The C2C Sit Down with Kalsey Kulyk
Originally hailing from Hudson Bay in Saskatchewan to the east of the Canadian province, Kalsey Kulyk and her family now call Nashville home but will head to Europe next month to perform in Germany for the first time at this year’s C2C: Country to Country in Berlin. With effortlessly bright vocals reminiscent of the classic country era and a knack for vivid storytelling, her songs strike a perfect balance between the deeply personal and the universally relatable. It will be fantastic to welcome Kalsey to the German capital and she is really excited to perform at the festival for the first time which we looked ahead to when we recently caught up with her over Zoom.
Hey girl, how you doing? Thanks for hanging out this morning.
“Thank you for having me.”
Are you in Nashville? I couldn't quite work out because I didn't see anything on your stories complaining about the snow like everyone else is so I was like is she out of town or just as Canadians it isn’t that big a deal because you are so used to it.
“Yeah, pretty much. I mean, it is different here, obviously, because the infrastructure doesn't really support the cold, the ice and all that sort of stuff. But yeah, we're here. We just kind of hunker down because that's what everybody else is doing and the roads aren't safe to drive. It’s not like Canada cold and not like Canada snow, but it's definitely interesting, like ice is everywhere it's pretty wild, I've seen anything like it.”
Well, it should be a bit warmer next month in Germany. Last year was surprisingly really nice for the time of year, it was about twenty degrees and it is really nice to be able to talk about temperature without having to covert to Fahrenheit like I have to do for the Americans. Have you actually been over to Europe playing shows before?
“Yeah, two years ago I played in Spain at a country festival in Salardu which was awesome. It was beautiful, It was a really great festival and I had a lot of fun, it was awesome.”
So, it will be your first time in Germany then next month, are you just playing in Berlin or have you got any other shows lineup elsewhere?
“We’re just playing shows in Berlin, but we're gonna go to Paris first just to kind of make a little trip out of it and I’ve never been there before either so me, my husband and my two boys are gonna go and kind of make a little bit of a vacation for a couple days ahead and kind of get used to the time change too. It’s really perfect, honestly, because you get to do a little bit of work, but you also get to sightsee and explore too, so I'm really excited.”
Then talking about the festival itself, what have you heard from people and what you most excited for about getting over to Berlin?
“Oh, I mean, I’ve wanted to play C2C for a really long time, so this is really like a dream come true. When I found out that I was gonna be playing it, I was really excited and I've definitely heard a lot of really great things, I've seen so many people's stories too, through the years before, so I'm just really excited to be able to play it. Hopefully make new fans and see new places too, it's gonna be awesome.”
One of the other really nice things about it is that you've got an EP coming at the end of March so it gives you a really good chance to be road testing and playing those live for one the first times. Then also hopefully they are in people's memories so they're going to be pre-saving and streaming hell out of it, come the 27th.
“Oh, exactly. It's kind of perfect timing for everything, like I just released a new single too, so I'm excited to play that one as well and then obviously the new songs that are gonna be off the EP, I'm excited about as well.”
Talking about ‘Her Rodeo’ holistically, ‘Cowboy Crazy’ is the song that most recently came out, is that sort of the first EP song or are some of the songs you put out last year gonna be on there where you’re tying things together, where it's almost kind of like a bridge into more new things that are on the way?
“Yeah, so we're going to be putting some of the songs that we released last year on it and then some new songs from this year, ‘Cowboy Crazy’ obviously, is gonna be on it and we're gonna have one little surprise on it, which I'm really excited about, but I'm not talking about yet. I'm really excited to share it with everybody, It's gonna be a fun EP for sure.”
One thing I've always wondered about girls from Canada making the move down to Nashville and it’s something I’ve asked a lot of people before, is the guys at home with Josh Ross being the obvious exception, tend to stay in Canda whereas more Canadian females tend to head to Nashville. Is it purely that there are more creative opportunities in Nashville and people to work with or is there almost an element similar to in the States where it's as equally as hard for female artists in Canada and there is just more of the pie to get a small slice of in the US?
“Um, definitely for me anyway, I can't speak for anyone else, but it's just because there's more creative people and it's just a creative hub for country music. Like you said, there's more opportunities down here in Nashville so that's kind of why we moved down. Also, like, you know, even when you're in Canada, I remember going on my first radio tour and the programme directors at almost every station asked us, so when are you gonna be going down to Nashville? So, it's kind of almost expected if you're gonna do it full time, I mean Canadians, they support you and they're gonna support you. As hard as you go after your dream they're gonna put the same amount of effort into you that you put into your own dream, right? I feel like, in an unspoken way, people kind of expect you to go, but, I mean, you want to go anyway, so it's kind of a win-win.”
“Thank you for having me.”
Are you in Nashville? I couldn't quite work out because I didn't see anything on your stories complaining about the snow like everyone else is so I was like is she out of town or just as Canadians it isn’t that big a deal because you are so used to it.
“Yeah, pretty much. I mean, it is different here, obviously, because the infrastructure doesn't really support the cold, the ice and all that sort of stuff. But yeah, we're here. We just kind of hunker down because that's what everybody else is doing and the roads aren't safe to drive. It’s not like Canada cold and not like Canada snow, but it's definitely interesting, like ice is everywhere it's pretty wild, I've seen anything like it.”
Well, it should be a bit warmer next month in Germany. Last year was surprisingly really nice for the time of year, it was about twenty degrees and it is really nice to be able to talk about temperature without having to covert to Fahrenheit like I have to do for the Americans. Have you actually been over to Europe playing shows before?
“Yeah, two years ago I played in Spain at a country festival in Salardu which was awesome. It was beautiful, It was a really great festival and I had a lot of fun, it was awesome.”
So, it will be your first time in Germany then next month, are you just playing in Berlin or have you got any other shows lineup elsewhere?
“We’re just playing shows in Berlin, but we're gonna go to Paris first just to kind of make a little trip out of it and I’ve never been there before either so me, my husband and my two boys are gonna go and kind of make a little bit of a vacation for a couple days ahead and kind of get used to the time change too. It’s really perfect, honestly, because you get to do a little bit of work, but you also get to sightsee and explore too, so I'm really excited.”
Then talking about the festival itself, what have you heard from people and what you most excited for about getting over to Berlin?
“Oh, I mean, I’ve wanted to play C2C for a really long time, so this is really like a dream come true. When I found out that I was gonna be playing it, I was really excited and I've definitely heard a lot of really great things, I've seen so many people's stories too, through the years before, so I'm just really excited to be able to play it. Hopefully make new fans and see new places too, it's gonna be awesome.”
One of the other really nice things about it is that you've got an EP coming at the end of March so it gives you a really good chance to be road testing and playing those live for one the first times. Then also hopefully they are in people's memories so they're going to be pre-saving and streaming hell out of it, come the 27th.
“Oh, exactly. It's kind of perfect timing for everything, like I just released a new single too, so I'm excited to play that one as well and then obviously the new songs that are gonna be off the EP, I'm excited about as well.”
Talking about ‘Her Rodeo’ holistically, ‘Cowboy Crazy’ is the song that most recently came out, is that sort of the first EP song or are some of the songs you put out last year gonna be on there where you’re tying things together, where it's almost kind of like a bridge into more new things that are on the way?
“Yeah, so we're going to be putting some of the songs that we released last year on it and then some new songs from this year, ‘Cowboy Crazy’ obviously, is gonna be on it and we're gonna have one little surprise on it, which I'm really excited about, but I'm not talking about yet. I'm really excited to share it with everybody, It's gonna be a fun EP for sure.”
One thing I've always wondered about girls from Canada making the move down to Nashville and it’s something I’ve asked a lot of people before, is the guys at home with Josh Ross being the obvious exception, tend to stay in Canda whereas more Canadian females tend to head to Nashville. Is it purely that there are more creative opportunities in Nashville and people to work with or is there almost an element similar to in the States where it's as equally as hard for female artists in Canada and there is just more of the pie to get a small slice of in the US?
“Um, definitely for me anyway, I can't speak for anyone else, but it's just because there's more creative people and it's just a creative hub for country music. Like you said, there's more opportunities down here in Nashville so that's kind of why we moved down. Also, like, you know, even when you're in Canada, I remember going on my first radio tour and the programme directors at almost every station asked us, so when are you gonna be going down to Nashville? So, it's kind of almost expected if you're gonna do it full time, I mean Canadians, they support you and they're gonna support you. As hard as you go after your dream they're gonna put the same amount of effort into you that you put into your own dream, right? I feel like, in an unspoken way, people kind of expect you to go, but, I mean, you want to go anyway, so it's kind of a win-win.”
Apart from the creative elements of being down in Music City, you've got a young family now so does Nashville really feel like the perfect place for you for what you need, both in life and in music right now?
“Totally, one hundred percent. You know, I lived in Nashville from 2015 to 2020 and when the pandemic hit, we had to move back to Canada and the goal was always to get back, but we just wanted to come back on, like, a more secure visa, so we applied for our green cards, which it took us 5 years to get it, but we got it. The reason that we moved back is so that we could stay here for good, hopefully, where we just keep on doing music and just going after it.”
Looking ahead to the time in Germany, you're going to have young children with you so that kind of accounts for a lot of planning that other people don’t have to account for, but are you and Eric people that generally like to get around and see what else is going on at festivals? Are the kids getting really into country music?
“Yeah, they love music, both of them do, our eldest is four and our youngest is one, we were having a dance party this morning before we had this interview so they love music and country music. So, it's pretty easy to get them out to watch shows and stuff like that, they've kind of grown up doing it, so they have really no other choice than to like it ha-ha, because they're kind of forced into it.”
“Totally, one hundred percent. You know, I lived in Nashville from 2015 to 2020 and when the pandemic hit, we had to move back to Canada and the goal was always to get back, but we just wanted to come back on, like, a more secure visa, so we applied for our green cards, which it took us 5 years to get it, but we got it. The reason that we moved back is so that we could stay here for good, hopefully, where we just keep on doing music and just going after it.”
Looking ahead to the time in Germany, you're going to have young children with you so that kind of accounts for a lot of planning that other people don’t have to account for, but are you and Eric people that generally like to get around and see what else is going on at festivals? Are the kids getting really into country music?
“Yeah, they love music, both of them do, our eldest is four and our youngest is one, we were having a dance party this morning before we had this interview so they love music and country music. So, it's pretty easy to get them out to watch shows and stuff like that, they've kind of grown up doing it, so they have really no other choice than to like it ha-ha, because they're kind of forced into it.”
Hopefully the Germany trip goes well and you really enjoy Paris too but you've done Spain, you're gonna do Germany so hopefully our little island is going to be somewhere else as well in the pipeline for in the future.
“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I would love to come over and play some more, so that's definitely on top of the list for sure.”
Let’s hope that's something that is something that works out going forward and can’t wait to see you in Berlin for some schnitzel.
“Oh my gosh, I've heard that the fans are so good over there as well, like in London so I definitely am crossing my fingers for next year at C2C in London but any of the other festivals or opportunities would be incredible. Any chance to get over to Europe, it just feels really special to be able to go over and play over there, so I'm just very excited and grateful to get to play this year in Berlin. Then hopefully more to come, that would be a dream come true, for sure.”
Amazing, thank you so much, Kalsey. Stay warm, make sure you don't get snowed in and enjoy getting back to that dance party then we'll see you next month.
Kalsey Kulyk will be appearing at C2C: Country to Country in Berlin over the weekend of March 6th to March 8th where you can further details on the festival WEBSITE or on INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK. Kalsey will be releasing her new EP ‘Her Rodeo’ on March 27th which you can pre-save HERE and to keep up to date with all that she is up to ahead of the festival, you can follow her socially on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK & FACEBOOK.
“Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I would love to come over and play some more, so that's definitely on top of the list for sure.”
Let’s hope that's something that is something that works out going forward and can’t wait to see you in Berlin for some schnitzel.
“Oh my gosh, I've heard that the fans are so good over there as well, like in London so I definitely am crossing my fingers for next year at C2C in London but any of the other festivals or opportunities would be incredible. Any chance to get over to Europe, it just feels really special to be able to go over and play over there, so I'm just very excited and grateful to get to play this year in Berlin. Then hopefully more to come, that would be a dream come true, for sure.”
Amazing, thank you so much, Kalsey. Stay warm, make sure you don't get snowed in and enjoy getting back to that dance party then we'll see you next month.
Kalsey Kulyk will be appearing at C2C: Country to Country in Berlin over the weekend of March 6th to March 8th where you can further details on the festival WEBSITE or on INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK. Kalsey will be releasing her new EP ‘Her Rodeo’ on March 27th which you can pre-save HERE and to keep up to date with all that she is up to ahead of the festival, you can follow her socially on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK & FACEBOOK.
