The Sit Down with Kip Moore
Having made his UK debut back in 2014, Kip Moore has been no stranger to UK country music fans, performing headline tours and multiple festival appearances for 11 years now having made a promise early on that this was a market he wanted to focus on. Following the release of his sixth studio album, the 23-track Solitary Tracks, Kip has started off his world tour in Canada, with the next stop being 15 dates in Europe. We caught up with Kip to find out more about what to expect from his latest tour
Hey Kip. How are you, man?
I am good. I'm currently hanging out on my bus in a parking lot in Thunder Bay, Canada, how are you?
All good here. Thunder Bay is definitely not the beaches of Hawaii!
No, it's not.
How has the Canadian tour been going?
It's exceeded any expectation so far. I think there's always a little bit of anxiety and fear, and I'm okay saying that. There's a little bit of fear of just not knowing even when everyone's telling you how they're feeling about a new record until you play it live. You just don't know how it's going to go, how it's going to fit, and trying to incorporate 23 new songs and figure out which ones you play, which ones you don't, and transitions, all those things you can rehearse and rehearse for months straight, then you get there to the show and you get punched in the mouth in a certain way of like, okay, this doesn't work here and this works here. Man, it's probably been my favourite opening to a tour yet.
And it must be harder to sort setlist when you've now got five albums before this as well, where people are still wanting the songs on those albums. You’ve really made it hard for yourself here!
Yeah, I mean, we've been playing for two and a half hours a night! I don't think crowds understand how much they dictate when you're dealing, that's the key thing, with an actual live band. You know, our show is not pre-orchestrated off a computer and tracks, so we can ebb and flow as the night goes. When we really feel like a place knows the music, we will go deep into the vault and that's already happened a couple of times in this tour.
Is it nice to be starting the tour in a different market? You're not actually touring this album in America until the summer.
Yeah, which I think is the first time we've done that, where we've done nothing but international play until the summer, till like mid-summer actually. So. I don't know, though, this has been a really good experience so far.
And then you're a month out now from Europe.
Yeah.
You just keep coming back which we will never complain about! It's been 11 years now since that first trip. Did you kind of always see this picture of wanting to build it and get to this point where you're now playing some of the biggest venues you can in these cities?
Yeah, I mean it was definitely for me and I feel like for the band, too. But I can speak for myself in the sense that the first time we did C2C, we knew that something really clicked. We could feel what was happening with the style of music that we were doing. I was very adamant to and as you know, I mean, you're even asking me the question like that. There is a major investment that takes place when you make up your mind to go. When I make up my mind to go play over there and not just financially, but just the wear and tear that it does. We haven't been home in three weeks now. We’ve got another week out here in Canda and we pretty much go straight to Europe. It's a taxing thing in every way, but it's also a euphoric exchange of energy and that's why we've been doing it. I look forward to getting over there so much every single time we're going to do it, which is usually like every two years. I guess when they stop showing up, we will too, but so far that hasn't happened. So, we keep going back and we keep being received in such a loving way. Something that I'm very diligent when we're in meetings and I'm discussing things with my agents and managers and promoters, I'm always like, we've got to go back, we've got to go back, we've got to go back.
Hey Kip. How are you, man?
I am good. I'm currently hanging out on my bus in a parking lot in Thunder Bay, Canada, how are you?
All good here. Thunder Bay is definitely not the beaches of Hawaii!
No, it's not.
How has the Canadian tour been going?
It's exceeded any expectation so far. I think there's always a little bit of anxiety and fear, and I'm okay saying that. There's a little bit of fear of just not knowing even when everyone's telling you how they're feeling about a new record until you play it live. You just don't know how it's going to go, how it's going to fit, and trying to incorporate 23 new songs and figure out which ones you play, which ones you don't, and transitions, all those things you can rehearse and rehearse for months straight, then you get there to the show and you get punched in the mouth in a certain way of like, okay, this doesn't work here and this works here. Man, it's probably been my favourite opening to a tour yet.
And it must be harder to sort setlist when you've now got five albums before this as well, where people are still wanting the songs on those albums. You’ve really made it hard for yourself here!
Yeah, I mean, we've been playing for two and a half hours a night! I don't think crowds understand how much they dictate when you're dealing, that's the key thing, with an actual live band. You know, our show is not pre-orchestrated off a computer and tracks, so we can ebb and flow as the night goes. When we really feel like a place knows the music, we will go deep into the vault and that's already happened a couple of times in this tour.
Is it nice to be starting the tour in a different market? You're not actually touring this album in America until the summer.
Yeah, which I think is the first time we've done that, where we've done nothing but international play until the summer, till like mid-summer actually. So. I don't know, though, this has been a really good experience so far.
And then you're a month out now from Europe.
Yeah.
You just keep coming back which we will never complain about! It's been 11 years now since that first trip. Did you kind of always see this picture of wanting to build it and get to this point where you're now playing some of the biggest venues you can in these cities?
Yeah, I mean it was definitely for me and I feel like for the band, too. But I can speak for myself in the sense that the first time we did C2C, we knew that something really clicked. We could feel what was happening with the style of music that we were doing. I was very adamant to and as you know, I mean, you're even asking me the question like that. There is a major investment that takes place when you make up your mind to go. When I make up my mind to go play over there and not just financially, but just the wear and tear that it does. We haven't been home in three weeks now. We’ve got another week out here in Canda and we pretty much go straight to Europe. It's a taxing thing in every way, but it's also a euphoric exchange of energy and that's why we've been doing it. I look forward to getting over there so much every single time we're going to do it, which is usually like every two years. I guess when they stop showing up, we will too, but so far that hasn't happened. So, we keep going back and we keep being received in such a loving way. Something that I'm very diligent when we're in meetings and I'm discussing things with my agents and managers and promoters, I'm always like, we've got to go back, we've got to go back, we've got to go back.
Looking at the European leg, I’m heading to Stockholm and the demand there saw a second night added. How does that feel for you when you're going to these markets so far from home and you need at a second night?
Oh, man. Yeah, I think both nights are sold out. We haven't we haven't played Stockholm in a while. So yeah, I mean, we're super, super, super excited that the first two shows are sold out.
Away from Europe, you’ve built a huge following in South Africa
The South Africans have been showing up to a lot of these shows, even here in Canada, which is awesome.
That whole journey came from such small beginning of getting one track on a radio show out there and it’s taken to playing stadium shows at Loftus.
Yeah, I mean, there's definitely been a special, special bond that's happened between myself and South Africans.
Did you feel that building that bond in new markets is important to you to keep building around the world?
I want to expand this thing as far as I can. That's the vision that I've got. That's the vision I've had it for a while. I've kind of always known that even when you go back to that first record and you listen to songs like Crazy One More Time, Faith When I Fall, what was really the backbone of that record was those songs. Everything that you do, those are the songs that the fans just really like gravitated to. I've always felt like the sound was outside the walls of the States, I’ve just kind of always felt that way, that what we were doing wasn't there was no ceiling for it. There was no box. I always felt like the sound spread far and wide.
Oh, man. Yeah, I think both nights are sold out. We haven't we haven't played Stockholm in a while. So yeah, I mean, we're super, super, super excited that the first two shows are sold out.
Away from Europe, you’ve built a huge following in South Africa
The South Africans have been showing up to a lot of these shows, even here in Canada, which is awesome.
That whole journey came from such small beginning of getting one track on a radio show out there and it’s taken to playing stadium shows at Loftus.
Yeah, I mean, there's definitely been a special, special bond that's happened between myself and South Africans.
Did you feel that building that bond in new markets is important to you to keep building around the world?
I want to expand this thing as far as I can. That's the vision that I've got. That's the vision I've had it for a while. I've kind of always known that even when you go back to that first record and you listen to songs like Crazy One More Time, Faith When I Fall, what was really the backbone of that record was those songs. Everything that you do, those are the songs that the fans just really like gravitated to. I've always felt like the sound was outside the walls of the States, I’ve just kind of always felt that way, that what we were doing wasn't there was no ceiling for it. There was no box. I always felt like the sound spread far and wide.
Solitary Tracks has been out about six weeks now. When you started the process of this album you were an independent artist and now you're with Virgin. How did you get those 23 tracks all together with that change?
Well, it was it was supposed to end at the 13th track, Southern Son. That was supposed to be the last one on the record and when I turned it in, those first 13 songs, it was like, well, we got three and a half, four months left until it has to actually be turned in to make the February 28th drop date. Now, I write every single morning, so that wasn't going to stop. Once I had said, you know, there's a very common thread theme that's happening sonically, lyrically through the first half of the record and that was supposed to be the record by itself. When I finished that, mentally, I was on to something else. I kept writing. I said, you know, this might be the one time that I'm going to feel like doing a big project and just giving fans a bunch and inside C&D was more just an eclectic mix of what I was doing at that time.
There's obviously so many artists at the minute are putting out EPs or just drop releasing singles for streaming for a couple of years. Going for this full 23 track is going against the trend, and lots of people won't realize that that's obviously over two CDs.
Yeah, I mean, I just was of the mindset of why not? I mean, I've already been making an entirely different project, and I'm almost finished now and it's not going to be anything like 23 songs. This next one is going to be a very short record, but I'm really excited about what I've been doing. That'll be the last time I do a 23 song record - I can tell you that!
Dare I ask how many songs could have been on it?
Oh, man, it could have been endless. I mean, I think I had written over 75 more that nobody heard.
Is there one day going to be an album of just unreleased material ready to drop at random in one go?
I really think so. Yes. I really I think that I'll get like a batch of 11 or 12 of my favourite and the fans favourite unreleased stuff they've been asking for years and go in and just record all of those songs and make it the unreleased early sessions
Well, it was it was supposed to end at the 13th track, Southern Son. That was supposed to be the last one on the record and when I turned it in, those first 13 songs, it was like, well, we got three and a half, four months left until it has to actually be turned in to make the February 28th drop date. Now, I write every single morning, so that wasn't going to stop. Once I had said, you know, there's a very common thread theme that's happening sonically, lyrically through the first half of the record and that was supposed to be the record by itself. When I finished that, mentally, I was on to something else. I kept writing. I said, you know, this might be the one time that I'm going to feel like doing a big project and just giving fans a bunch and inside C&D was more just an eclectic mix of what I was doing at that time.
There's obviously so many artists at the minute are putting out EPs or just drop releasing singles for streaming for a couple of years. Going for this full 23 track is going against the trend, and lots of people won't realize that that's obviously over two CDs.
Yeah, I mean, I just was of the mindset of why not? I mean, I've already been making an entirely different project, and I'm almost finished now and it's not going to be anything like 23 songs. This next one is going to be a very short record, but I'm really excited about what I've been doing. That'll be the last time I do a 23 song record - I can tell you that!
Dare I ask how many songs could have been on it?
Oh, man, it could have been endless. I mean, I think I had written over 75 more that nobody heard.
Is there one day going to be an album of just unreleased material ready to drop at random in one go?
I really think so. Yes. I really I think that I'll get like a batch of 11 or 12 of my favourite and the fans favourite unreleased stuff they've been asking for years and go in and just record all of those songs and make it the unreleased early sessions
Well, obviously, I'm really looking forward to catching the show while you’re over here, and I know you're also doing a couple of fan events too. How kind of important is it to still have that link for you with the fans who keep demanding you come back, despite the venues now getting bigger and bigger?
Yeah, I don't get to be around those fans near as much as I do the ones in the States. So, I'm always doing little things like that organically in the States and people have learned if they're all out there by the bus, I'm not going to leave them hanging! I always come out and I'll end up signed two hours sometimes, this is just a little more of an organised deal this time. There have been nights where they just keep chanting and then we come out and I end up playing a whole nother show. They did that in Newcastle, Australia recently. They just all kept hanging around and I went outside to the courthouse steps and played.
The best way to do it sometimes, isn't it?
Yeah. Spirit moves you.
No, definitely. Thank you so much for your time and thanks for getting up nice and early.
Yeah, we will see you in Stockholm.
See you in a month. Thank you so much, Kip.
Cheers Ian, take care
Moore will embark on the European leg of his Solitary Tracks World Tour, which will take him across Europe, including Sweden, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, and the UK, in May and June. Tickets and VIP packages are on sale now and can be purchased on his website and Solitary Tracks is available now.
Solitary Tracks World Tour:
05/16 - Stockholm, SW @ Nalen
05/17 - Stockholm, SW @ Nalen
05/18 - Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller Music Hall
05/21 - Hamburg, DE @ Docks
05/23 - Cologne, DE @ E-Werk
05/24 - Stuttgart, DE @ Im Wizemann - Halle
05/25 - Zurich, CH @ Kaufleuten
05/28 - Tilburg, NL @ 13
05/30 - Birmingham, UK @ Academy
05/31 - Leeds, UK @ Academy
06/01 - Belfast, UK @ SSE Arena
06/04 - Newcastle, UK @ City Hall
06/05 - Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro Arena
06/07 - London, UK @ Brixton Academy
06/08 - Manchester, UK @ Apollo
FOLLOW KIP MOORE:
Website - Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - YouTube - TikTok
Yeah, I don't get to be around those fans near as much as I do the ones in the States. So, I'm always doing little things like that organically in the States and people have learned if they're all out there by the bus, I'm not going to leave them hanging! I always come out and I'll end up signed two hours sometimes, this is just a little more of an organised deal this time. There have been nights where they just keep chanting and then we come out and I end up playing a whole nother show. They did that in Newcastle, Australia recently. They just all kept hanging around and I went outside to the courthouse steps and played.
The best way to do it sometimes, isn't it?
Yeah. Spirit moves you.
No, definitely. Thank you so much for your time and thanks for getting up nice and early.
Yeah, we will see you in Stockholm.
See you in a month. Thank you so much, Kip.
Cheers Ian, take care
Moore will embark on the European leg of his Solitary Tracks World Tour, which will take him across Europe, including Sweden, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, and the UK, in May and June. Tickets and VIP packages are on sale now and can be purchased on his website and Solitary Tracks is available now.
Solitary Tracks World Tour:
05/16 - Stockholm, SW @ Nalen
05/17 - Stockholm, SW @ Nalen
05/18 - Oslo, NO @ Rockefeller Music Hall
05/21 - Hamburg, DE @ Docks
05/23 - Cologne, DE @ E-Werk
05/24 - Stuttgart, DE @ Im Wizemann - Halle
05/25 - Zurich, CH @ Kaufleuten
05/28 - Tilburg, NL @ 13
05/30 - Birmingham, UK @ Academy
05/31 - Leeds, UK @ Academy
06/01 - Belfast, UK @ SSE Arena
06/04 - Newcastle, UK @ City Hall
06/05 - Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro Arena
06/07 - London, UK @ Brixton Academy
06/08 - Manchester, UK @ Apollo
FOLLOW KIP MOORE:
Website - Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - YouTube - TikTok
