follow me on Twitter @CiarasCountry. More interviews and concert reviews coming soon – thanks for reading!

Interview: FRANKIE DAVIES, Nashville Meets London, Canary Wharf

Do you ever see an artist and think ‘now that’s a star in the making’? That was exactly how I felt about Frankie Davies, who performed at this year’s Nashville Meets London festival (read my review here) and kindly agreed to have a chat with me afterwards. Read on for her thoughts on the festival, having an all girl band, and crying every time she sees the Dixie Chicks. Hope you enjoy!

Ciara’s Country (CC): Welcome back to Ciara’s Country – I’m here with the lovely Frankie Davies at Nashville Meets London 2018. Frankie, thank you so much for joining me today!

Frankie Davies (FD): Thank you very much for having me!

CC: So I last saw you when you opened for Maddie and Tae at Koko (check out the review here), and honestly I thought you couldn’t get better but you’ve proven me wrong today!

FD: Aww, thank you, you’re so sweet!

CC: Everyone was so impressed with the beautiful pure voice you have – did you take singing lessons?

FD: I actually didn’t. When I went to university to study music they asked if I’d had singing lessons because we’ll need you to take them, and I said ‘no!’ I did pick a few things up with the singing lessons but it wasn’t something I’d ever done before. I just love music, that’s all!

CC: I’m impressed! It’s been a while since I last saw you, what have you been up to since then?

FD: Lots of things! I was on tour with Josh Kelley, I’ve moved into a house and have been decorating, but mainly and most importantly I’ve been recording and getting ready for something real soon…

CC: That’s what I like to hear! Any hints?

FD: Everything you heard today will be out into the world soon!

CC: Good, soon! Fantastic set today, I saw everyone really engaged with it, how did it make you feel?

FD: I just loved it and the crowd was so lovely. I was in such a different world because when we were running out of time I didn’t even realise because I was having so much fun! The crowd were just magical. There’s so many people here! I didn’t realise there would be this many people, it was really lovely, I enjoyed myself so much!

CC: This is the biggest the festival has been, probably because people like you are on the bill!

FD: No, shut up! You’re just being kind!

CC: Do you have a favourite song to perform live?

FD: Oh there’s too many for so many reasons. I’m really enjoying The Sweetest Sound at the moment, I played it on my own today, because I’m really enjoying trying to get the crowd into the ‘oh my oh my’ bit. It was really good today.

CC: You did a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain.

FD: Yeah, that’s become a bit of a staple of ours. I think everyone gets annoyed if we don’t do it because we’ve done it so many times as a band. That was our first time as a proper band together. Normally we have a female guitarist but she’s on the West End at the moment, so we’ve got two new guys.

CC: Lucky her! I was commenting on the fact you have an almost all female band.

FD: Normally it would be!

CC: How cool!

FD: It is cool, and I love it. The girls are just so talented that it’s really hard to find some people to replace them! But the guys, Dan and Jonny, are so great too.

CC: And it was great to see you play on your own too, we got the best of both worlds.

FD: Thank you very much!

CC: So Nashville Meets London – you’ve been to Nashville many times.

FD: Yes, about four times.

CC: Making us all jealous! What’s your favourite thing about Music City?

FD: Everyone is involved in or connected to music. It’s just mental, it really is because you’ll meet one person and they’re friends of a friend that you know, and they’re in the music industry too. Everyone is involved, they’re all songwriters or musicians or producers. It’s so connected, it’s really magical. I don’t think I could live there because I need to live by the sea, but I think I went there for a month and a half once, and it flew by because I just loved every single day. It inspired me to write more, to be more proactive, it was great.

CC: Tell me about the inspiration behind your writing – some from Nashville, where else does it come from?

FD: Yeah, all of it is personal. I used to do a lot of more ‘made up’ stuff which is on my EP that I released, but lately I’ve just been tapping into everything I’m feeling and putting it all down. Stories and maybe even using other peoples experiences and using them in a more personal way, because then I feel more tapped into it and more passionate about the song.

CC: What’s a big theme that you tend to write about?

FD: Family’s a big one. Also travelling around and experiencing new things, that’s a real big one. Also just stories about what I’ve been through.

CC: I read as well that you grew up listening to country music. Were there artists who were particularly formative in finding your voice?

FD: Yes! Dolly Parton was the songwriter I was looking up to. Her songs are just incredible. I love her so much! But also the Dixie Chicks were a main part of my childhood. Alison Krauss as well, but mainly the Dixie Chicks and Dolly Parton.

CC: To me you’ve become known as ‘the person who tours with big US artists’ – Maddie & Tae, Josh Kelley, Chris Young, Charlie Worsham – is there a dream artist you’d like to tour with?

FD: The Dixie Chicks. I would cry. I went to see them when they played Country 2 Country and then also went to their own gig at the O2. I cried! The whole way through! Every time they would sing a song and I’d sing along with them, I cried. It’s so sad! But that’s how much I love them. I don’t do that for anyone else, just the Dixie Chicks.

CC: Aww, bless! Maybe even more so than C2C, I think Nashville Meets London is great for bringing lesser known artists into the spotlight – is there someone you think everyone should be listening to?

FD: Oh, there’s so many people on this country scene who are great. I honestly can’t think of one off the top of my head. I love Laura Oakes so much.

CC: She played here a couple of years ago.

FD: Did she? I love her so much! She needs to be bigger. So does Debbie Mariner. There’s so many that all need more recognition.

CC: And you too, but hopefully after today you’ll have got plenty more fans.

FD: Thank you very much!

CC: Well I hope to see you play soon. And to finish up, in an interview, is there a question you’ve never been asked but would love to be?

FD: No! I don’t know, I’ve not really thought about it! I’m just there answering the questions. I’ll have a think and let you know next time.

CC: Perfect, I’ll keep that in mind! Thanks for answering my questions!

FD: Lovely to meet you!

What a lovely interviewee! I hope you enjoyed today’s interview as much as I enjoyed chatting to Frankie – let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and be sure to follow me on Twitter @CiarasCountry for interviews of more Nashville Meets London artists and further reviews of concerts to come. I’m sure we’ll be seeing Frankie at many more!

Interview: KEYWEST, Nashville Meets London, Canary Wharf

I love finding serendipitous moments when it comes to music, and my most recent experience with that was at Nashville Meets London (my review of which you can read here), where I got to see a band I’d caught by chance many years before busking on the streets in a different country! Lots has changed since then, and Keywest have made a name for themselves and are now headed for success in the UK too. Read on to find out what they think about playing in the UK, updating their Wikipedia page, and sharing the love for a fellow NML artist.

Ciara’s Country (CC): Welcome back to Ciara’s Country – I’m joined today by Keywest at the third Nashville Meets London here in Canary Wharf! The last time I saw Keywest was playing on Grafton Street in Dublin many years ago so I’m thrilled to be here with you guys today! What a ride coming from busking to playing on today’s stage. What’s that journey been like?

Kav (K): It’s difficult, but getting the opportunity to come over and perform is great. That’s the payment at the end of it all. We hope to continue to do shows like this and expand and travel as much as we can.

CC: The only way is up for you guys!

K: That’s where we’re aiming! We’re going to keep on going, keep writing music and if people keep listening to it then hopefully that’s the direction we’ll keep going.

CC: How’s the year been for you guys so far?

K: It’s been a very busy year. Lots of festivals, lots of shows. We have a lot of obligations in Ireland because the band has established itself there. A lot of touring and of course the release of our new album True North which we spend a lot of time travelling around and promoting in Ireland. We’re going to knuckle down now and get working on some new music and try and get ourselves back over to the UK soon to establish ourselves here.

CC: You’ve been fairly popular in Ireland, winning a couple of awards – hopefully you’ll be able to emulate that in the UK as well.

K: That would be amazing. It’s not what we’re thinking about, we’re just focused on making more music and getting it out there, but if that leads to an award, happy days!

CC: I’d say after today you’ll have gained a lot of UK fans as well. Everyone seemed to really enjoy your set.

K: This is why we do it!

CC: On days like today, is there a song you love to perform live?

K: I mean it changes from performance to performance. Today I enjoyed performing the last song which is called Somebody To Love cause it’s got nice energy and everyone got involved.

CC: So your Wikipedia page describes you as rock/pop and yet here you are at a country music festival.

K: Yeah, we started out as rock/pop and we just haven’t updated Wikipedia!

Harry (H): I’ll do it when I get home!

CC: Would you say you have country in you then?

K: The thing is we’ve kind of evolved on the street since that Wiki was written. On the street we only have the instruments we have, which is mainly acoustic guitar driven and rhythmical with the drums. We’ve evolved to become what we are now which is a pop/folk/country cross of everything.

CC: I think as well a lot of country music is about the lyrics and songwriting and you certainly have that kind of vibe to you.

Glover (G): Yeah, I hope so. Hopefully the stories are getting across.

CC: Would you say your backgrounds have influenced the music you’ve come out with?

K: Not necessarily. I definitely always listened to country and Glover listened to a little bit of country but I don’t think individually that happened, I think it came about because of a joint effort and the influence of performing on the streets. We’ve grown to understand the music and enjoy making it.

CC: What’s been your highlight of those years playing as street performers?

K: There’s no one stand out but as I said on stage earlier on, we’ve had a number of proposals and one particular proposal was particularly elaborate. The guy waited for a year with his ring and proposed to our song. Everyday they were in town they were hoping we’d be there, so that was nice, the effort that he went to and what the song meant to him. That was a nice moment.

CC: How lovely! Any chance we’ll be seeing you guys back on Grafton Street?

Jimmy (J): Maybe at Christmas! With U2 too, if Bono ever answers my phone call!

CC: Well it’s great to have you here. Festivals like this are a great opportunity for up and coming artists to play. Is there a lesser-known artist you think people should listen to?

K: The Adelaides were on today, they’re very good.

CC: You know they actually cited you as their answer to a similar question!

All: Aww!

K: I mean we’ve crossed paths a few times so you get a good feel for what they’re doing. We’ve watched them grow in terms of their sound. I always enjoy them, really good harmonies. Nice bit of love there!

CC: Hopefully we’ll see the two of you back another year.

G: Hopefully, yeah!

CC: So to finish up, what’s one question you’ve never been asked in an interview but wish you had been?

K: Never been asked but wish we had been? How about ‘do you want to join our threesome?’ Is that not allowed?

CC: I wonder why that’s never been asked!

K: How about ‘do you want this million dollars in the case that I have?’

CC: And what would your answer be?

K: I’d have to say yes to that. Yes I do want that million dollars.

CC: I’ll see about bringing it along next time. Thanks for answering my questions!

All: Thanks Ciara!

What lovely fellas to chat to! I hope you enjoyed today’s interview, if you did make sure to leave me a message in the comments below and follow me on Twitter @CiarasCountry for plenty more interviews and reviews coming soon, including from other Nashville Meets London artists – stay tuned!  

Interview: THE ADELAIDES, Nashville Meets London, Canary Wharf

What happens when you take three talented solo artists and mesh them together, complete with fantastic style and stunning harmonies? The Adelaides, that’s what! I was lucky enough to catch up with them at Nashville Meets London this year (my review of which you can read here) for a quick interview – read on for the inspiration behind their name, why three is better than one, and sharing the love for another NML artist.

Ciara’s Country (CC): I’m joined today by The Adelaides after their set at Nashville Meets London in Canary Wharf. Lovely to meet you all! First things first, where did you get your name?

Paris Georgia (PG): The name actually came from a film musical from the 1950s called Calamity Jane.

CC: Ah, Doris Day!

PG: Yes! There was a character called Adelaide Adams and she was a really popular singer, showgirl and actress, so we just took inspiration from her really.

CC: What a fantastic idea! Your outfits certainly fit the vibe – I wish this was the style we had all the time. You definitely have the stage presence to fit the name too!

Abi Phillips (AP): We do try!

CC: How’s this year been going for you guys?

Alicia Alba (AA): It’s been like a whirlwind, it’s been non stop.

AP: The summer’s just been very good. I feel like since C2C it’s been like a snowball effect. It’s been so good because we’ve only been together a year – it was our year anniversary yesterday – and we’ve done all these festivals. They’re ones we’ve all wanted to do for years and it’s just so amazing to be able to perform here.

CC: That’s incredible that in a year you’ve managed to play C2C and Nashville Meets London. And you even had solo careers before this?

PG: Yeah, we all used to do solo, and I think it really helps that we’ve done that because we all know our own niches, and we can all write individually so when we come together it’s even stronger.

CC: How does it compare being in a band than playing solo?

PG: It’s just so much more fun.

AA: It’s boring on your own!

AP: I feel like you vibe off each other a lot more, and when you’re on the road it’s a lot less lonely. Three’s better than one. Everyone’s got different ideas, it’s just so much more fun. I feel like we all know what each others going through, so no one’s ever alone in anything.

CC: I’d say three is better than one particularly with your harmonies today! Jolene, which you just played for us is such a tough song to sing, but you absolutely nailed it.

AA: Thank you so much. We love that song.

CC: And what a song to sing at Nashville Meets London – have you visited the home of country music?

PG: No, but we’re going to in September.

AA: We can’t wait to see what it’s like playing to a Nashville audience.

CC: Exciting! This festival is a great place for new bands like yourselves – are there any underrated artists you think people should be listening to?

AP: Keywest. I wouldn’t even say they’re underrated but they’re incredible and they definitely deserve success.

CC: As do you guys! Hopefully we’ll see lots more of you soon. To end our interview, what’s a question you’ve never been asked in an interview but wish you had been?

PG: That’s a hard one, wow! Probably that question!

AP: My mind’s just gone completely blank…

PG: We’ve never been asked about our styles really. We’ve all got our own individual styles. I personally love Carrie Underwood and Kelsea Ballerini’s type of style.

AA: I’m the same really.

AP: ‘We all have our own individual styles’ ‘I’m the same really!’

AA: I know! I like to change things up a bit and try new things. I don’t really stick to one thing. I like to be adventurous with my style.

AP: I just wear the same thing in different colours.

CC: Well thank you all so much for taking the time to chat with me today.

All: You’re welcome!

Thanks so much to The Adelaides for chatting to me! I hope you enjoyed reading this interview as much as I enjoyed doing it – if you did, drop me a message in the comments below, and be sure to follow me on Twitter @CiarasCountry for even more interviews still to come.