By: Jessica Hatchett
Photo By @TheMooreCreative
Q) How does your music blend your upbringing in Britain with your current life in Nashville?
A) I think the British side of me comes through in the honesty, humor and little British sayings I sneak into my songwriting! I grew up listening to so many different styles of music from British pop and rock to American country so I’ve never fitted neatly into one box. Nashville has encouraged me to lean even further into storytelling and country instrumentation, but I still bring that British rock energy with me. I like that my music sits somewhere between the two worlds it feels like a genuine reflection of who I am.
Q) Did relocating to Nashville influence the sound of Sedona Sunrise or was the album already taking shape before the move?
A) The album was already taking shape long before I moved. Some of these songs date back to 2020, so it almost became a musical time capsule of everything that led me to Nashville. However, moving here definitely influenced the way I heard the album as a complete body of work. Nashville gave me the confidence to fully embrace the country rock direction and helped the final pieces fall into place. In many ways, the album documents the road that brought me here.
Q) You’ve said this album feels like “starting all over again in the best possible way.” What triggered that sense of rebirth?
A) It came from letting go of the version of my career and myself that I thought I had to hold onto. I’ve been releasing and touring for ten years and it’s very easy to become defined by what you’ve already done or what people expect from you. Moving to Nashville this summer and releasing my first album Jaded back in 2024 felt like it closed such a huge chapter of my life and made me feel like I had a completely blank page again! It’s scary, but it’s also incredibly freeing. I’m still proud of everything that came before but I feel more certain now about who I am and the music I want to make.
Q) Sedona Sunrise spans ten years of your life, from 2016 to now. Which moment was the hardest to write about and why?
A) “Unfamiliar Places” was probably one of the hardest. It came from a period when I was struggling quite badly with depression and having recurring dreams about being guided by someone who felt like a loved one I’d lost. Writing it meant confronting feelings that I didn’t fully understand at the time. It’s a very vulnerable song, but creating something beautiful from that period also helped me to make peace with it.
Q) In contrast, is there a song you found much easier to write?
A) “Mockingbird” came together very naturally. Ironically, it was written after a period of writer’s block but once the phrase “Mockingbird it keeps on mockin’ me” appeared, the rest of the song seemed to follow it! It felt like the song was already there and I just had to uncover it. Sometimes the easiest songs to write are the ones that arrive before you have time to overthink them.
Q) Do you have a particular lyric that has stayed with you? Why do you think that’s the case?
A) “Mockingbird, it keep on mockin’ me” has really stayed with me. It a little bit humorous but it captures that feeling of watching the thing you want remain just out of reach or something in life going wrong when things are going good, especially when you’re questioning whether you’re still on the right path. I’ve had plenty of moments like that throughout my career. The lyric reminds me that the difficult and frustrating parts are still part of the plot they don’t necessarily mean the story is over.
Q) Your track “Tea for Two” hit #1 on the iTunes Country Charts in the UK and Poland. How did you feel when it resonated internationally the way it did?
A) It was completely surreal. “Tea for Two” is such a theatrical, dark and slightly unhinged song. It’s basically Tarantino meets Nashville, so seeing people in different countries connect with it was brilliant. Reaching number one in both the UK and Poland reminded me that storytelling can travel much further than you expect.
Q) You’ve had the opportunity to work with Jeff Cohen and Blue Foley. What was that experience like compared to writing solo?
A) Writing alone allows me to disappear completely into my own thoughts, whereas co-writing brings an energy and perspective that I couldn’t create by myself. Writers like Jeff and Blue understand how to find the heart of an idea and ask the questions that open it up. Blue was part of my first Nashville co-write, which became “Memory Lane,” so that experience was particularly special. Co-writing requires you to be vulnerable much more quickly, but it can also take a song somewhere you never would have reached on your own!
Q) What qualities do you look for in someone that you co-write or co-produce with?
A) The most important thing is feeling comfortable enough to be completely honest. Songwriting can become very personal very quickly so I need to work with people who listen, leave their ego outside the room and genuinely care about serving the song. I also love collaborators who aren’t afraid of unusual ideas. Some of my songs begin with slightly strange concepts, so I need someone who will explore that with me rather than immediately trying to make it safer or more conventional.
Q) You’ve built a massive online following of over 200 million views and half a million followers. How has social media helped to shape your career?
A) Social media has allowed me to build a career without waiting for somebody else to give me permission! It’s helped my music reach people all over the world, sold tickets, introduced listeners to my life and created a community that has grown alongside me. At the same time, I’ve had to learn not to let numbers determine how I feel about the music. Social media can make you believe every song or post has to perform instantly, but for me the most meaningful connections happen on tour. I try to use it as a way of bringing people into my world while remembering that the music has to come first.
Q) Now that Sedona Sunrise is out, what’s next for you? Are you back working on some new music already?
A) Absolutely! I’m always writing. Sedona Sunrise closes a ten-year chapter, but moving to Nashville has already given me so many new stories and experiences to draw from. I’m excited to discover what my music sounds like when it isn’t looking back quite as much. For now, I want to enjoy bringing this album to life, playing the songs live and allowing people to form their own relationships with them. But the next chapter has definitely begun and there is already new music taking shape!