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

Love at First Listen with Devin Cooper

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Devin Cooper 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.

Country artist Devin Cooper and his fans might know better than anyone right now that ‘good things take time.’ Since releasing his debut ‘Good Things’ EP in 2022, Devin has been hard at work writing and recording new music, perfecting his sound, playing shows, growing his audience, and living and enjoying life on the side (the musical inspiration has to come from somewhere!). His fans, meanwhile, have ate up a successful string of standalone singles, including this year’s “She’s My Religion” and “Wanted Man.”

Devin is now expanding his ‘Good Things’ sonic universe with ‘Good Things: Deluxe Edition,’ which features those standalone singles and two brand-new tracks — “Leave It To Chance” and “Dying To Be Seen.” Like the EP, the full album also includes live acoustic recordings that elevate each song’s raw emotions and country-rock vocals to a whole new level.

Join in the ‘Good Things: Deluxe Edition’ release day celebrations and read our new chat with Devin where he spills the tea on the “little lessons” he’s learned throughout life, the ideal album listening experience, and your next chance to see him live.

You recently played several summer festivals including NXNE, Cavendish Beach Music Festival, and Calgary Stampede. How else has 2024 been treating you?

This year has been chaotic in the best way possible. It’s been a lot of running around literally all over the country, like you said, and there’s been a ton of shows, a lot of fun, and getting ready for this album to come out.

Why did you decide to continue the ‘Good Things’ era versus releasing an entirely new album or EP?

As I started writing new songs that were supposed to be set for my sophomore record, I realized that I hadn’t really said everything I wanted to say on that first EP. The new stories were still a continuation of this ‘Good Things’ story. I wanted to put everything together to finish the story before I moved on to the next thing.

You released “Underdog” at the end of 2022, “The Other Guy” and “What You Don’t Know” in 2023, and “She’s My Religion” and “Wanted Man” this year. How has the response been to those songs, and did any of that feedback impact the way you went into finishing this album?

I feel very fortunate to have a lot of great support from the local Alberta radio stations, as well as from all the fans showing up to all the shows. It’s cool to see this growing a little bit at a time and see more people coming on board with that steady trajectory that you always want to have. I was able to look again at the whole story and the whole picture that was unfolding with these songs and how they all kind of integrated and work together, and how they really were a part of that ‘good things take time’ story. It’s basically all the little lessons that I’ve learned at this point in my life.

Were any of these new songs ready or in progress when you were putting together the initial EP? How long has this full-length, double-album concept been in your back pocket?

I’d always wanted to do a double album, but I wasn’t sure if it was going to be a continuation of the ‘Good Things’ project at first. I wrote “Dying To Be Seen” back in early 2019 – actually the same weekend writing retreat that we wrote “Wanted Man.” I’d been trying to figure out the best place to put it because I felt like it wasn’t necessarily a single but it was a really great song to wrap up an album. As we were going through all of the context of what we’d had in this record and the lessons I had touched on throughout the album, that song in particular was one that I went back on and was like, I think we have to add this one. I’m excited for it to come out and for everybody to hear it.

You recorded the live acoustic tracks in Calgary with 40 of your biggest supporters in the studio. Why was it important for you to include those on the initial EP and then again on the full album, and did you approach the acoustic recordings any differently than the studio recordings?

It was an experience that I had never done before. We were in the studio where we recorded all of the full band stuff, except we were just set up in a row with 40 seats in front of us. Everyone in the room had their own set of headphones so they could listen to the producers talk to us from the control room. We did two takes of every song, so the first take, the whole audience was completely quiet, and then the second take, we had them clap at the end. It was cool to see the excitement on their faces and watch them be able to listen to the producers tell us what to adjust for the next take. They really got to see behind the scenes of how songs are recorded and how they come to life.

There is always so much magic in those intimate shows where fans want to record every song, but in this case they wouldn’t have to do that. It’s right here on the album for them.

That was really cool. No one was allowed to bring any of their cell phones, but we had disposable cameras that we put under a few different seats for people to take pictures throughout the night. We were able to develop those and get some really cool photos from the night through the audience’s perspective of what they were seeing. And yeah, it’s really cool because no one had to film it, no one had to record it. We did all that for them. So, we could give that copy to everybody who attended that night and then release it to the world.

You’ve already shared your excitement on Instagram that this album is your first vinyl release. As an artist who is also a music lover, what does that mean to you, and can you share some of the vinyl releases you’ve loved at first listen over the years?

Vinyl is something I’ve always wanted to do, and with this deluxe edition project, it was something I knew we had to do. Just taking it over the top and having it made right here in Calgary was really cool as well. So, getting that first vinyl and being able to open it and really see it in my hands was an unbelievable experience. Growing up, I listened to a lot of my parents’ records, which were like old Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, and then big hair metal and hard rock bands like AC/DC and Judas Priest and Mötley Crüe. It’s cool to be able to add this to the collection amongst all those names that I listened to.

The vinyl is split into a side A and side B, plus sides C and D for the respective acoustic recordings. When you were putting the final track list together, was that a consideration at all?

Absolutely. When I first put the track listing together, it was a collaborative effort between me and my producers, and we kind of went back and forth and built this story as one complete story. It was interesting when I then got the vinyl and was able to actually listen to side A and then stop and flip it over and listen to side B. It is almost two separate stories the way that they’ve been split up, and it’s cool because that actually wasn’t even an intentional thought. It gives it another perspective because if you’re listening digitally, you’re going to listen to all 11 in order, but with the vinyl, you have that break you can’t really avoid.

I feel like we now have to go back and listen to the album again! So, what ultimately is the message that you hope to leave fans with once they get to the end of these 11, or technically 22, tracks (including the live acoustic recordings!)?

It’s basically just that good things take time and enjoy the process because we only get to do this once. I know for me, a lot of the growth and learning that I did was learning to enjoy the moment and enjoy what’s happening right in front of me, rather than looking at the destination of where I’m trying to go. We can get so caught up in trying to get to where we’re going, sometimes we forget about the things that are happening around us in the middle of it.

If someone is just discovering you for the first time, what three songs would you recommend they play to get the best representation of Devin Cooper the artist?

Man, that’s a tough question. I would say… the title track “Good Things,” “Underdog,” and if I have to pick only one more, I think “Dying To Be Seen.” It has a little more of the Southern rock, swampy edge to it and pays tribute to some of the stuff I listened to growing up.

How do you plan to celebrate the release of the ‘Good Things: Deluxe Edition,’ and should fans be on the lookout for any new tour dates so they can further join in the festivities?

We had a very small, exclusive listening party with a bunch of my closest fans and supporters and some family. As the record comes out, we’re also going to be announcing a bunch of shows that will be happening throughout September, October, and November. People can stay tuned for lots of exciting stuff coming.

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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, Music Monday

Love at First Listen with Madisyn Gifford

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Madisyn Gifford 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.

We all know the giddy, giggly, swinging-my-feet feelings associated with a new crush. Get ready to reminisce on being seventeen again: Vancouver pop darling Madisyn Gifford captures all of the fear, excitement, and embarrassment associated with new love, this time experienced as an adult on her new summer single “Seventeen,” which dropped on a pretty significant day—her 24th birthday.

Love at First Listen caught up with Madisyn to chat about how the song came together in personal record time, why her next album will be her happiest yet, and which tracks fans might be most excited to claim.

First of all, happy belated birthday! How excited were you to celebrate the release of “Seventeen” on such a big day for yourself both personally and professionally?

I love birthdays so much. I love any excuse to celebrate. So, getting to have two things on that day was fun. I’ve also been out of the release cycle rhythm for a while. For three years I was putting out music pretty much every six to 12 weeks almost like clockwork, but I haven’t done it in almost a year now. It’s been a nice break and I’m excited to get back into it.

Can you take us behind the scenes of your creative process? You worked with Jared Manierka, who has worked extensively with artists like Carly Rae Jepsen. How long had you been sitting on this song and how much of it did you have in mind when you first went into the studio?

It’s funny because this is actually one of the most recent songs we’ve written for the record that we’re working on right now. I brought it to Jared two and a half months ago, which in record release time is not a very long time ago. We just had so much fun making it and it came together really quickly, which doesn’t always happen. I have a song on this record that we’ve been trying to make for almost three years. I wrote this myself on my guitar in like 10 minutes and then we made it into this fun little folky, sort of country-esque song, which is the music I’ve always wanted to make.

Your music is very fresh but nostalgic at the same time. It’s folk-tinged pop but you can also hear some country influences, especially on “Seventeen.” Who are some artists that you’ve loved at first listen as you shaped your sound?

My go-to answer is always Ani DiFranco. She was my songwriting icon my whole life. I literally think I learned songwriting from just listening to her discography on loop as a kid. The Chicks, love them so much. Taylor Swift… I’m a girl in her 20s, so she has been a crazy influence for me my whole life. “Mr. Jones” was my favorite song while growing up and Counting Crows is one of my favorite bands. The list could go on forever… Stevie Nicks, obviously. Come on!

This is the first single off a forthcoming album. How is it going, and where does “Seventeen” fit in its sonic world?

We chose “Seventeen” as the lead single because I feel like it is a decent representation of the entire record. This record is going to be my happiest album I’ve ever made. Don’t worry, there will still be sad songs, but it’s definitely the happiest one I’ve made thus far in my career. It’s going to be called ‘A Quiet Contemplation of Sunshine.’ It’s very summery and folky, but poppy still and very fun. It has lots of live instrumentation and not a lot of pop synth sort of production, which is new for me. So, I’m really excited.

You mentioned embracing a summer vibe. Can fans expect to hear more of the album soon?

We fought to try and get it done earlier this summer, but we’re still chipping away at it. It should hopefully be coming out in October, but there will be more singles and stuff to come throughout the summer for sure.

Ahead of your last record ‘Sleeping on the Ceiling,’ you said your only goal was to write songs that scare you. When you’re writing bits of lyrics in your Notes app and bringing those lyrics to life in the studio, how do you push yourself to be vulnerable and pour everything out on paper?           

It’s interesting because with this record, I almost had the exact opposite mindset as I did on my last one. I’ve never been very good at writing happy music, but especially on this record because I’m in such a different phase of my life, I feel like I’ve kind of figured things out a little bit. In my mind, I’m not a teenager anymore. I’m a generally happy person now, which is cool—I worked hard to get there! I wanted to write an album that represented that, so I think my mindset going into this one was like, how can I truly represent what’s going on in my brain in my day-to-day life and not just delve into past things that I’ve already kind of sorted through? I don’t need to keep digging up that old stuff, you know. Whereas on ‘Sleeping on the Ceiling,’ I was still really trying to sift through things and figure out my stuff and it shows on the record. I was trying to figure out my brain and my trauma and what was going on up in there, but now I’m like, okay, I did that. Let’s move on!

Do you feel that writing and recording this music and putting it out helped you get through those emotions so that you are now in the position where the next record can be happier and more upbeat and all those things naturally?

100%. For new friends I meet, I’m always like, if you listen to my music in order, you’re going to be able to find out an absurd amount of things about me because [everything] is so autobiographical. When you go back through every record, they all feed into each other. Every single outro leads into the next intro, and they all tell a really clear story of my life from like, 20 years old and onward.

Have you started building the tracklist for this next record, and are there any song titles that might catch our eye?

Oh, that’s a really good question because I’m the same way. I love a good tracklist. I do have the tracklist pretty much done—not in order but done. The title track, “A Quiet Contemplation of Sunshine,” is going to be the first track. There’s also going to be a song on there called “Father’s Day.” That is the song we’ve been working on for like three years and just trying to make it work, but I think it finally works on this record. There’s another one called “Fast One” and one called “Overpriced” that I’m excited to share.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received about making music that you can pass along to anyone reading this who may want to follow in your footsteps?

Something I tell literally every single person I know is if you have kids or you know anyone who is thinking about going into the music industry and making music, please encourage them to write their own music. Write your stuff and get credits for what you’re writing because it’s everything. I don’t think people realize when they’re first starting out how much it matters. Pretty much one of the only ways that you can make money in this industry is through publishing, and it’s just such a special ability to have to be able to write not only for yourself but for others. Someone told me that when I was around 17 and I decided I wanted to do this. He sat me down and was like, the only thing I can tell you is just write as much as you possibly can. It just takes one song, if you get one song that does well, it’s all it takes. So, just keep writing.

To wrap up, where can people find and follow you online?

Everything is just madisyngifford with a Y instead of an O because my parents wanted to make things difficult for me. And my TikTok is maddyg.raps because that’s what people called me in high school!

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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, Music Monday

Love at First Listen with Genevieve Fisher

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Genevieve Fisher 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.

Nominated for Songwriter of the Year at this year’s CMAOntario Awards and already dubbed an Artist on the Rise by Pure Country Radio, Genevieve Fisher is racking up buzz within the country music scene. While she’s hard at work on a concept album due out later this year, Genevieve has gifted fans with “Now We’re Talking,” a heartwarming country bop about falling in love with a boy from the bar and building a life together—a story that meets Genevieve exactly where she is in life right now.

To celebrate the one-month anniversary of the song’s release, Love at First Listen connected with Genevieve to get the inside scoop on recording “Now We’re Talking” in a closet, balancing mom duties with songwriting sessions, and what to expect from her next.

Let’s talk about “Now We’re Talking.” As it heads out to Canadian country radio, tell us how you landed upon this song and what it means to you.

My producer Jason Massey was one of the co-writers on the song along with Steven Lee Olsen, MacKenzie Porter, and Lydia Vaughan. Back in the summer, I had reached out to him asking if he had any potential songs that would be a good fit for a radio single. He sent me this one, and I fell in love with it right away. The first thing I asked was, “But is it up for grabs?” Sometimes you get a song sent to you, but it might be on hold or whatever. So, he reached out to MacKenzie and was like, “Hey, do you have any intentions of recording this one?” She went back to her people, chatted with them, and she said, “No, it’s up for grabs.” So, I was very happy to get my hands on the song. I actually met my husband in a bar called Cowboys and we’ve been together ever since, so the lyrics of the song really hit home for me.

I read that you and Steven Lee Olsen have collaborated before, so this song must have been extra special.

On one of my first writing trips down to Nashville, I actually co-wrote with him and Jason Blaine. So, that was — my gosh — back in 2011 or maybe even earlier. He’s just a phenomenal guy and songwriter, and he’s hilarious as well.

What we all love about music is that because it’s so universal, something you didn’t necessarily write can still resonate with you. How would you relate that to “Now We’re Talking,” and are you hoping this song is going to manifest future collaborations with that great country bunch?

The last verse of the song talks about having two kids, a couple acres or two… My husband and I recently built a house out in the country, so you’re right that certain songs you don’t write can feel like they are your song because of just how much you can relate. I would love to collab with MacKenzie Porter in the future. And with Steven, I haven’t written with him for a while, but it would be great to get back in a room together for sure.

“Now We’re Talking” was produced in Nashville, but you recorded your vocals at home in your closet! How do you make the space cozy and conducive to getting clean vocal cuts?

I started recording vocals at home when COVID hit, which was a whole new ballgame for me. I’m not a techy person at all, but I get cozied up in my closet and I’ll throw blankets and towels down to dampen the sound a bit more, though the clothes help as well. It’s just a good spot, but hopefully down the road, I’ll build a little home studio and have it as my writing and vocal space.

You’re officially in your “mom era” but I know you still have a lot of music left in you. How are you embracing and balancing being a mom with everything around being an artist?

I think it’s just finding that happy medium. This is a time in my life that I’ll never get back, so I want to make sure I’m super present for my sons, but music is still such a part of me. I do a lot of my writing now from home, which makes it a bit easier to work on music. I also really want to show other independent female artists that you can absolutely still have a baby and be successful. Some days are harder than others. Some days my brain is like, what is happening?

Are you able to sneak “Now We’re Talking” or one of your other singles into a car playlist or have it on around the house? How do your sons react?

I laugh because I’m like, [my son] Cal should know the words to that song even though he was like three months old when I sang it. But [my other son] Harrison’s kind of funny. He’s three and he hasn’t quite grasped my voice yet. So, he’ll hear a song and be like, “Mama, is this your song?” I’m like, “No. We’ve got to work on this, bud. You’ve got to be able to decipher my voice from someone else’s!” But it is cute.

Not only is it resonating with all ages, but “Now We’re Talking” is such an upbeat and fun love song that’s practically begging to be performed live! What do you have in store musically for the rest of the year?

My first show of the summer is actually Canada Day in Grand Bend, Ontario, and I’m super pumped about that. They expect thousands of people, so that’ll be a ton of fun. I have more shows later in the summer that I haven’t announced yet and hope to add more as I ease back into this. It’ll be fun to bring the boys to the shows as well.

From what you’ve written for your next project so far, what is the vibe shaping up to be, especially compared to what fans have heard from you before?

Some of the songs are a bit slower and more emotional. I feel like in the past, I’ve been so focused on releasing fast, fun, upbeat, party drinking songs, whereas right now I’m just rolling with this time of my life. One of the songs that I wrote with my good friend Shantaia is about my son Harrison and we wrote that a few years ago, but it hasn’t been released yet anywhere. Another one of the songs is like Chris Stapleton and that very soulful vibe, and that’s more of a love song. I feel like when people listen to this album, it truly will be what I’m hoping, which is to have the different parts of my life have different sounds as well.

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