The C2C Sit Down with Adrien Nunez
When Adrien Nunez released his first single, Low Road, in August 2024 there was no way for the former college basketball player and Brooklyn native to know that just six months later he would be in Europe supporting Miles Smith on his UK tour and appearing on the festival stages at the Country to Country festival in Berlin, Rotterdam and London. With Low Road passing 20 million streams across all platforms, Adrien is set to release his debut 8 track EP of the same name in April and we took the chance to sit down with him as he came off stage for the final time in London.
You’ve completed C2C! You're done.
I am done! I'm gonna come out with Avery for her After Party show, which will be awesome just to play a song and then we're done But that's the last set done for sure!
So you've kind of completed your European country music March Madness. You’ve now played at the Berlin, Rotterdam and London on the Festival Stages and a few shows in between. How has the experience been from weekend to weekend?
Yeah, we did Rotterdam, we did Berlin, we did Hamburg Cologne and here and It's been awesome. I was on tour with Miles Smith too a few weeks ago, so we did all over the UK
I saw you were in Leeds, which I know well as that my University town
Yeah it definitely felt a bit of a student central town. I felt really old one at 25! I thought they were like high schoolers, but I love Leeds, Manchester, Dublin and Glasgow is awesome. I planted the seed with that a little bit and then now we've been this was really the March Madness - the big run with 15 sets or something!
I've tried to go to a few of your sets this weekend and they've just been getting bigger and bigger crowds each time.
Each time man it’s been insane. We're playing and to see people are seeing the sets and listening to the music is great and each set seems to be getting a little bit more crowded.
You’ve completed C2C! You're done.
I am done! I'm gonna come out with Avery for her After Party show, which will be awesome just to play a song and then we're done But that's the last set done for sure!
So you've kind of completed your European country music March Madness. You’ve now played at the Berlin, Rotterdam and London on the Festival Stages and a few shows in between. How has the experience been from weekend to weekend?
Yeah, we did Rotterdam, we did Berlin, we did Hamburg Cologne and here and It's been awesome. I was on tour with Miles Smith too a few weeks ago, so we did all over the UK
I saw you were in Leeds, which I know well as that my University town
Yeah it definitely felt a bit of a student central town. I felt really old one at 25! I thought they were like high schoolers, but I love Leeds, Manchester, Dublin and Glasgow is awesome. I planted the seed with that a little bit and then now we've been this was really the March Madness - the big run with 15 sets or something!
I've tried to go to a few of your sets this weekend and they've just been getting bigger and bigger crowds each time.
Each time man it’s been insane. We're playing and to see people are seeing the sets and listening to the music is great and each set seems to be getting a little bit more crowded.
You are just six months on now from releasing your first single. You’ve got a couple of headline shows coming up in the States and having done this is it all a bit surreal?
It feels like a dream. We're moving really fast, I don't really have time to really think about it! Tomorrow, I get on a plane back to Nashville and right when I land I'm not even going home. I'm going to rehearsal for the headline shows; then I wake up in the morning and I have writes; then I leave for the show. I really don't have time to process it! Anytime that I'm not playing shows, I'm writing. I'd rather just keep my head down and blast through all these beginning stages.
You were first known for promoting other artists. Do you slightly regret buying a car with red seats?
No, I actually customize that car by hand! When I picked the red seats, it just so happened that once I started posting it and then it became like The Red Seat! I was like, okay, they'll stay a little bit for the video, but yeah, I chose those red seats man. You know, looking back at it, I was like why the red seat?
But it worked out! We've got Shaboozey’s playing tonight, are you going to try and sneak in to the main arena to see that?
Yeah, I'll definitely be back there. I'll probably see him before he goes out and congratulate him after.
If you go back 5 years, you were playing college basketball at Michigan. This is a world away from there, in theory you probably would’ve predicted you’d be playing basketball in Europe in 5 years time than singing country music!
Yeah, it's a different reason for being in front of these people, but it is still awesome. I'm super grateful. I'm enjoying every second of it trying to just soak it in as much as I can, while still growing and keep my head down.
You released your latest track, Another Day, just last week. Is it a bit strange still in this early cycle releasing music, but not even being in America for the release as you’re here playing shows across Europe?
Yeah, it is insane. I haven't even processes that one either yet.
You did the shows with Miles a few weeks back, have you been back and forth or did you manage an extended trip here?
I was over here the two weeks with Miles and then I flew back for five days to finish This EP that I'm putting out on April 4th. I flew right back for Rotterdam, but I was kind of in the studio the entire time that I was back home. It’s pretty insane looking back already.
It feels like a dream. We're moving really fast, I don't really have time to really think about it! Tomorrow, I get on a plane back to Nashville and right when I land I'm not even going home. I'm going to rehearsal for the headline shows; then I wake up in the morning and I have writes; then I leave for the show. I really don't have time to process it! Anytime that I'm not playing shows, I'm writing. I'd rather just keep my head down and blast through all these beginning stages.
You were first known for promoting other artists. Do you slightly regret buying a car with red seats?
No, I actually customize that car by hand! When I picked the red seats, it just so happened that once I started posting it and then it became like The Red Seat! I was like, okay, they'll stay a little bit for the video, but yeah, I chose those red seats man. You know, looking back at it, I was like why the red seat?
But it worked out! We've got Shaboozey’s playing tonight, are you going to try and sneak in to the main arena to see that?
Yeah, I'll definitely be back there. I'll probably see him before he goes out and congratulate him after.
If you go back 5 years, you were playing college basketball at Michigan. This is a world away from there, in theory you probably would’ve predicted you’d be playing basketball in Europe in 5 years time than singing country music!
Yeah, it's a different reason for being in front of these people, but it is still awesome. I'm super grateful. I'm enjoying every second of it trying to just soak it in as much as I can, while still growing and keep my head down.
You released your latest track, Another Day, just last week. Is it a bit strange still in this early cycle releasing music, but not even being in America for the release as you’re here playing shows across Europe?
Yeah, it is insane. I haven't even processes that one either yet.
You did the shows with Miles a few weeks back, have you been back and forth or did you manage an extended trip here?
I was over here the two weeks with Miles and then I flew back for five days to finish This EP that I'm putting out on April 4th. I flew right back for Rotterdam, but I was kind of in the studio the entire time that I was back home. It’s pretty insane looking back already.
What can we expect from the EP as you’ve used some of the sets here to highlight a couple of songs and the release date is coming round so quickly!
Yeah, less than a month away. I think sonically this EP is very tight. You're gonna notice a quality increase as we've put a lot of time. It's not been as rushed as these other releases we’ve put out, so I feel like we've had a little bit more time to fine-tune it and all that stuff.
Now there's obviously a whole new following for you from fans in the Netherlands, German, across England and obviously here in London.
Yeah, it has been insane. I feel like the first seed was planted with Miles and being in front of that crowd and realising how welcoming they were. Then there’s been a lot of fans from those shows and coming to the set so it's pretty cool
When you first put Low Road out back in August, was there a vision of where that song might take you or was it or just a case of this is the song I want to put out and this has got my stamp on it to introduce me to the world of country music as an artist?
I was writing for like six months before I put that song. I was just writing and I knew I wanted to put a song out. I was still obviously doing the influencer stuff, but once we got Low Road, I was like, okay, this sounds really good to me. Never in a million years, if you told me six months ago, I'd be in London performing here I would have thought you were crazy. You can't look too far ahead. I feel like I'm just trying to take each step one at a time, so now that we're kind of done with this, the next step is rehearsal for a headline and then nailing the headline dates and then having the EP come out. I can’t look too far ahead as things are happening so quickly
Is it quite hard to make a bit of a bucket list at the minute because things are just happening so quickly?
Things are constantly happening and everything's kind of last minute too. I just got on the scene and festivals are coming in last second. A lot of them are booked, but they're trying to stick me in last second now that we're doing all this, so I couldn't even tell you what my next couple months looks like. Hopefully in another six months we're playing even bigger shows. Right now though, I'm just grateful to be up there man. I just started, so they could have stuck me on the smallest outside stage and I would have been grateful to be here, but they were graceful enough to put me on that big stage and I'm glad that people showed up.
Yeah, less than a month away. I think sonically this EP is very tight. You're gonna notice a quality increase as we've put a lot of time. It's not been as rushed as these other releases we’ve put out, so I feel like we've had a little bit more time to fine-tune it and all that stuff.
Now there's obviously a whole new following for you from fans in the Netherlands, German, across England and obviously here in London.
Yeah, it has been insane. I feel like the first seed was planted with Miles and being in front of that crowd and realising how welcoming they were. Then there’s been a lot of fans from those shows and coming to the set so it's pretty cool
When you first put Low Road out back in August, was there a vision of where that song might take you or was it or just a case of this is the song I want to put out and this has got my stamp on it to introduce me to the world of country music as an artist?
I was writing for like six months before I put that song. I was just writing and I knew I wanted to put a song out. I was still obviously doing the influencer stuff, but once we got Low Road, I was like, okay, this sounds really good to me. Never in a million years, if you told me six months ago, I'd be in London performing here I would have thought you were crazy. You can't look too far ahead. I feel like I'm just trying to take each step one at a time, so now that we're kind of done with this, the next step is rehearsal for a headline and then nailing the headline dates and then having the EP come out. I can’t look too far ahead as things are happening so quickly
Is it quite hard to make a bit of a bucket list at the minute because things are just happening so quickly?
Things are constantly happening and everything's kind of last minute too. I just got on the scene and festivals are coming in last second. A lot of them are booked, but they're trying to stick me in last second now that we're doing all this, so I couldn't even tell you what my next couple months looks like. Hopefully in another six months we're playing even bigger shows. Right now though, I'm just grateful to be up there man. I just started, so they could have stuck me on the smallest outside stage and I would have been grateful to be here, but they were graceful enough to put me on that big stage and I'm glad that people showed up.
Talking of big stages, last weekend in Berlin you played the Spotlight Stage as well. How did it feel to get that experience in the main arena?
Yeah. It's insane. I can't believe it dude, I'm happy anyone shows up! I was telling Graham Barham I'm taking pictures with people and I'm trying to recruit them to come because I'm worried what if nobody shows up, but everybody showed up. It was great.
Is it kind of good to know that we are here and fans have taken to you this side of the pond?
Yes, I'm so glad I did this. This was a great, you know playing the set internationally is huge. It's a whole new fan base that I feel like doesn't get massaged as much as it should. I'm glad we're building this fan base out here and hopefully we're doing some headline stuff next.
Yeah. It's insane. I can't believe it dude, I'm happy anyone shows up! I was telling Graham Barham I'm taking pictures with people and I'm trying to recruit them to come because I'm worried what if nobody shows up, but everybody showed up. It was great.
Is it kind of good to know that we are here and fans have taken to you this side of the pond?
Yes, I'm so glad I did this. This was a great, you know playing the set internationally is huge. It's a whole new fan base that I feel like doesn't get massaged as much as it should. I'm glad we're building this fan base out here and hopefully we're doing some headline stuff next.
With College Basketball’s March Madness set to starting, do you miss it a bit?
I miss the locker room. I miss hanging out with the guys. I'm at peace though with the game of basketball, but obviously the camaraderie and the brotherhood and all that stuff I definitely do miss but I don't really miss the game too much.
When you started doing the TikTok videos at college, was ultimately just a bit of fun?
It was right before Covid and I was just bored! I was trying to get some Instagram followers and then it became my main thing for a little bit! They started as just me wanting to do it because I enjoyed it versus thinking I'm gonna make a career out of this. Even now, as focused as I am with my music career, I have to enjoy it or else it won't pan out
Well, we're happy you found your way here and it’s been great seeing a couple of sets. This festival is so different that you get to play so many sets across the days instead of playing one short set and heading home.
There was a Berlin day where we had four sets and we've been doing like two a day here. It's great though. I love it. I'm trying to get better at the performing side of things as it is way different than recording and writing. It's a whole different skill, a whole different way of singing and breathing, so I'm just trying to nail that down and sort my stage presence and everything. I feel like the more I do it the better I'll get.
My only request is next time we need a full band show.
Hell Yeah, I'm so excited to get the full band going and we're doing that for the headline stuff and the shows that we're opening for Luke Bryan. It'll be really exciting as it's all just a surreal couple of months coming up - including these past few weeks.
We can’t wait to see where else 2025 takes you and we’re so glad you found the time to fit in these two weekends.
Thank you so much.
Adrien Nunez will release his deput EP on April 4th and you can pre-save it HERE
C2C: Country to Country will return to Berlin in 2026 across the weekend of March 6th to 8th where you will be able to find more details on their WEBSITE and keep in the loop regarding lineups and ticket information on INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK. Then we will see you again in London (or maybe even Belfast/Glasgow) a week later across March 13th to 15th with early bird tickets on sale now where you can find more details on the WEBSITE and socials (FACEBOOK X and INSTAGRAM)
I miss the locker room. I miss hanging out with the guys. I'm at peace though with the game of basketball, but obviously the camaraderie and the brotherhood and all that stuff I definitely do miss but I don't really miss the game too much.
When you started doing the TikTok videos at college, was ultimately just a bit of fun?
It was right before Covid and I was just bored! I was trying to get some Instagram followers and then it became my main thing for a little bit! They started as just me wanting to do it because I enjoyed it versus thinking I'm gonna make a career out of this. Even now, as focused as I am with my music career, I have to enjoy it or else it won't pan out
Well, we're happy you found your way here and it’s been great seeing a couple of sets. This festival is so different that you get to play so many sets across the days instead of playing one short set and heading home.
There was a Berlin day where we had four sets and we've been doing like two a day here. It's great though. I love it. I'm trying to get better at the performing side of things as it is way different than recording and writing. It's a whole different skill, a whole different way of singing and breathing, so I'm just trying to nail that down and sort my stage presence and everything. I feel like the more I do it the better I'll get.
My only request is next time we need a full band show.
Hell Yeah, I'm so excited to get the full band going and we're doing that for the headline stuff and the shows that we're opening for Luke Bryan. It'll be really exciting as it's all just a surreal couple of months coming up - including these past few weeks.
We can’t wait to see where else 2025 takes you and we’re so glad you found the time to fit in these two weekends.
Thank you so much.
Adrien Nunez will release his deput EP on April 4th and you can pre-save it HERE
C2C: Country to Country will return to Berlin in 2026 across the weekend of March 6th to 8th where you will be able to find more details on their WEBSITE and keep in the loop regarding lineups and ticket information on INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK. Then we will see you again in London (or maybe even Belfast/Glasgow) a week later across March 13th to 15th with early bird tickets on sale now where you can find more details on the WEBSITE and socials (FACEBOOK X and INSTAGRAM)
