Interviews, Love at First Listen, Music, New Music Friday

Love at First Listen with Shawn Austin

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Shawn Austin Interview

We all have those artists and songs we hear that strike the right chord and make us fall in love at first listen. They’re the reason we refresh social media pages, tour schedules, and Spotify profiles — because we can’t miss a single release. This is Love at First Listen — a new series introducing you to the emerging, and established, artists with new music guaranteed to upgrade your playlist.

Haven’t you heard? Canadian country artist Shawn Austin is the “talk of the town.” With 27 million collective streams and a Rising Star nomination from the Canadian Country Music Association under his belt, Shawn is ready to take over even more country hearts with new music out this week. Timed for the end of his stint as an opener on Dallas Smith’s mega-bill Some Things Never Change tour, the rising star’s new EP, ‘Planes Don’t Wait,’ has the perfect laid-back country vibe we all need this summer—so grab your cowboy hat and drink of choice because it’s time to party.

For our latest Love at First Listen feature, I caught up with Shawn hours after the EP dropped to capture his release week emotions, favourite full circle moments, and love for live music (which is finally back in *full* force!).

How does it feel to have ‘Planes Don’t Wait’ out in the world, just in time for summer?

It’s nice! We’ve been waiting for a long time to get this one out, so it’s nice that after almost two and a half years of working on it the world’s ears can finally listen to it. We probably had a little over 200 songs, but I made sure that we were getting tracks that would really fit who I am as an artist right now and kind of give a sneak peek on what I want to do next. I couldn’t be happier with how it all came out.

The EP features “Tailgate to Heaven,” your 2021 hit with Chris Lane and fastest charting and climbing single to date. Did you have any idea that song would garner so much fanfare?

When you put out a single, you kind of go, OK, I think I might have something here, and you hope for the best, but you never think it’s going to do stuff like that. It just means that people are clicking with the song the same way I clicked with it. It felt like a full circle moment because I’ve always been a big fan of Chris and I had a chance to tour with him in 2018. We were going to do a different song but then he heard this track and asked to be on it. It was one of the easiest yes’s I’ve given, and he’s gone from a guy that I’ve been a fan of, to a labelmate, to a buddy now. It’s pretty fantastic.

The EP’s title track, “Planes Don’t Wait,” was co-written by Brian Kelley from Florida Georgia Line. Did you have that song before your appearance on NBC’s Songland or did it come to you after?

It came after, and that’s also a bit of a full circle moment. I mean, it’s FGL. These guys have changed the game and I’ve been fans of them forever, so to have that experience on Songland and talk to them and pitch a song to them was amazing. Then, fast forward about a year later, having BK on a song and trusting me with it is unreal. I loved the track from first listen. It’s one of those tracks where you’re like, I wish I wrote that.

You’re coming off a cross-country tour with Dallas Smith. What will you be taking away from performing with such an eclectic mix of fellow country stars including Manny Blu and JoJo Mason?

The last time I did a tour like this was also with Dallas in 2017. I was so new at the time, so this tour I didn’t feel like the annoying little brother going, “Hey! What do I do?!” Just taking the stage more, I feel like I’ve grown a lot. The country community is so strong that you never have a bad time with anybody, but this crew is special and it’s been nice to spend six weeks together and see everyone killing it again on stage.

Now that you’ve had time to test them out, what is your favourite song off ‘Planes Don’t Wait’ to perform live?

We’ve been playing “Somewhere in Austin” and it was really fun to see people get the first listen. “Tailgate to Heaven” has also been incredible, quite simply because when you have people singing back to you it’s…I don’t know words big enough to describe how amazing it is. Seeing the excitement of people hearing live music again makes you really confident and hopeful that the future’s going to be strong.

Your summer performance lineup includes stops at festivals like the Big Valley Jamboree and Calgary Stampede. If you were booking your own Shawn Austin summer music festival, who would be your dream co-headliners?

Oh gees… Everybody on this tour! Andrew Hyatt and I have been buddies for a long time, so I feel like he’d always be a blast to be with. I would spend every show I could with JoJo (Mason). Dallas (Smith) is my guy. He’s effectively been that guy that’s made sure I haven’t made the mistakes that I probably should have as a new artist and it’s been amazing working with him through all these years. If I go to the people I haven’t met, I’m a huge Maren Morris fan, I’m a huge Thomas Rhett fan… I mean, it’d be a privilege to headline with anybody. Touring is an amazing thing and I just can’t wait to get back on another one!

Are there any other projects you have coming up that you’d like to tease?

Expect a lot more! We’re already working on the next project. We don’t know what it looks like yet, but I think my goal for the next 18 months is going to be music, music, music, putting out as much as we possibly can. The festival season is going to be strong. We’re talking about a couple of things for the fall that might happen — I hope they do — which would give another chance for more live music, if you get what I’m saying. There’s a lot of plans in the works right now and I’m excited and just trying to keep up with it all because I think we came out of the gates like wildfire now that we can do everything again. I’m just excited for the future.

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Interviews, Love at First Listen, Music, New Music Friday

Love at First Listen with Manny Blu

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Manny Blu Interview

We all have those artists and songs we hear that strike the right chord and make us fall in love at first listen. They’re the reason we refresh social media pages, tour schedules, and Spotify profiles — because we can’t miss a single release. This is Love at First Listen — a new series introducing you to the emerging, and established, artists with new music guaranteed to upgrade your playlist.

A little bit of country, a dash of punk, and a whole lot of heart — Manny Blu has the total package. With over one million global music streams and features on CMT and some of the biggest playlists in country music, the rising Canadian country singer, who’s also a familiar face in the Nashville music scene, has seamlessly transitioned from being a trained MMA fighter, to an emerging country singer, to a full-fledged country punk star.

Fresh off the success of two 2021 EPs, Manny is the definition of booked and busy and has a lot for fans to be excited about, including a stellar addition to their concert calendar. In addition to working on his upcoming full-length album, Manny is living out his dream and joining fellow Canadian country rocker Dallas Smith—alongside a star-studded lineup in James Barker Band, Meghan Patrick, Jojo Mason, Shawn Austin, and Kelly Prescott—on an epic Canadian tour to kick off the summer concert season.

For your latest Love at First Listen introduction, I caught up with Manny at the start of his cross-country trek to talk all things ‘Country Punk,’ his love for Travis Barker and Mod Sun, and surprise airport bearhugs.

You released a new EP titled ‘Country Punk’ on December 31st and now 2022 has been nothing but a complete whirlwind for you. The world’s opening back up and you’re reaching new audiences. Fill us in on how this all started!

I wanted to co-produce and steer a ship into exactly what I had sonically in my head, and that was the ‘Country Punk’ EP. I was tired of being called too loud for country and too country for rock, and there had been a growing space for taking the concepts of country and the storytelling approach to songwriting and making it whatever you want it to be.

When Machine Gun Kelly put out ‘Tickets to My Downfall,’ I fell in love with that entire record. I was going back and forth with my manager and I was like, ‘Maybe we can add a little bit of this sound to ‘DEViL’ (the first EP),’ but it was too late and we had to hold off for the next project. I said, ‘Alright, let’s make the next one now and put out two in a year.’ To me, country punk is more of a vibe and a feeling than it really is a genre. I don’t feel like I’m reinventing the wheel in any way, but this is who I am, this is what I like, and I don’t feel like I have to choose between genres or sounds.

How did the Country Punk catchphrase come to be?

My manager used to say Punk Country, but I thought Country Punk might sound cooler. I was wearing a pink hat at the time and I said, ‘Why don’t we just make pink Country Punk hats?’ And it worked out well! Also, it originally started when I came to Nashville and thought pop country was country. That’s what all my friends were listening to and I wanted to make music that my friends liked, and as I started discovering more I realized that I’d always loved blues and rock and roll and I felt like we could blend the two together in some way. Obviously, there’s always going to be the traditional country sound, which I think is important, but it would be inauthentic for me to be doing that. I have a buddy who loves ‘90s country and he does his thing, and the two of us see country music so differently but also vibe with each other’s music in such a funny way.

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If someone searches for Country Punk on a streaming service, you’re the first artist that pops up. Have you heard from any country or punk fans who developed a new appreciation for the other genre with your EP?

When we started saying Country Punk, we had a little moment on TikTok and people were telling me, ‘I love metal and I’ve got purple hair, but I work on my family’s farm in the day and go to metal shows at night, so finally my two worlds are blending together.’ I don’t know if my music is necessarily for any hardcore, traditional fans of either of the genres, but I think it’s a fun blend of the two. I also don’t take it that seriously; it is whatever you want it to be. A lot of people are calling it “y’allternative,” I call it country punk, but people are vibing with it and feel like they’re finally being seen. So, if I can be part of that then that’s the whole point really.

If you were to do a remix of one of the tracks on this EP featuring another artist who you think embodies the Country Punk personality, which song would it be and who would it feature? Let’s manifest this!

Oh man, there are so many! There’s a girl here in Nashville, Charlotte Sands, who’s popping off in the alt-rock space, and then you’ve got the big guys. “95” on the ‘Country Punk’ EP has some complex drum things going on, so I would love to see how Travis Barker could do it even bigger. Mod Sun’s a drummer too, so even him playing drums and belting some vocals would be really cool. I mean, they can listen to all the songs and pick whichever they would prefer really! And why not, let’s get them both on a track!

You’re officially back out on the road opening for Dallas Smith across Canada on his Some Things Never Change tour. What are you most excited about, having gone so long without being able to perform for your fans?

All of it! Literally all of it. I had met or at least had some type of conversation with almost everyone on the tour, especially around the Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMAs). I met Dallas Smith a couple of years ago. I ran into James Barker Band at the airport going to the CCMAs, and Jojo Mason also walked up to me and gave me a hug. I was looking somewhere else and just got bearhugged. I looked up and it was Jojo and he said he couldn’t wait to be on tour. I went to see Meghan Patrick here too in Nashville and after she was done I went to say what’s up, she gave me a hug and was super cool, so the vibe already felt like it was going to be really exciting, really friendly, and just super supportive of one another. These are also going to be the biggest stages I’ve ever played on, so I’m just looking forward to that new experience.

This tour is also like a festival every night. There are so many amazing artists all doing sort of different things, but you can get all the stuff you love as a music consumer in one night and just go down the list of everybody on the bill and see that it’s incredible.

Pictured above: Manny Blu with Kelly Prescott and Jojo Mason backstage at a tour stop.

How does your Country Punk energy translate to the live stage?

I think it’s just me being me. I love performing and my main focus has always been live shows, so I can’t wait to be able to give that experience to more people at once. The country punk energy just comes with the songs, and hopefully people can sing along and we can all party together. I’m also just looking forward to actually playing shows consecutively. The one-offs are fine, but once you get on tour and you’re doing it almost every night, it becomes this really fun rhythm of like, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing for this period of time and all that matters right now is making these shows the best we possibly can.’ That’s super exciting for me.

After years of playing shows, what are some of your current tour essentials?

Water, Bud Light, and coffee are on the top of the list. Other than that, we’ve always been treated very well and I think it’s making sure I don’t get too into the shows where I start yelling along to everyone’s songs and screw myself for the next day. The biggest thing in my head is just to make sure that I keep my voice where it needs to be.

As a music fan yourself, do you have an all-time favourite concert memory?

Boots and Hearts Music Festival in 2018. I don’t remember much of it, but I remember I was there! I was with a bunch of buddies and we had a really good weekend, from what I’m told. Actually, we saw James Barker Band play that year, which is really crazy to be now sharing the stage with them on tour, so I’m really happy about that.

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