The C2C Sit Down with Tyla Rodrigues
Whilst the British contingent who headed over to Berlin for C2C: Country to Country over the past weekend thought the temperature was absolutely perfect, however if you were from Brisbane and in Europe for the first time, it apparently took a bit of getting used to when it is currently summer back home in Australia. Whilst she would like things a little hotter weather wise, Tyla Rodrigues was able to bring some serious heat to her five sets across the weekend. Joining a rapidly extending list of artists making the trip from down under, the Queenslander is kind of the new girl in town, who is truly one of the most exciting artists that we have discovered in recent years and her first Golden Guitar nomination at this year’s Country Music Awards of Australia celebration in Tamworth, shows that a lot of people back in Australia agree with us. Having recently shared new EP ‘Hold On Tight’ and had her first taste of shows in Europe in Germany, Tyla is right at the top of artists you will not want to miss at this weekend’s festival in London but before that, we hung out with Tyla on a boat in the River Spree during her first European adventure.
Tyla Rodrigues, welcome to Europe after that long flight or flights, I guess. How does it feel to be over here for the first time?
“I'm so excited, as you said, this is my first time here, full stop, let alone getting to perform as part of C2C. I am so excited, I'm also very cold, but mostly so excited. We got to get the lay of the land this morning, check things out and I just feel like it's excitement all around, which is very refreshing. I mean, I came over here slightly worried as we're in a country where English isn't necessarily their first language so there could be some barriers there. It's just bizarre to me that we can come halfway across the world and the love for country music is just as strong as it is in Australia, so I think for me, wrapping my head around that has been something, but just feeling the vibes already this morning, I think it's gonna be a great weekend.”
I know you haven't played yet, but you've had a look around, so how does Berlin feel as a vibe and a setup compared to things at home like CMC Rocks or Tamworth and also what you've seen over in the States as well?
“Yeah, we've got similar things in the sense that and you know, I did CMA Fest last year as well, so the vibe of having the side stages and things that cross like a street is really cool, but also it feels nice and close, which is cool too. I'm just excited to see the place fill out and I have only gone to see a small part of like the festival grounds thus far, so as the day goes on, I think the buzz is just going to get better and better.”
It'll be a very different experience next week, visualise more of an indoor CMA fest but some of it is still outside and things will feel more spread out than here. It must be really exciting though to be joining an ever growing list of Australians that will have made it over to play in London.
“One hundred percent, it's very exciting to see so many Aussies over here waving the flag as well. I think the Americans obviously do a great job at flying that country music flag, but as we are seeing more and more, there's more countries that have got plenty to offer too so I'm just excited to not only play, but to get around and hear some other artists as well.”
Tyla Rodrigues, welcome to Europe after that long flight or flights, I guess. How does it feel to be over here for the first time?
“I'm so excited, as you said, this is my first time here, full stop, let alone getting to perform as part of C2C. I am so excited, I'm also very cold, but mostly so excited. We got to get the lay of the land this morning, check things out and I just feel like it's excitement all around, which is very refreshing. I mean, I came over here slightly worried as we're in a country where English isn't necessarily their first language so there could be some barriers there. It's just bizarre to me that we can come halfway across the world and the love for country music is just as strong as it is in Australia, so I think for me, wrapping my head around that has been something, but just feeling the vibes already this morning, I think it's gonna be a great weekend.”
I know you haven't played yet, but you've had a look around, so how does Berlin feel as a vibe and a setup compared to things at home like CMC Rocks or Tamworth and also what you've seen over in the States as well?
“Yeah, we've got similar things in the sense that and you know, I did CMA Fest last year as well, so the vibe of having the side stages and things that cross like a street is really cool, but also it feels nice and close, which is cool too. I'm just excited to see the place fill out and I have only gone to see a small part of like the festival grounds thus far, so as the day goes on, I think the buzz is just going to get better and better.”
It'll be a very different experience next week, visualise more of an indoor CMA fest but some of it is still outside and things will feel more spread out than here. It must be really exciting though to be joining an ever growing list of Australians that will have made it over to play in London.
“One hundred percent, it's very exciting to see so many Aussies over here waving the flag as well. I think the Americans obviously do a great job at flying that country music flag, but as we are seeing more and more, there's more countries that have got plenty to offer too so I'm just excited to not only play, but to get around and hear some other artists as well.”
In terms of this being the first time in Europe, where you had said that you didn't fully know what to expect, is it nice to have people like Blake and Sinead around, who I know you've written with before and then Max (Jackson) is also here for her first time as well so she is in a similar boat.
“One hundred percent, it's really nice to have some familiar faces around and, you know, at the same time, the country music community is really starting to spread its wings. There are individuals here as part of this festival that I've now had the privilege of meeting over in Australia or over in the States and that may not be just artists, but also organisers and people behind the scenes as well. Honestly, the country music hub and community is just starting to feel like one big family, no matter how far away you live, which is really, really nice but I definitely do feel very lucky to have a few fellow Aussies to lean onto.”
Yeah, we bumped into Justin Thompson last night as well. He's been coming over for C2C in London for a couple of years now and this is his first time at the festival in Berlin, so it's great to see industry people coming over from Aus too. Then artist wise Brad Cox was due to come to London for the third time and Fanny, who has become a really good friend of mine over the last couple of years she has been over with the full gang about five or six times during that spell which is just wild because it is such a long way. I know people have different circumstances but regardless it is a big commitment both financially and in terms of time, especially when it is the week before your biggest festival back at home, where in the same way that a lot of the Brits playing C2C in London get to share the bill with the American artists, you guys get to showcase your own domestic talent.
“Yeah, totally and I think the fact that I get to be halfway across the world right now and then do something back at home straight off the back of that, I'm excited to feel all of the audiences out and kind of compare them in a way. Then going back to what you said about Fanny Lumsden, Brad Cox and people like that who are coming and touring, it is a big effort and financially and all that too, but I think that there's really something to say about how great the audience is, you know, that they keep coming back to, so I'm excited to experience that.”
Like I say, there's more and more people coming over. James Johnston was over here doing press last week because he was doing a festival in summer which Tori Darke is coming over for as well so whilst it's great having Uncle Keith as the Seaforth boys kept calling him, keep coming back and Morgan Evans as well, you guys are getting everywhere. I mentioned Blake and Sinead before, but I know you worked with big Dozz as well, did you know Jordan from home before you wrote with him in Nashville?
“No, I actually met him through a good friend of mine and mentor, Johnno Keetels. He kind of connected the dots with Jordan and even his sister Jesse Dozzi too. I did my first trip to Nashville last year and I was lucky enough to be chosen for a song hubs event, so it's kind of like a three day writers camp where a bunch of writers just get in the room then we swap groups and we do a bunch of co-writes across three days, where we wrote a couple of tracks off ‘Hold on Tight’ which is the EP that I just released. So, Jordan is one of my favourite humans over in Nashville, he’s just the best, him and his partner Clara Park, like when they came to Australia and we did the song hubs back home even so those connections kind of goes back to what I was saying too. It just feels like more and more like a bridge between our countries and it's just the country music community coming together and creating those relationships, which is great.”
With the EP, which you mentioned, it was four tracks where some of them you'd put out before and so is it like a bridge pulling things together and sort of teasing into something bigger on the way?
“Oh, yeah it is. I released ‘Hot & Heavy’ and ‘By The Time It’s Over’ back in 2025 and I had done a lot of writing last year with my trips to Nashville and even back home too. Honestly, the past twelve to twenty four months have been a big season of writing for me, I released now my EP ‘Upon Reflection’ and I had a few singles come out but I was like, I want to put a project together. This past phase of my life and what's gone on both musically and personally feels like it deserves this little project, so I released ‘Hot & Heavy’ and ‘By The Time It’s Over’ then I was coming to the realisation that I wanted to make this something a bit bigger. I felt that those two tracks were very much part of this journey that I wanted to start putting out to the people. I think the past twelve to twenty four months had been a roller coaster and in a great way, I was faced with a lot of challenges, a lot of just going through the start of my twenties too and all those things. I was faced with a lot of, I guess, doubt in this industry, you know, as we spoke about before, sometimes there's hardships in this thing and you really question, is this what I want to do? Is this what I want to? Am I in the right lane? Am I doing the right thing? So, that's where, ‘Hold on Tight’ as the EP name came from. It was a place of, you know, when you have something that you believe in, that you love, a dream and there's certain things in life that you should just hold on to and keep chasing. As I said, the two tracks that I released last year just felt like they were really part of that journey and then in addition, we had ‘Can't Keep Doing This’ and ‘Wait For Me’, where one of which was written with Jordan Dozzi and the other with Sinead and Blake O'Connor. But, yeah, between you and I, it’s a small part of something bigger that is that is coming which I'm working on behind the scenes at the moment, so I'm excited to tell more about that when I can.”
I know you probably can't say too much about it, but in terms of the phase of where we are with something that may or may not be in the works. Are we are we still writing towards it? Or are you at the stage of you've got some songs and it's just a case of working out how they fit together, getting the time to record them or we still working actively towards finding pieces to the puzzle?
“I have a bunch of the pieces of the puzzle, but I'm halfway across the world from home right now and I'm experiencing so many different things that I definitely think I have not shut myself off from being able to write some more things if that's the case. My number one thought and want for this project is that there's no creative boundaries or barriers. I wanted it to be completely just, pop the top off the box and just write it as it is, I want to make music that I believe in and that I love too. I haven't put too many parameters around myself, I have songs that I'm very happy with right now and I'm thinking are going to be part of this said may or may not be a new project, but as I said, there's inspiration all around, especially here in Berlin.”
“One hundred percent, it's really nice to have some familiar faces around and, you know, at the same time, the country music community is really starting to spread its wings. There are individuals here as part of this festival that I've now had the privilege of meeting over in Australia or over in the States and that may not be just artists, but also organisers and people behind the scenes as well. Honestly, the country music hub and community is just starting to feel like one big family, no matter how far away you live, which is really, really nice but I definitely do feel very lucky to have a few fellow Aussies to lean onto.”
Yeah, we bumped into Justin Thompson last night as well. He's been coming over for C2C in London for a couple of years now and this is his first time at the festival in Berlin, so it's great to see industry people coming over from Aus too. Then artist wise Brad Cox was due to come to London for the third time and Fanny, who has become a really good friend of mine over the last couple of years she has been over with the full gang about five or six times during that spell which is just wild because it is such a long way. I know people have different circumstances but regardless it is a big commitment both financially and in terms of time, especially when it is the week before your biggest festival back at home, where in the same way that a lot of the Brits playing C2C in London get to share the bill with the American artists, you guys get to showcase your own domestic talent.
“Yeah, totally and I think the fact that I get to be halfway across the world right now and then do something back at home straight off the back of that, I'm excited to feel all of the audiences out and kind of compare them in a way. Then going back to what you said about Fanny Lumsden, Brad Cox and people like that who are coming and touring, it is a big effort and financially and all that too, but I think that there's really something to say about how great the audience is, you know, that they keep coming back to, so I'm excited to experience that.”
Like I say, there's more and more people coming over. James Johnston was over here doing press last week because he was doing a festival in summer which Tori Darke is coming over for as well so whilst it's great having Uncle Keith as the Seaforth boys kept calling him, keep coming back and Morgan Evans as well, you guys are getting everywhere. I mentioned Blake and Sinead before, but I know you worked with big Dozz as well, did you know Jordan from home before you wrote with him in Nashville?
“No, I actually met him through a good friend of mine and mentor, Johnno Keetels. He kind of connected the dots with Jordan and even his sister Jesse Dozzi too. I did my first trip to Nashville last year and I was lucky enough to be chosen for a song hubs event, so it's kind of like a three day writers camp where a bunch of writers just get in the room then we swap groups and we do a bunch of co-writes across three days, where we wrote a couple of tracks off ‘Hold on Tight’ which is the EP that I just released. So, Jordan is one of my favourite humans over in Nashville, he’s just the best, him and his partner Clara Park, like when they came to Australia and we did the song hubs back home even so those connections kind of goes back to what I was saying too. It just feels like more and more like a bridge between our countries and it's just the country music community coming together and creating those relationships, which is great.”
With the EP, which you mentioned, it was four tracks where some of them you'd put out before and so is it like a bridge pulling things together and sort of teasing into something bigger on the way?
“Oh, yeah it is. I released ‘Hot & Heavy’ and ‘By The Time It’s Over’ back in 2025 and I had done a lot of writing last year with my trips to Nashville and even back home too. Honestly, the past twelve to twenty four months have been a big season of writing for me, I released now my EP ‘Upon Reflection’ and I had a few singles come out but I was like, I want to put a project together. This past phase of my life and what's gone on both musically and personally feels like it deserves this little project, so I released ‘Hot & Heavy’ and ‘By The Time It’s Over’ then I was coming to the realisation that I wanted to make this something a bit bigger. I felt that those two tracks were very much part of this journey that I wanted to start putting out to the people. I think the past twelve to twenty four months had been a roller coaster and in a great way, I was faced with a lot of challenges, a lot of just going through the start of my twenties too and all those things. I was faced with a lot of, I guess, doubt in this industry, you know, as we spoke about before, sometimes there's hardships in this thing and you really question, is this what I want to do? Is this what I want to? Am I in the right lane? Am I doing the right thing? So, that's where, ‘Hold on Tight’ as the EP name came from. It was a place of, you know, when you have something that you believe in, that you love, a dream and there's certain things in life that you should just hold on to and keep chasing. As I said, the two tracks that I released last year just felt like they were really part of that journey and then in addition, we had ‘Can't Keep Doing This’ and ‘Wait For Me’, where one of which was written with Jordan Dozzi and the other with Sinead and Blake O'Connor. But, yeah, between you and I, it’s a small part of something bigger that is that is coming which I'm working on behind the scenes at the moment, so I'm excited to tell more about that when I can.”
I know you probably can't say too much about it, but in terms of the phase of where we are with something that may or may not be in the works. Are we are we still writing towards it? Or are you at the stage of you've got some songs and it's just a case of working out how they fit together, getting the time to record them or we still working actively towards finding pieces to the puzzle?
“I have a bunch of the pieces of the puzzle, but I'm halfway across the world from home right now and I'm experiencing so many different things that I definitely think I have not shut myself off from being able to write some more things if that's the case. My number one thought and want for this project is that there's no creative boundaries or barriers. I wanted it to be completely just, pop the top off the box and just write it as it is, I want to make music that I believe in and that I love too. I haven't put too many parameters around myself, I have songs that I'm very happy with right now and I'm thinking are going to be part of this said may or may not be a new project, but as I said, there's inspiration all around, especially here in Berlin.”
Lastly, on the things you've been putting out, Jared Adlam is the guy you were working with, what have you found for him to be a great fit for what you want to do sound wise at the moment?
“Yeah, that's a great question. Jared and I met about three years ago, I just met him through the industry and obviously when I started really taking my music seriously, my sound seriously and wanting to find that, I did some homework on, you know, who's worked with who. I got some of my favourite songs and checked out produced them, who played on them, who wrote them and all those things so just did homework in that sense. When I met Jared, I just gave him some ideas, they were just acoustic demos and I was like, this is what I've got at the moment, these are my favourite songs, these are my favourite artists, these are the people that I'm inspired by and he just absolutely gets the vision. He is not afraid to push boundaries and he's not afraid to try things. You know, him and I have gone back and forth one song for like six or seven different mixes on one little part of it just to make sure we get it right and that's what I absolutely love about him. He is so artist driven, it's not always about how we're going to make this hit, this would be better on the radio or this is what's trending right now. For him, it’s what story do you want to tell with this song? What do you want people to feel with this music that's attached to it? I align with him in so many ways in that sense, so I love working with Jared and he's not getting rid of me anytime soon, that's for sure.”
I know you've got a couple of shows after the festival, some club shows around Germany but hopefully plenty of tourist time in London before next weekend too. You may want to find some more warm clothes.
“Ha-ha, yes I will be.”
If you think it is cold here, that Big Entrance Stage set in London will be outside and as we have addressed how I think it is warm here in Berlin and you disagree with me.
“Great, I might die there.”
As you think this is cold, you might want to start looking for ski shops when you get to the UK.
“Oh no! Ha-ha.”
Well, I’m wearing shorts here and I definitely will not be next weekend.
“No, I appreciate the heads up, you might be the reason I survive.”
I’m looking forward to seeing you play here then again in London and thank you for coming to hang.
“Well thank you.”
And thank you for being the first person to come and chat with us on the boat!
“Whoop, whoop, I appreciate you having me and this lovely view. I don’t think it will get any better than this and I don’t think I’ll have an interview that can top it.”
Tyla Rodrigues will play at C2C: Country to Country in London with performances on Saturday March 14th at 16:30 on The Dutton Ranch Stage in The Paramount+ Town Square, then again on Sunday March 15th where you can catch her at 12:30 in The Saloon and finally at 14:20 on the Big Entrance Stage. Full festival details and last minute ticket information for London are available on their WEBSITE or socials (INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK) whilst you can find more information on the Berlin event on their WEBSITE or can relive all of this year’s activity on their INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK.
The new EP “Hold On Tight” from Tyla Rodrigues is out now and available HERE. To keep up to date with all that Tyla is up to, you can check out her WEBSITE and socials to follow along on INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK & TIKTOK.
“Yeah, that's a great question. Jared and I met about three years ago, I just met him through the industry and obviously when I started really taking my music seriously, my sound seriously and wanting to find that, I did some homework on, you know, who's worked with who. I got some of my favourite songs and checked out produced them, who played on them, who wrote them and all those things so just did homework in that sense. When I met Jared, I just gave him some ideas, they were just acoustic demos and I was like, this is what I've got at the moment, these are my favourite songs, these are my favourite artists, these are the people that I'm inspired by and he just absolutely gets the vision. He is not afraid to push boundaries and he's not afraid to try things. You know, him and I have gone back and forth one song for like six or seven different mixes on one little part of it just to make sure we get it right and that's what I absolutely love about him. He is so artist driven, it's not always about how we're going to make this hit, this would be better on the radio or this is what's trending right now. For him, it’s what story do you want to tell with this song? What do you want people to feel with this music that's attached to it? I align with him in so many ways in that sense, so I love working with Jared and he's not getting rid of me anytime soon, that's for sure.”
I know you've got a couple of shows after the festival, some club shows around Germany but hopefully plenty of tourist time in London before next weekend too. You may want to find some more warm clothes.
“Ha-ha, yes I will be.”
If you think it is cold here, that Big Entrance Stage set in London will be outside and as we have addressed how I think it is warm here in Berlin and you disagree with me.
“Great, I might die there.”
As you think this is cold, you might want to start looking for ski shops when you get to the UK.
“Oh no! Ha-ha.”
Well, I’m wearing shorts here and I definitely will not be next weekend.
“No, I appreciate the heads up, you might be the reason I survive.”
I’m looking forward to seeing you play here then again in London and thank you for coming to hang.
“Well thank you.”
And thank you for being the first person to come and chat with us on the boat!
“Whoop, whoop, I appreciate you having me and this lovely view. I don’t think it will get any better than this and I don’t think I’ll have an interview that can top it.”
Tyla Rodrigues will play at C2C: Country to Country in London with performances on Saturday March 14th at 16:30 on The Dutton Ranch Stage in The Paramount+ Town Square, then again on Sunday March 15th where you can catch her at 12:30 in The Saloon and finally at 14:20 on the Big Entrance Stage. Full festival details and last minute ticket information for London are available on their WEBSITE or socials (INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK) whilst you can find more information on the Berlin event on their WEBSITE or can relive all of this year’s activity on their INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK.
The new EP “Hold On Tight” from Tyla Rodrigues is out now and available HERE. To keep up to date with all that Tyla is up to, you can check out her WEBSITE and socials to follow along on INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK & TIKTOK.
