On July 22nd, Kentucky native Kyle Daniel released his debut full length album – Kentucky Gold. Daniel, whose new album offers a Southern Rock and Country fusion, is no stranger to country music fans across Europe and will be returning to the UK later this month to play at The Long Road Festival in Lutterworth in addition to opening for Southall during their UK tour. Following the release of the album, we caught up with Kyle to find out more as he prepares for the upcoming shows.
How are you Kyle? Man, I’m doing really good. It's about to come a thunderstorm here in good old, Kentucky, so they're probably batting down right now!!
How have you been? Yeah, it's been really good, you know, I've been kind of patiently waiting this whole thing out and understanding that that's probably my biggest strength and weakness all in the same breath - it's hard to be patient. When you are holding on to something like this, that is your intellectual property, your heart and soul, it's tough man. When I woke up the day that the record got released, I thought like man it's just gonna be another day, but dude I went through a host of emotions that day! I've learned that since Archie's been born what a softy I really am. I woke up to a really nice review first thing that morning and that kind of set the tone because it hit me at that moment that not only had I started building something, I've played in the United States for years, but I've built something which I feel to be very special in the UK and Europe and Kentucky Gold was received exactly how I wanted it to be received. I have created these moments for people, so they are able to find themselves in some of these songs. It was just a beautiful day, man start to finish and I had a high school class reunion that night. We had a big party, but we had a ball all day long. It was great.
When we spoke back in Berlin in March, you were saying how you'd sat on some of these songs for three to five years almost now. Yeah, I think that having something that long and holding on to it is hard. I heard the first mix and I was like, okay can we master this and put this thing out next week? That's where I am with it. I want to write them and get them out into the universe and it's not always that easy. And you know, I didn't pick the most prime time to go record these songs because that was in the midst of COVID, like in the heat of COVID as a matter of fact, and so it was just tough man because everybody at that time was trying to take care of what they had. They didn't want to listen to new music from a new artist nobody had really heard of, that just wasn't that wasn't on anybody's radar.
Obviously, you are now on people’s radar with your first full album. You co-wrote every single track on it too! That is all my work on it man! When I first started this Kyle Daniel journey I played with other people, and I played in bands. When I started this whole Kyle Daniel thing, the goal for me was to have songs that I felt like were representative of who I am and how I wanted to be remembered. I wanted good songs that people will enjoy. When I leave, people are gonna stay, so I want people to have a good grip on who Kyle Daniel was. I wanted them to be something that my friends and family could talk about for years and years to come and for people all around the world to share it. These are some good songs. I think it is a great accomplishment to have a part in every one of them that's for sure.
And there's some really cool guest vocalists on the album too. Some people have none some have one on an album - you went all in here! Yeah. I don't think we're done either! I think there may be a reprise as a matter of fact with a special guest! I think that this has been one of those call your buddies and get together sort of scenarios and let's make the best of the best. Let's try to go for it full force - you need a girl like oh, yeah, let me call my girl Maggie; she would be perfect for this! Oh, you want like that southern guy? Okay, I'll call my buddy Kendall and obviously Jaren. With Jaren, he had co-written the song and was an obvious one to sing on it! Thank God it worked out because dude I just I love that guy. I've known him since I was like 15 years old so I'm not gonna tell you how long that is, but he he's a great guy, great dude, and a hell of a musician. You don't get a better songwriter than Jaren Johnston. He could write it all! He's killer!
I feel like we're gonna have a Kyle Daniels and friends tour in coming soon! Hey, I'm totally about it. You know, there's some bands that are from my area right now man that I really believe in, and I think if they got a shot across the pond they would be wildly successful just because they are great. You know, one of those bands being a local group called the Damn Shames are actually in my fire me up video.They're playing guitar. The acoustic guitar players are in the Damn Shames and then another group that's from this area called the Josephine's – also a killer band and they definitely deserve the shot to come over the pond.
Now it is one month till you're over here. Is it going to be full band shows? Oh, yeah! I never play acoustic shows. I don't, I just don't, and I'm always with a band and I've played with a band for going on 20 years now and that's what I'm used to - that's where I thrive. I feel more comfortable with an electric guitar; I feel more comfortable with a band behind me; and I'm thankful Carl, who toured with me in 2019, will be joining me on this tour - So I got the locomotive behind me on drums, you know, I've got a killer band this time - really killer band. I got two dudes from the UK, two dudes from Sweden and we're gonna let it fly.
This will be the second time you’ve played Long Road when you come over. How nice is it to have gotten that call to come back? Oh, man. It's killer. I love the Long Road. The vibe there just spoke to me. It feels like one of the local festivals here in and around our area! It felt like Bonnaroo meets CMA Fest put together in Leicester, so it was like man, this is my vibe; I'm looking forward to some barbecue, some beers and a bunch of hugs.
Me and Jamie can't get out to Germany this time, but you're in Cologne as well, which it sounds like a really cool festival and they’re first outdoor country festival. Yeah, I'm stoked about that. I think that'll be a really fun time. I love Sina and all them, you know with Semmel, they're always so good to me and I'm excited as this will be the very first time in Germany with a band, so that's exciting because they've never seen me with an electric guitar or a band or anything like that! I think that it's going to go to a completely different level at that point for them.
What you think it is about the German audience that your appeal is for them as you seem to have built a real connection. Yeah, I think that again, the personal connection, you know, I think I've always kind of been one of those guys that is what you see is what you get. I've never been afraid to watch my mouth, you know, I've just speak like I feel, it goes from my brain and my soul straight out and I'm just trying to be as real as I possibly can, even in the writing process, giving that human element. I want to be real; I want people to come have a beer with me after the show; I want to smoke a joint with you! I'm just that guy and I want to be your buddy because ultimately those moments and those memories that we're sharing together are the things that we're gonna hold on to for years from now. If this were to all end for me tomorrow I've done some really cool stuff and I've seen some really cool things.I've met some really cool people; I've had some really cool experiences and things that not a lot of people can hang their hat on. I tried to be the accessible guy and personable and real. I think that that's what resonates the most and I think that goes a long way.
Your upcoming trip includes The Long Road, Cologne and you’re also going to be opening for Southall which will give you a chance to play further across the country.
Oh, yeah, absolutely, a lot of new places that I've never been and dude, that's exciting.I think that what's exciting too is that it's inevitable that I will show up in one of these cities and someone's gonna have a heartwarming story that they share with me at the merch table about something that happened to them. Maybe, Me and My Old Man means something to them very special or they were struggling with depression and Following The Rain was something that helped them through that time. Those are the kind of moments to me that are really where you can connect with somebody that you've never met before. That's the kind of stuff that I'm looking forward to. Sometimes, I feel like when I fly across the pond, I enter a different dimension and everything changes. It's just so nice to feel good energy when you go somewhere and it does not feel clogged up. I think that we've kind of gotten into this mode where we can share this moment together - let's get in this bubble and create a moment. The older I get, the more I realise how special those kind of pinpoint moments are. It gets me fired up to get prepared; get ready; come over and have a good time sharing these experiences with everybody.
I'm pretty sure after at least one song of this kind of opening act everyone's gonna know who you are because you definitely bring the noise Yeah, they're gonna be like man God can somebody tell Kyle Daniel to bring the acoustic guitar back his band is loud man!
It’s going to be great to see you again in a few weeks at The Long Road You too brother, appreciate you man, have a good one
Kyle Daniel’s highly-anticipated debut album, Kentucky Gold, is out now via Snakefarm and you can listen to it HERE.
Kyle returns to the UK to play The Long Road Festival on Saturday 24th August. In addition, he will be guesting with Southall on the following dates: August 21st – Glasgow, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut August 22nd – Birmingham, O2 Academy 3 August 26th – Manchester, The Deaf Institute August 27th – London, Bush Hall