The C2C Sit Down with Tucker Wetmore
Last year, Tucker Wetmore cemented his place as one of country music’s hottest new acts and now has spread his wings by travelling across the pond to play at this years Country to Country Festivals in Germany, The Netherlands and The UK. With his debut album due next month and having notched back-to-back spots on Billboard's Hot 100 chart with his RIAA PLATINUM-certified debut singles “Wine Into Whiskey” and “Wind Up Missin' You” and surpassing over 780 million streams in less than a year, Washington-born singer-songwriter Tucker Wetmore is well on the way to becoming a certified breakout country star. We caught up with Tucker before he headed on to the Chris York Stage at this year’s festival in London
Since we're at the O2 for C2C, I feel like I should start by asking you how is it, how excited are you to be here?
I'm super excited, you know I've been looking forward to the show since we booked it and I just did sound check actually a couple minutes ago and just sitting on that stage and looking out and just the thousands of seats out there. It's a big venue knowing that there's gonna be people in those seats here in a couple hours it's I'm doing it, you know, I'm in London and I'm hanging out and I'm about to play one of the biggest shows that I've ever played and it's exciting.
You played your first ever Europe show in Berlin last weekend for C2C. How was that?
It was great, the crowd was awesome, they knew the songs which was super exciting, I wasn't expecting that if I'm being honest! All I know is just America touring and the markets over there but coming over here I just, I didn't know what to expect but they exceeded my expectations and it was super special.
Are they a very different crowd? Was the reaction very different to what you used to back home?
A little bit, they're more attentive and you gotta kind of get them going or else they'll kind of just sit there and enjoy it and like be super in the zone. America is just like partied the entire time, it was a bit of an adjustment. I loved it though.
Part of our team were over there and they said the same, that the fans were just obsessed with you, they loved it but the fans here were also super excited to see you on this year's lineup. How does it feel for you to have fans over here across the pond and for your music to be connecting with them across the world?
It feels great, a couple months ago, Wind Up Missing You went number one in the UK and they told me that, I was like really? And they're like yeah, I mean it's crushing it over there, I'm like that's sick, that's the coolest thing in the world but yeah, I'm super thankful and then I feel like I get DMs on Instagram all the time from people like, hey come to London! It's just cool that the whole world is so connected now and it's easy that. With streaming and everything, people can just get to you from a click of a button and it makes my job easier a little bit but there's still a lot that goes into it. I'm honoured that people over here are liking this stuff.
Since we're at the O2 for C2C, I feel like I should start by asking you how is it, how excited are you to be here?
I'm super excited, you know I've been looking forward to the show since we booked it and I just did sound check actually a couple minutes ago and just sitting on that stage and looking out and just the thousands of seats out there. It's a big venue knowing that there's gonna be people in those seats here in a couple hours it's I'm doing it, you know, I'm in London and I'm hanging out and I'm about to play one of the biggest shows that I've ever played and it's exciting.
You played your first ever Europe show in Berlin last weekend for C2C. How was that?
It was great, the crowd was awesome, they knew the songs which was super exciting, I wasn't expecting that if I'm being honest! All I know is just America touring and the markets over there but coming over here I just, I didn't know what to expect but they exceeded my expectations and it was super special.
Are they a very different crowd? Was the reaction very different to what you used to back home?
A little bit, they're more attentive and you gotta kind of get them going or else they'll kind of just sit there and enjoy it and like be super in the zone. America is just like partied the entire time, it was a bit of an adjustment. I loved it though.
Part of our team were over there and they said the same, that the fans were just obsessed with you, they loved it but the fans here were also super excited to see you on this year's lineup. How does it feel for you to have fans over here across the pond and for your music to be connecting with them across the world?
It feels great, a couple months ago, Wind Up Missing You went number one in the UK and they told me that, I was like really? And they're like yeah, I mean it's crushing it over there, I'm like that's sick, that's the coolest thing in the world but yeah, I'm super thankful and then I feel like I get DMs on Instagram all the time from people like, hey come to London! It's just cool that the whole world is so connected now and it's easy that. With streaming and everything, people can just get to you from a click of a button and it makes my job easier a little bit but there's still a lot that goes into it. I'm honoured that people over here are liking this stuff.
We've got such a good country fan base over here and that we got a load of festivals now. There's so much to talk about with you because you've had such an amazing year, all these different achievements that you're just knocking off left and right, but I want to talk about how you've performed and toured with so many amazing artists like Cameron Marlowe, Luke Bryan and you're going out with Thomas Rhett later this year. What's the tour experience like when you're out with these big artists?
It is so much fun, and all these guys are just down-to-earth good dudes that just love music, and I try my best to be a down-to-earth good dude too. It's nice to see real people behind the music and I've created good relationships with all these people, especially Cameron, Luke and I’m starting to build a relationship with Thomas. All these all these experiences, I'm learning and I'm a sponge in a lot of ways I just got here, and I started touring less than a year ago.
That's crazy that you're already going out on the road with Thomas Rhett and you've only been going like a year.
Isn't that crazy? It's nuts, but yeah, I mean, I'm just super blessed to be where I'm at and I think the best thing I could do right now is just learn and be a sponge and learn as much as I can so I can transfer everything that I like into my camp someday.
Obviously, working with all these different artists, if you could pick anyone that you haven't worked with, any artist, who would be your dream collaboration?
Oh gosh, like me and them on a song? Ooh. No pressure to put you on the spot. That's a lot of pressure. I mean, we were just talking about Thomas, I think a song with me and Thomas Rhett on it would be cool. I think female would probably be like Megan Moroney. I think me and her could make something really cool. I'm a huge Alan Jackson fan, that's probably my number one.
What you've achieved so far, your Grand Ole Opry debut, platinum certified singles, your own sold-out tour and the two songs on the Twister soundtrack as well. That's a lot! If you had to pick what would you be your favourite moment or the highlight of your career so far, would you say?
Right here, right now.
Over the Opry and everything?
It's all equal, isn't it? It's all different. They're all equal and they're all great in their own different ways and this one's fresh in my mind because I'm here right now, but I'm super excited to just be overseas and I never would have dreamed about coming over here, let alone doing what I love while being over here and I'm playing the freaking O2 tonight, which is insane.
It's kind of a bucket list moment, isn't it?
Absolutely. Hopefully it just keeps growing and hopefully I get to keep checking these boxes off because I'm having fun doing it. I feel like I'm running out of ink actually. I have to get a new pen!
Another bucket list moment surely will be your Ryman Auditorium headline debut show in May
It’s coming up. It sold out in no time, which is nuts and I wasn't expecting that, but it did. That's just a special place. A couple of weeks ago, I got to play a little event there through my label and it was just a different vibe being there. It was just super special and it feels like going back to church. I grew up in a church, my grandpa was a pastor, so it just felt like being home and it was super cool. I'm excited to do my own headline there. Hopefully it goes all right!
What else is on your bucket list for your career?
You know, there's definitely some venues that I'd love to play at. There’re definitely some personal goals that I want to check off. I guess my biggest thing is just keep enjoying it. You know, be happy, love every single aspect of it, which I do. I'm doing a good job at taking in the small moments and just loving every single second because I'm having so much fun and I plan on doing this for the rest of my life
It is so much fun, and all these guys are just down-to-earth good dudes that just love music, and I try my best to be a down-to-earth good dude too. It's nice to see real people behind the music and I've created good relationships with all these people, especially Cameron, Luke and I’m starting to build a relationship with Thomas. All these all these experiences, I'm learning and I'm a sponge in a lot of ways I just got here, and I started touring less than a year ago.
That's crazy that you're already going out on the road with Thomas Rhett and you've only been going like a year.
Isn't that crazy? It's nuts, but yeah, I mean, I'm just super blessed to be where I'm at and I think the best thing I could do right now is just learn and be a sponge and learn as much as I can so I can transfer everything that I like into my camp someday.
Obviously, working with all these different artists, if you could pick anyone that you haven't worked with, any artist, who would be your dream collaboration?
Oh gosh, like me and them on a song? Ooh. No pressure to put you on the spot. That's a lot of pressure. I mean, we were just talking about Thomas, I think a song with me and Thomas Rhett on it would be cool. I think female would probably be like Megan Moroney. I think me and her could make something really cool. I'm a huge Alan Jackson fan, that's probably my number one.
What you've achieved so far, your Grand Ole Opry debut, platinum certified singles, your own sold-out tour and the two songs on the Twister soundtrack as well. That's a lot! If you had to pick what would you be your favourite moment or the highlight of your career so far, would you say?
Right here, right now.
Over the Opry and everything?
It's all equal, isn't it? It's all different. They're all equal and they're all great in their own different ways and this one's fresh in my mind because I'm here right now, but I'm super excited to just be overseas and I never would have dreamed about coming over here, let alone doing what I love while being over here and I'm playing the freaking O2 tonight, which is insane.
It's kind of a bucket list moment, isn't it?
Absolutely. Hopefully it just keeps growing and hopefully I get to keep checking these boxes off because I'm having fun doing it. I feel like I'm running out of ink actually. I have to get a new pen!
Another bucket list moment surely will be your Ryman Auditorium headline debut show in May
It’s coming up. It sold out in no time, which is nuts and I wasn't expecting that, but it did. That's just a special place. A couple of weeks ago, I got to play a little event there through my label and it was just a different vibe being there. It was just super special and it feels like going back to church. I grew up in a church, my grandpa was a pastor, so it just felt like being home and it was super cool. I'm excited to do my own headline there. Hopefully it goes all right!
What else is on your bucket list for your career?
You know, there's definitely some venues that I'd love to play at. There’re definitely some personal goals that I want to check off. I guess my biggest thing is just keep enjoying it. You know, be happy, love every single aspect of it, which I do. I'm doing a good job at taking in the small moments and just loving every single second because I'm having so much fun and I plan on doing this for the rest of my life
Your debut EP, Waves on a Sunset, came out in October and you've got your new debut album, What Not To, coming out soon as well. 321's already out now as well.
When I first heard 321, I was like, this is immediately going on the record. I love this song. Um, but the whole record itself is just, it's me. I feel like everything happened so fast last year that nobody really got the chance to get to know me as a person. All they see is the songs and what they see on social media or what they hear- the rumours going around. I feel like this was my chance to for people to get to know me and where I'm from and who I am and why I am the way I am. I got down and dirty with this, this album. I kind of really dug deep with a lot of these songs and exciting. I'm super excited for people to get to hear it and notice the small things that I did within the album. Everything's super purposeful all the way down to the track list, like which song goes after the other all the way down and that's super purposeful. Like, this song goes with that one up top and this, it's going to be cool to see people decipher and like figure out, Oh, that's what he was talking about. I'm super excited.
I think we all are. I mean, at the rate that your other songs are going, I'm sure the album's going to go massive as well. You obviously have a good knack for songwriting, which also leads me on to my next question, which is what's the writing process for you? Where do you get your inspiration from and all that kind of thing?
It just depends. Usually, most of the time it's real life experiences, stuff I lived through and then I'll kind of put a twist on it to make it sound this way or like stuff like that, but it's all pulling from real life stuff or real life stuff that my friends are going through. I'm a very melodic writer. I like to write the melody first because I like a lot of what you feel behind the music is the melody. I'll try to then put a story behind that and then sometimes I'll have a story and then I'll put a melody over.
With your new songs, are we going to hear any of those new ones from the new album tonight on stage?
Quite a few actually. I'm playing a lot of new stuff, which I hope people don't mind, but I feel with the album coming up, people want to hear some new stuff. This is one of the first times that we'll be playing some of them. We've only played the new stuff probably like three times in different places, but this will be one of the first times that it's going out in the world. It's going to be cool. It's going to be so good
When I first heard 321, I was like, this is immediately going on the record. I love this song. Um, but the whole record itself is just, it's me. I feel like everything happened so fast last year that nobody really got the chance to get to know me as a person. All they see is the songs and what they see on social media or what they hear- the rumours going around. I feel like this was my chance to for people to get to know me and where I'm from and who I am and why I am the way I am. I got down and dirty with this, this album. I kind of really dug deep with a lot of these songs and exciting. I'm super excited for people to get to hear it and notice the small things that I did within the album. Everything's super purposeful all the way down to the track list, like which song goes after the other all the way down and that's super purposeful. Like, this song goes with that one up top and this, it's going to be cool to see people decipher and like figure out, Oh, that's what he was talking about. I'm super excited.
I think we all are. I mean, at the rate that your other songs are going, I'm sure the album's going to go massive as well. You obviously have a good knack for songwriting, which also leads me on to my next question, which is what's the writing process for you? Where do you get your inspiration from and all that kind of thing?
It just depends. Usually, most of the time it's real life experiences, stuff I lived through and then I'll kind of put a twist on it to make it sound this way or like stuff like that, but it's all pulling from real life stuff or real life stuff that my friends are going through. I'm a very melodic writer. I like to write the melody first because I like a lot of what you feel behind the music is the melody. I'll try to then put a story behind that and then sometimes I'll have a story and then I'll put a melody over.
With your new songs, are we going to hear any of those new ones from the new album tonight on stage?
Quite a few actually. I'm playing a lot of new stuff, which I hope people don't mind, but I feel with the album coming up, people want to hear some new stuff. This is one of the first times that we'll be playing some of them. We've only played the new stuff probably like three times in different places, but this will be one of the first times that it's going out in the world. It's going to be cool. It's going to be so good
I saw that you were very successful in sports before you moved into music.
Oh, back in my day.
What sort of prompted that shift for you? Is it a big change for you?
Yeah, yeah. There's a lot of similarities between music and sports, like working with the team aspect, learning how to work hard, learn how to work for something, you know? I definitely pulled those from my career, but it all ended with a knee injury and I was like, I can't do this no more. So I hung up the cleats and then I found music again and it sent me to London.
Well, sports is losses, music's gain. It's our gain over here.
It's my gain too.
Is there anything else coming up that you're really excited about?
Yeah. I mean, just the album. I'm super looking forward to it. We're working our butts off on getting it out. Um, the Thomas Rhett tour and, uh, just the year ahead, you know.
Amazing. Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate that.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
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 set to go on sale at 10am on Friday 21st March where you can find more details on the WEBSITE and socials (FACEBOOK X and INSTAGRAM)
Oh, back in my day.
What sort of prompted that shift for you? Is it a big change for you?
Yeah, yeah. There's a lot of similarities between music and sports, like working with the team aspect, learning how to work hard, learn how to work for something, you know? I definitely pulled those from my career, but it all ended with a knee injury and I was like, I can't do this no more. So I hung up the cleats and then I found music again and it sent me to London.
Well, sports is losses, music's gain. It's our gain over here.
It's my gain too.
Is there anything else coming up that you're really excited about?
Yeah. I mean, just the album. I'm super looking forward to it. We're working our butts off on getting it out. Um, the Thomas Rhett tour and, uh, just the year ahead, you know.
Amazing. Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate that.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
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 set to go on sale at 10am on Friday 21st March where you can find more details on the WEBSITE and socials (FACEBOOK X and INSTAGRAM)
