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

Love at First Listen with Shantaia

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Shantaia Interview Love at First Listen 2024

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 series introducing you to the emerging, and established, artists with new music guaranteed to upgrade your playlist.

If you know Canadian country singer Shantaia from her 2020 debut single “I Wish You Would” or her 2023 album ‘Exes and Friends,’ make room on your playlist for Shantaia 2.0. Her recently-released summer smash—and guaranteed love at first listen track—“What I Wouldn’t Do” blends the best of her familiar country twang, catchy melodies, and cool girl vibe with a sultry yet soulful new aura. There’s only one thing to wonder: What we wouldn’t do for more like this!

In the thick of festival season, Shantaia has stayed hard at work on a sophomore project, tentatively scheduled for early 2025. But when we recently chatted with her, she teased that fans won’t have to wait that long for a taste of what she’s been cooking up. Read below to see what else Shantaia had to share about her whirlwind rise, the move that changed her life, and the things she actually wouldn’t do for love.

Welcome to Love at First Listen! How are you feeling about all the buzz “What I Wouldn’t Do” has received to date, and for those who haven’t heard the song, what is it about?

It’s a new sound for me, so I think that there was this shock factor in a good way. It’s been really cool to see people react to it. I wrote the song from a perspective of desperate love — something that you just can’t get enough of, and you would do anything for this person. I think people can relate to it in two different ways. It can be somebody who’s maybe not that good for you and it’s that toxic love, or it can be just true, deep, desperate love for somebody you’ve been with for a long time.

This is your first release in over a year, and I understand you really wanted to take the time to figure out exactly what you wanted to say and how. What pushed you to take new risks with your lyrics and sound?

I released a full album last February, so after dropping that project and trickling the last single off of it to radio, I asked myself, sonically and musically, am I saying what I want to? I think lyrically, I’ve always been a true songwriter and saying what I want to say in the moment. But I was sort of questioning like, is my sound authentic? Is this really who I am, or am I confining myself inside a box? I’ve been in Nashville for four years now, and there’s a lot of people in this town who aren’t afraid to challenge themselves, which is really inspiring. So, why should I be afraid to also push those boundaries and put out the music that I want to make, not what other people expect from me?

How has your sound ultimately evolved over time, and are there any specific songs or artists that have helped craft it?

If you listen to my previous stuff, it’s a lot more in that pop country vein, but I grew up on so many different kinds of music. For years, I’ve had so many mentors and fellow artists and producers tell me I have such a soulful voice and that I should utilize that more. I kind of shrugged it off like, oh, nobody wants to hear that. I’ve always been a huge Chris Stapleton and Maren Morris fan, and they really fuse the soulful blues and R&B genres into country. Country music now veers in all these different paths so that it’s acceptable to cross those lines a little bit. If you’ve listened to “What I Wouldn’t Do,” it’s a lot more in that bluesy, groovy, kind of vibey pocket you wouldn’t typically hear on the radio.

You describe your artistic aesthetic as a combination of Daisy Jones fashion, Teddy Swims swag, and Chris Stapleton country soul. How do those three influences shape the way you bring your music and energy to life on stage?

I love makeup and sunglasses and jewelry and all the things, so branding and marketing are really fun for me to figure out whether the fashion is making sense with the sound. I feel like now more than ever, I’ve been able to really play with some ‘70s inspiration. I’ve always been a bell bottom girl, and sunglasses have been an obsession of mine since I was 15 buying random sunglasses that I thought were cool all over the country. So, I think being able to play with fashion on the performance side of things is really fun to then connect it to the music.

This song is about addicting, all-encompassing love and doing things you normally wouldn’t do when you are in a relationship. In reality, is there anything you truly wouldn’t do for love? What are your non-negotiables?

It’s funny you bring this up because on release night, my friends and I were at the bar celebrating the release of the song and we started this TikTok of ‘what I actually wouldn’t do for somebody.’ A bunch of my friends were like, share a toothbrush with that person, or share my last chicken nugget. I don’t even think I ended up doing one, but there’s a lot — like I actually would never share a toothbrush. That grosses me out so much. I would not get a tattoo. I love my fiancé Kenan, but we will never get matching tattoos because that scares the heck out of me. I mean, I love tattoos. I have a couple tattoos. But I just feel like you’re cursing the relationship a little. There’s just something with putting it inked on your body where I know it’s removable, but it’s also expensive. It’s unnecessary!

@shantaia.music I feel like there are some confessions in here… some were unexpected hahaha! What I Wouldnt Do is OUT NOW!! #friends #reddoor #confessions #whatiwouldntdo #newmusic #friendchallenge @Andrew Scholz @Teigen Gayse @Keenan Sjodin @Brandy Neelly @bergerboo @Dylan Gerard @Alee @Jordan Honsinger @Baker Grissom @Mallory Johnson ♬ What I Wouldn’t Do – Shantaia

You won the Boots & Hearts 2024 Emerging Artists Showcase and, more recently, the SCMA Award for Country Album of the Year. How validating is that industry praise, coupled with the unwavering love and support of your fans?

I feel like as artists, we are so busy grinding, and I know I don’t think about the awards when I’m in the thick of writing the songs. It’s just when it comes around and you’re like, oh yeah, I guess I’m eligible for this, and then it comes to final ballot and you win the award. It’s really cool to see the support from all your friends and even artists across the country that notice and say how well deserved it is.

I also feel like Canadian country music is so special. The last time I flew into Nashville, my friend Teigen Gayse picked me up from the airport and we went straight to a bar here in Nashville to watch the final Oilers game with a ton of Canadians and we had so much fun. I think we trauma bond a little bit because it’s hard to move to Nashville and there’s a lot of hoops to jump through. We really latch onto each other like, how did you do this, and how did you apply for that visa? It’s all these questions where I think that you can feel really alone unless you have your fellow Canadians to help you through it. We definitely don’t just run into each other – we make a point of sticking together.

You talked there about the journey of moving to Nashville. Is there one piece of advice that you would offer to young musicians looking to make that jump themselves?

I think every single artist should experience Nashville in a way that actually embodies moving here. Like, I think it’s one thing to come here and write songs and see Nashville in all its glory for a week, but I think there’s so much progress and so many connections that you can make in this town that can just be life changing. The only way you can do that is if you’re here feet on the ground and actually living here.

I spent a lot of years coming to Nashville back and forth, but I feel like those connections didn’t fully turn into friendships or opportunities until I moved here. It’s like people didn’t fully take me seriously, and I’ve had a lot of producers and songwriters admit that to me. They said, yeah, we always wait and see if you actually make the leap. So, I think you can let Nashville intimidate you by all the talent that is here, or you can let it inspire you and light a fire. I think that if you go in with that mindset, you’re going to be golden, you’re going to get a publishing deal, or you’re going to start writing with people who are number one hit songwriters. I could go on for days about this. I think that me moving to Nashville was one of the best decisions.

For what you’ve written since “What I Wouldn’t Do,” would you say the music shares a similar sound or are you still evolving the vibe over time?

I think I’ve definitely found the creative confidence. I even co-produced “What I Wouldn’t Do” and I think it has let where my brain naturally goes just evolve and be at its best capacity. Expressing myself with this sound is coming really easily. It’s definitely a little edgy and there’s also some poppy stuff. I’m really excited to just start sneak peeking some more of it and hope everybody loves it as much as I do.

“What I Wouldn’t Do” will be on all our summer playlists. Do you have any early predictions for your personal song of the summer?

Honestly, as much as I want to fight it, the Post Malone / Morgan Wallen song “I Had Some Help.” I think that’s just everybody’s song this summer. Especially with Morgan’s bar opening in Nashville, it’s on constant rotation there and in everybody’s vehicles driving down the street. I really like Post Malone. I think he’s unique and not afraid to cross the boundaries. I’m also obsessed with Sabrina Carpenter. She is putting out some really cool stuff.

Do you have any live shows booked that fans should mark on their calendars?

I’m a little bit all over. I was just in Saskatchewan for the Living Skies Music Festival in Humboldt. It was their first year and we played with James Barker Band, Jason McCoy, and a few other great Canadian artists. I also played a show in Toronto at Junction Underground with Tae Lewis, who was a Top Nine finalist on The Voice and has Dan + Shay in his back pocket. I’ve been friends with Tae for years and seeing his journey has been really sweet. I’m heading to Cold Lake, Alberta for a show with Blackjack Billy at Full Throttle Music Festival on July 19, and then we do Boots and Hearts. When I talk about my summer, it’s like it’s come and gone already because it’s just going to be so busy, but I’m really excited to be out playing shows and playing some of the new music. A little birdie told me there might be a pre-kickoff party in Toronto for Boots and Hearts!

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

Love at First Listen with Nice Horse

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Nice Horse Interview Love at First Listen 2024

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 series introducing you to the emerging, and established, artists with new music guaranteed to upgrade your playlist.

Calling all country music fans: You may know Nice Horse but get ready to meet Nice Horse 2.0. Once a four-piece band, members and musical sisters Brandi Sidoryk and Katie Rox reintroduced themselves as a duo at the start of the year. Originally bonding over a shared love of live music and sushi, the pair’s sonic yin and yang translate beautifully to a mix of feisty country anthems and vulnerable love songs, including the seven songs that make up Nice Horse’s first project in seven years.

Ahead of their self-titled album’s one-month anniversary, Love at First Listen caught up with Nice Horse’s Brandi and Katie to chat more about which songs brought the record together, what it’s like to see your face on a giant billboard, and where you can see the duo live this summer.

Your new, self-titled album is your first as a duo. I assume there was multiple reasons for this to be self-titled, but can you talk more about the decision behind the name and what this body of music represents to you?

Brandi: We’re different artists than we were seven years ago recording our first record. So, this really did feel like a Nice Horse 2.0 to us, and the idea of titling it ‘Nice Horse’ felt really natural.

When an album is years in the making, you may have written something three or four years ago, and now that it’s out, it’s taken on a different meaning. Has that happened with any song on this album?

Katie: When I wrote “Unfinished,” it was coming from something really personal. I’m finding it’s taking on a new life right now because our band used to be four and we went to two and I remember the time when that changed. Of course I went through a moment of like, are we making the right decision? Is this the time to just end it? Somebody really close to me said, “Your story’s not done yet. It’s not finished.” And I was like, “Oh, that’s interesting because we have a song on the album called ‘Unfinished,’” so that’s how that song has continued to evolve for me.

Which song on the final track list was the first to make it on the album, and are there any that almost didn’t make the cut?

Katie: There’s hundreds that didn’t make it on the record! We recorded a few to begin with before we finally finished.

Brandi: We wrote “Til I Do” over six years ago, so that song is the matriarch of the record. It truly was a song that we felt was so special when we wrote it all those years ago, and the fact that we finally get to put it on this record feels like such a journey for that song in particular.

Amazon Music Canada commemorated the album’s release with a billboard in Yonge-Dundas Square. What did seeing it for the first time mean to each of you?

Katie: There’s hardly words. Like, to actually be larger than life on a giant billboard in the heart of Toronto… We have put years of work into this, and there’s so much more that goes into it than just the music. To get that recognition on such a giant level and for Amazon to see us and really believe in what we’re doing—so much so that they put us on that giant billboard—I mean, I was in tears.

Brandi: Yeah, it was so emotional. When I was moving to Toronto at 18, I lived on a farm and I had never been on public transit before. [The big city] was so new to me, and I still get butterflies in my stomach every time I’m flying into Toronto and I see the skyline. So, the fact that I got to be there in Toronto, which is a city that means so much to me, and see our faces up on that billboard with a record that I’m so proud that we’ve made and that we’ve really made through blood, sweat, and tears really means a lot.

You won a CCMA award for Video of the Year last year with your single “High School.” Can fans expect any music videos for their favourite songs from this album?

Katie: We are going to shoot a new music video so soon and we’re so excited about it. That’s all I can say!

Brandi: It is going to be an absolutely beautiful video. The only hint that I can give you is that Katie and I are both born and raised farm girls and there will be no public transit riding in this music video.

How involved are you both in the making of your music videos? Do you prefer to show up on set with everything ready to go or be involved from the beginning?

Katie: For our “Hot Mess” music video, we went to the director with a really strong vision of what it was going to be. Brandi also edited the whole “High School” music video. So, our music videos have always started with an idea that we then needed to find the person to help us bring to life. And because we got to luckily take home that [CCMA] award, I think it shows that we love to make music, but it turns out we also love to make music videos.

Brandi: I think the music videos are the extensions of the songs, and it’s just another way that we get to share with fans what we see the song as. Katie wrote the entire treatment for our next one!

Your single “Things I Wish I Didn’t Know” also hit Top 50 at Canadian country radio—an incredible feat for an independent act. Do you have any message for country audiences and stations who have supported Nice Horse over the years?

Katie: We hadn’t gone to radio in a very long time, and it’s scary because you want the songs to resonate, you want them to do well, and you want to feel like you’re really putting your heart out there and people are resonating with it. So, the stations that picked it up and featured us or made us regulars in their rotation and gave us a renewed sense of joy and energy, it’s a big thank you to them because that’s how people discover us. That song is a perfect example of something that we really believed in and I’m so glad that they did too.

Brandi: People gravitate to certain songs because they make them feel something or they relate to them, and that is incredibly special for us because this record is incredibly personal to us. It’s validating as an artist but also validating emotionally to have people come up to you or message you and say how much a song is impacting them because of something that’s going on in their lives. It then immediately feels relatable on a human level with stuff that we’ve been going through for the last four years.

The past couple of years have been quite a moment for women in country music, with the likes of Kacey Musgraves, Maddie & Tae, and our friends MacKenzie Porter and Teigen Gayse having great success. Can you share how you met and any advice you’d give to women trying to break into the industry?

Katie: Brandi had seen me playing a morning television show promoting one of my solo acoustic shows. She came out and walked over to the merch table at the end of the show and was like, “Hey, I’m Brandi. I think we should be friends! I’m a singer-songwriter too.” I loved her energy and vibe. She was just moving to Vancouver, and that’s where I live, so we stayed in touch and went for sushi at least once a week. Everything we were doing musically was so different that it never dawned on us that we should do something together. It was six years before we started Nice Horse. What’s funny is the thing that stuck—the thing that did well—was when we joined forces.

Brandi: I think that plays into the advice I would give young women who are looking to start this. I think there’s a lot of fear that you have to do something right away and it has to hit right away, but that’s not always the case. You’re going to have a lot of failures and that’s okay. Those failures are what brought Katie and I to this project. I think it’s just really sticking to it. People notice that.

Katie: I look at how Brandi and I were just in Nashville and we were hanging out with pretty much every other female solo artist or band that is down there. I find that Canadian country music is really good about that – everyone is really welcoming and encouraging of each other because there is room for everybody. I think it’s important for people to know that because I think TV sometimes shows it not to be that way, but that’s not true.

Now that the album is out, what do you have planned for the rest of the year?

Brandi: We just announced that we’re playing Sunfest on Vancouver Island. We’ve already announced that we’re playing Cavendish Beach Music Festival on the other side of Canada and that we’re playing CMA Fest in Nashville.

Katie: It’s going to be a busy summer, which is really exciting because it will be our first year playing live as a duo. So, to have this record and to be playing together, it’s a whole summer of a new side of Nice Horse that is an extension of the one that we were, and it’s going to be great.

Which songs are you most excited to perform live?

Brandi: A lot of our true-blue Nice Horse fans who have been with us for a long time have already heard some of the songs live because we test songs before we put them out. So, we’ll be playing all of the new songs on the record this summer. And who knows, maybe we’ll pull out some new ones to test as well for upcoming records!

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Interviews, Love at First Listen, Music

Love at First Listen with Teigen Gayse

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Teigen Gayse Interview Love at First Listen 2024

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 series introducing you to the emerging, and established, artists with new music guaranteed to upgrade your playlist.

There’s simply no mistaking that Teigen Gayse has the “it” factor. The bubbly country singer-songwriter who hails from a small town in British Columbia recently made the move to Nashville, the city where country dreams come true. Within the first week, she cooked up a “banger” in the studio with Jenna Walker from The Reklaws (her words, not ours!) and debuted her brand new single, “Better Mistake,” at Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row bar. While she’s now calling Nashville home, she’ll be bouncing from city to city all summer long, playing the Collingwood Summer Country Kickoff, Dauphin’s Countryfest in Manitoba, and many more festivals and shows soon to be announced.

Dive into our interview with Teigen as she reveals the single phrase that inspired “Better Mistake,” her on-stage persona, and what you can expect from her upcoming CMAOntario Awards hosting gig.

Welcome to Love at First Listen! We’re celebrating the release of your heartfelt new single “Better Mistake.” Can you tell us about how this song came to be and how you decided it had single potential?

“Better Mistake” was one of the first songs that I wrote when I came to Nashville two years ago. I wrote it with David Thompson and Phil Barton. I just had the title and I brought it into a couple of different rooms. When I brought it into this room [with David and Phil], they really liked the title and we ended up writing the song. Sometimes you go in and you’re experiencing something and you need to get it out—you need to write it. But this one, we were like, “Okay, how do we make a story out of this?” The song is about you falling for somebody [or] hitting it off with somebody that you never would have expected to hit it off with and it ended up working out in the long run. It’s a love song!

How often do you go into the studio with just a spark of an idea versus having a song mostly or fully fleshed out?

Let me tell you! I went through a breakup recently and I’m just feeling all of the feels. So, when I go into rooms right now, it’s like my diary. I’m like, “I’m feeling this today. Can we write this?” That has been lots of fun because I don’t really do that. Usually, I just kind of go in and ask the room, “What do we all want to write?” But lately I’ve been going in and I’m like, “I need to write this. These are all my feelings, and I need to let them out.”

You just moved to Nashville, so I am sure it feels full circle to be releasing “Better Mistake” considering you wrote it on your first trip there. What are you most excited for now that you will be living in Nashville full time?

It’s such a driven city. Everyone is here. Everyone is hungry. Everyone is just eager to succeed and work and get stuff done. And everyone down here is just so good at writing. I played my first Whiskey Jam [at Whiskey Row] on my single release night, which was really exciting because that’s something that I’ve been wanting to play since my first time coming to Nashville. It’s just nice to be down here with so many people that are chasing the same dream and you can all relate with each other. You kind of wake up and you live and breathe music, which is what I always wanted to do.

You’re already checking off some of your Nashville bucket list items. Was Whiskey Jam your first time performing “Better Mistake” for a crowd?

It was my first time performing it for a crowd and my first time playing in Nashville. I wish you could have been there because it was so much fun. It was such a pinch me moment.

People may know you as the songstress behind hit songs like “Sleeping With Her,” your highest charting radio single to date, and “If You Show Me Yours,” which you co-wrote with Chad Kroeger of Nickelback. Where do you think “Better Mistake” fits in your discography? Do you hope it shows fans another side of you or sets the stage for an upcoming EP or album…?

“If You Show Me Yours” was like a love ballad, and then “Sleeping With Her” was an upbeat song but also a breakup song. It was cool to me that it was a sad song, but you would never know because it was just so upbeat and fun. “Better Mistake” sits in the middle. It’s a love song but it’s got a good push to it. So, I like trying to change it up on each single and give the world something a little bit different.

You’re co-hosting this year’s CMAOntario Awards on June 2 in Mississauga. How are you preparing to be part of such a big night in Canadian country music in that capacity?

I just want to make people feel welcome and feel good about themselves, so I was really excited when they asked me to host. It meant a lot that they asked an artist from B.C. to come up and be part of the CMAO [Awards]. I’ve always wanted to host and thought it would be really cool. I hope I do a good job!

While you haven’t technically been announced as a CMAO Awards performer, can we expect a performance of “Better Mistake” snuck in there?

I can’t say anything right now, but… you never know! [WRITER’S NOTE: Infer from that what you will!]

You recently made your UK debut performing at C2C Festival in London. How was the fan and crowd reception compared to what you’ve seen in Canada and Nashville?

They are such big country music lovers over there. It felt so good to come offstage and have a big line of people wanting my autograph and wanting pictures, and it was just the most cool experience ever. I’m so grateful that I got to go and I’m manifesting going back next year to play on the main stage. We’re putting it out to the world!

For people who haven’t seen you yet and might be seeing you for the first time this summer, what impression do you hope to leave on each crowd?

I just want people to feel good. I want them to feel like they can relate to my music. That’s my biggest goal. And hopefully they leave feeling like, damn, I’m really glad we got to see her and found a new artist. Honestly, how I am right now, my personality, is how I am on stage. I’m kind of all over the place and crazy and fun and funny, and I just hope I can keep doing that on stage and make people feel welcome, related to, and relatable.

Can you tease any other projects you have in the works?

I’m down here writing, writing, writing. So, keep your eyes and ears peeled for new music and possibly an album in the near future. Grind and grind, baby!

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Interviews, Love at First Listen, Music, Music Monday

Love at First Listen with Drake Milligan

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Drake Milligan Interview Love at First Listen 2023

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.

Giddy up, country music fans — there’s a fresh face on the scene ready to take over your playlist and your heart. Drake Milligan first caught the attention of the A-list judges on America’s Got Talent last year as the ever tough-to-crack Simon Cowell praised his “real charisma.” Quickly becoming an AGT fan favourite, his debut, critically acclaimed album ‘Dallas/Fort Worth’ grew his audience to more than 3.4 million Spotify listeners locally and internationally, including here in Canada. Did we mention he also scored his first Canadian country radio #1 with The Reklaws on their joint hit single, “Honky Tonkin’ About”?

Drake is days away from kicking off his first Canadian headlining tour with stops in Regina (Dec. 5), Saskatoon (Dec. 6), Edmonton (Dec. 7), and Calgary (Dec. 8) supported by Canadian country songstress Kalsey Kulyk (our next Love at First Listen feature!). He’s set to wrap up his whirlwind year at home with a performance at one of the world’s largest New Year’s Honky Tonks in Fort Worth, TX, before he opens for Cody Johnson on tour across the U.S. next spring.

Ahead of his final shows of the year, Love at First Listen caught up with Drake Milligan to chat all things AGT, #1 songs, and why, even if you’ve seen him live before, his next shows will be a whole new experience.

Welcome to Love at First Listen! You’ve had an absolutely stacked year and you continue to add to a seemingly never-ending string of milestones, having just landed your first-ever Canadian country radio #1 and kicking off a new tour. Is it even possible to take a moment and absorb all that action?

Not at all. It’s all happening so fast. I got a week off back home before gearing up for tour, so that was my one opportunity to sit back and kind of take it all in. With these Canadian shows coming up, this is my first time visiting some of these cities, so it’ll be a lot of fun.

Fans watched your America’s Got Talent journey play out on TV, but how was it for you? What was the biggest lesson you took from your time on the show and how did it help accelerate your career?

As a new artist that had been on the road, I had material recorded but not released yet, so that show was a perfect opportunity for me to showcase it to the world. After the show, I really learned that I can perform on a high level. Those live shows are no joke — it’s truly live. And you’re in front of not only a big theater of a few thousand fans, but you’re in front of millions of people who are watching live at home. So, it’s pretty daunting, but if you can get on the other side of it and pull it off, you feel like, okay, there’s really nothing I could be fazed by.

You were raised in Texas and moved to Nashville at the age of 19. What was going through your mind as you made that big leap and invested in yourself and your career at a young age? Take us through your first couple of months in Music City.

I think I was too naive to really know what I was doing. I really jumped in and started writing songs. My sole focus was finding great songwriters. People that had written some of my favorite songs and some of these ‘90s country songs that I love are still around Nashville writing great music. So, that was my first objective — finding them, seeking them out, and trying to learn from them. I was lucky enough to do that and learn a lot about songwriting and still am learning a lot.

What advice would you give someone who has watched your journey and wants to follow in your footsteps?

Go for it and stay true to yourself, and make sure you go in there knowing what you want to say and how you want to say it.

Coming back to that impressive and exciting Canadian country radio #1 for “Honky Tonkin’ About,” how did you initially connect with The Reklaws (our favourite Canadian country duo!) and how was it playing the song live for the first time to open the 2023 CCMA Awards?

It’s been incredible! My label first reached out and said there was a great Canadian group that wanted to do a song with me. I had heard a little bit about them before then, but as soon as I met them, we became fast friends. They’re amazing and I was really honoured that they wanted me to be a part of the song.

Who is on your bucket list of collaborators for 2024? How can we help you manifest them?!

There’s a few I’d love to work with. On my first record, ‘Dallas/Fort Worth,’ I got Vince Gill to come sing a song with me. He’s one of my heroes and we’re gearing up to hopefully cut another record. I would love to get another country music legend in there. Obviously for a Texan, George Strait is at the top of the list, but you know, any legend will do!

The end of the year always seems to inspire a lot of self-reflection and thanksgiving. When you think back on 2023, what was your career high—if it’s possible to pinpoint one—and what are you most looking forward to in 2024?

I feel like this whole summer has been on a high. We played so many shows this year; I know it’s over 100 shows all over the States. We played in London, across the UK, and we played in Glasgow, Scotland, which was definitely a highlight. But I just feel like being on the road was all one big highlight for me — playing so many shows, watching the shows get bigger, and watching as our show got better. The more we play, the better we are, so it’s been a really great year for just keeping the train rolling.

Are you working on anything else that fans can look forward to as you wrap up this jam-packed year and prep for the next one?

With all of the shows we played this year, I feel like mostly everybody’s got to see a little bit of it. So, we’re going to change things up and totally revamp the live show. We have some new songs recorded and I’m hopefully going back in again and cutting some more songs soon. So, there’ll be new music coming out and lots to look forward to in the new year. I want to be doing this for a long time, and this year felt like the first one of a long career.

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Interviews, Love at First Listen, Music, Music Monday

Love at First Listen with MacKenzie Porter

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MacKenzie Porter Interview Love at First Listen 2023

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.

Canadian country queen MacKenzie Porter is the definition of booked and busy. If it feels like she’s been racking up a new set of career milestones every few months, it’s because she has—she was named to the CMT Women of Country Class of 2021, earned Academy of Country Music Award and American Music Award nominations for her duet with Dustin Lynch, “Thinking ‘Bout You,” which also marked her first U.S. Country #1, and landed a sixth #1 at Canadian country radio with her latest single “Chasing Tornadoes.”

Shockingly, despite years of homegrown and international success, MacKenzie has yet to have a moment to celebrate with Canadian audiences. That will all change when she embarks on her first nationwide headlining tour this week, starting Friday (November 3) in Toronto. Soon after, fans will gain a whole new set of songs to memorize and play on repeat when MacKenzie releases her long-awaited debut album in the first quarter of 2024. So, it’s safe to say the MacKenzie Porter country reign is just getting started.

In this edition of Love at First Listen, MacKenzie reflects on her whirlwind journey and shares a first look at her new tour setlist (read to the end to find out how you can meet her at the shows!).

“Chasing Tornadoes” is the lead single off your upcoming debut album. Amongst all the material you had written to date, how did you decide this song was the one to officially kick off a new era?

The new record is way more country than some of the other stuff I’ve been putting out before. We still have my pop influenced parts of it, but I think the overall sound is more like wooden instrumental—like there’s fiddle on almost every song. So, “Chasing Tornadoes” is a good bridge between “Pickup,” which is a lot more poppy, to this record.

For anyone who hasn’t heard “Chasing Tornadoes,” can you describe the story behind the song?

It’s about being in a relationship or a situation that you know is probably not good for you. It’s chaotic and messy and might not end amazingly, but there’s something that’s fun about that. I think we’ve all been in situations where you’re like, oh well, I’ll deal with the consequences later. So, that’s what the song is about and it’s actually kind of cool because I did not write this song. There’s going to be 20 songs on the record, and I’ve written probably 12, but this is one Lainey Wilson wrote. I love Lainey and her record was finished, so this song of hers worked perfectly on mine.

Given all you’ve accomplished in a few short years, is it even possible to take a moment and let everything sink in, or is life just a constant string of pinch-me moments?

It sounds sad because obviously I should be enjoying those moments, but by the time something like a #1 is announced, I’d put the song out months ago, so we are already working ahead on the next project. But of course, we’ll always have a glass of wine or do something to celebrate.

Let’s talk tour! Aside from the fan favourites, how much new music can concertgoers expect to be amongst the first to hear?

I’m definitely going to play new songs. I want to make sure I play all the ones that people want to hear and that they know because when I go to a concert, I want to hear the hits. But I also really want to bring people into this new record, and that’s what you’ll get when you come to the show. I’m going to do some old, old songs that I first put out, and then this era of the last three years, and then the new era, including my favourites off the record. So, it’ll take us through the whole thing.

On Instagram, you’ve been asking what songs fans want on the setlist. Was there anything they were requesting early on that made you stop and go, ooh, maybe I actually should add that?

A lot of people were saying early, OG songs like “I Wish I’d Known,” which was the first song I put out in like 2013. I was not planning to play that song, but now I’ve got to go back and listen to it and relearn it. I also want to have moments where if somebody’s yelling from the crowd, you’ve got to play this song, I want to make sure that I can play it as well.

Performance outfits are half the fun of touring, and you’ve shared some try-on videos online. Talk to us about your on-stage style! How does it differ from your day-to-day fashion?

It differs quite a bit. I wouldn’t wear a sparkly dress—I’d actually probably be in sweatpants most of the time. But I always think that my stage style has the exaggerated outfits of my life. I love unique pieces. That process of shopping is so fun for me.

Opening these shows is our friend at Love at First Listen, Griffen Palmer. How did you connect, and how excited are you to have a fellow Canadian and labelmate on the road with you?

I actually cut a song that Griffen wrote called “Drinkin’ Songs,” so hopefully we’ll get to write some songs on the road too. But I’m really excited. His music’s incredible, and Canada has been the place that I have really been able to build a career. So, I always want to bring other Canadian acts out and support that industry because it does mean a lot to me and it is really the reason I get to do this for a living.

You’re also hosting your inaugural Country vs. Cancer benefit on November 20, where you’ll be joined in Nashville by Dustin Lynch, Walker Hayes, Lily Rose, and Nate Smith in support of the American Cancer Society. Why is it important for you to use your voice to amplify causes close to your heart?

What’s the point of having an audience if you can’t try to do some good with it too? I mean, making music and having people relate to your songs and being able to help get them through a hard time is incredible. But I do feel the responsibility to try to do more, and that cause is really close to my heart because my mom had breast cancer. So, this is raising money for all different types of cancers, but October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We had help in those times from family and friends and I want to be able to pay that forward as well.

Event poster announcing MacKenzie Porter's inaugural Country vs. Cancer benefit concert in Nashville on November 20, 2023.
After wrapping her debut Canadian headlining tour, MacKenzie Porter will head to Nashville to host her inaugural Country vs. Cancer benefit concert with former collaborators, labelmates, and other peers.

Spending so much time on the road, have you picked up any self-care secrets that help keep your mind, body, and voice healthy and ready for the next gig?

I definitely warm up for every show. I actually used to do a shot of vodka or something, but I’ve stopped doing that because I do feel like rest and keeping your body healthy when you’re going that much is so important. We do grueling days where it’s a 5 a.m. start, you travel all day and you play the show, and then you do it again the next day. So, I’m really trying to be healthy and clean to keep up with the schedule and not get rundown.

Do you have a message to send to your fans who will be seeing you at an upcoming show or to anyone who needs a final push to buy a ticket?

This Canadian tour is a first for me, so it’s a really special moment for me to get out and really thank people for the last five years or more of my career. They’ve shown up for me, and I hope we really show up for them on this tour. And after the show, I’m just going to be hanging out and meeting people and thanking people and taking pictures and all that until literally the last person leaves the venue. So, it will be a more intimate experience than just a regular show.

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