The Sit Down with Chanel Yates
2025 has been a huge year for Chanel Yates where she has cemented her place as one of the hottest emerging acts in country music on this side of the Atlantic with her infectious and catchy melodies along with charming and fun on-stage performances. Through the course of the year, she made her debut at C2C: Country to Country, opened for Alexandra Kay on her extensive UK tour, has had mainstream radio airplay on both BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2, had viral success with her hit “Big Girl Boots” along with playing Reading and Leeds festivals which are two of the UK’s largest multi-genre events.
As the year draws to a close, Chanel has just released her latest track “Colourblind” and also announced her first headline show for February at The Grace in London so we had plenty to catchup on and look forward to when we hung out with her on Zoom.
How you doing girl?
“I'm good, I'm really good. My tickets went up for sale for my show today and we've sold out the pre-sale already which is very fun so have just been working on that this morning.”
Yay! Well done you, it’s main sale tomorrow isn’t it and it’s at The Grace in Highbury. It’s a cool venue, with a bit of WWE style steel cage like structure around the bar where you think it could be chaos if things get too rowdy. Selling out in the pre-sale is amazing but getting to do your first headline show somewhere like there is a really big thing and one of those things that really shows you how things are progressing.
“Yeah for sure, it's a good one, I'm very excited.”
As the year draws to a close, Chanel has just released her latest track “Colourblind” and also announced her first headline show for February at The Grace in London so we had plenty to catchup on and look forward to when we hung out with her on Zoom.
How you doing girl?
“I'm good, I'm really good. My tickets went up for sale for my show today and we've sold out the pre-sale already which is very fun so have just been working on that this morning.”
Yay! Well done you, it’s main sale tomorrow isn’t it and it’s at The Grace in Highbury. It’s a cool venue, with a bit of WWE style steel cage like structure around the bar where you think it could be chaos if things get too rowdy. Selling out in the pre-sale is amazing but getting to do your first headline show somewhere like there is a really big thing and one of those things that really shows you how things are progressing.
“Yeah for sure, it's a good one, I'm very excited.”
I know I've seen you about a bunch at various things, but since we last like spoke properly, which was like in March, I guess, you've been super, super busy, so let's start with the one that really stands out to me. Reading and Leeds, which obviously is huge, it's probably the biggest festival here outside of Glastonbury and although it's multi-genre, it's typically not somewhere that country, Americana and even commercial pop artists tend to feature too much. How was that in terms of playing and also, how was that as a crowd for an artist like you compared to what you're normally used to at country events?
“Yeah, it was really, really cool. I got to represent country music at a festival that, like you say is not really known for that. It was a very special moment and I got to play with a band with my new music which was amazing because I have the most talented friends. My friend Caleb on the drums, Tom on guitar and Ollie was on my playback for one of the shows. It was just crazy, it was really fun and Chappell Roan was headlining the big stage and it was a great crossover because her fans, I'd say are very similar to my fans so there's a really cool crossover there with people wearing cowboy hats, boots and everything. So, they stopped and saw me wearing a cowboy hat and boots where they were like, oh, this is my kind of music. It was really fun to be able to own the stage in that sense and headline on my first time playing Reading and Leeds, It was really fun.”
You mentioned you played with a band there, is that something that we're going to see at the show at The Grace?
“Yeah, I would say I'd expect a band. It's very fun to just have my boys on stage with me or the girls if I end up getting girls in the band. It’s too fun so definitely looking out for a band.”
Another cool thing this year, was going out on the road with Alexandra Kay and I thought you were great when I saw you at Shepherd’s Bush. We also love you neon sign and it looks so cool! I love AK, I got to chat with her in Berlin last year and she’s so much fun but what’s she like to tour with?
“She's really great, her team are amazing and I’m thankful for having the opportunity to be on the road with them and make really good friends with them. It's lovely to be in that environment and we played some really epic venues, like O2 Shepherd’s Bush has been on the bucket list for a while and we got to tick that off, which was so fun. It was me and Ollie, he controls all my playback and everything runs smooth. He's always watching and it was great, it was really fun time.”
As well as the headline show being announced, we’ve had some new music, so give us the backstory being “Colourblind” and where the idea came from.
“Yeah, it was really, really cool. I got to represent country music at a festival that, like you say is not really known for that. It was a very special moment and I got to play with a band with my new music which was amazing because I have the most talented friends. My friend Caleb on the drums, Tom on guitar and Ollie was on my playback for one of the shows. It was just crazy, it was really fun and Chappell Roan was headlining the big stage and it was a great crossover because her fans, I'd say are very similar to my fans so there's a really cool crossover there with people wearing cowboy hats, boots and everything. So, they stopped and saw me wearing a cowboy hat and boots where they were like, oh, this is my kind of music. It was really fun to be able to own the stage in that sense and headline on my first time playing Reading and Leeds, It was really fun.”
You mentioned you played with a band there, is that something that we're going to see at the show at The Grace?
“Yeah, I would say I'd expect a band. It's very fun to just have my boys on stage with me or the girls if I end up getting girls in the band. It’s too fun so definitely looking out for a band.”
Another cool thing this year, was going out on the road with Alexandra Kay and I thought you were great when I saw you at Shepherd’s Bush. We also love you neon sign and it looks so cool! I love AK, I got to chat with her in Berlin last year and she’s so much fun but what’s she like to tour with?
“She's really great, her team are amazing and I’m thankful for having the opportunity to be on the road with them and make really good friends with them. It's lovely to be in that environment and we played some really epic venues, like O2 Shepherd’s Bush has been on the bucket list for a while and we got to tick that off, which was so fun. It was me and Ollie, he controls all my playback and everything runs smooth. He's always watching and it was great, it was really fun time.”
As well as the headline show being announced, we’ve had some new music, so give us the backstory being “Colourblind” and where the idea came from.
“Yeah it came at a point of me just trying to write a lot of new music. I spent a lot of time in Nashville, then when I came back, we got in the studio and we were like, okay, well, I need a new record to put out, what could it be? We started writing “Colourblind” and I was kind of in a place where I'd released like a revenge anthem with “Shotgun Seat” and “Big Girl Boots” are very powerful anthems, and I thought, we need another. “Colourblind” is that don't get bitter, get better, kind of mindset. It's just like, I don't need to prove anything to you that I'm doing better than you, because clearly, I'm just doing better than you. I think it's just fun to be like the nonchalant big sister of all of the three songs that I've released this year. I love it because in the chorus, there is very playful lyricism with colour theory in there, so like, I saw red when you walked out then I was down and blue when I was crying on the couch. It just uses colour of a lot, I love colour and every corset was a different colour in my show so I just love incorporating colour and I think I got to do that with “Colourblind” so it's very fun.”
You'd said that this was the third of three songs this year, are we building towards something bigger and more extended with them?
“I'm not too sure yet. I'm working on a lot of stuff and I'm kind of compiling as it goes along, where whatever happens next year, happens next year, but I think there's a lot of new music that I will be putting out next year because I just love it. I think that “Big Girl Boots” and “Shotgun Seat” have set a really fun wave for my sound and I think it's just been so cool to be able to see them connect with my fans in a different way. So, yeah, I expect lots of new music next year. I'm not sure what it will look like but I have plans in my head and I'm very excited so we'll see where it goes.”
In terms of the rest of this year and prior to the show at The Grace, have you got any other things planned? I know you're doing Song Suffragettes which is really cool that it is starting up again over here. It’s become such a Nashville institution with what Todd set up there and then all the great work that Phoebe did to get it running over here before so I’m interested to see how it works at Lil Nashville and it looks a fun lineup with Maya Lane on there too.
“I’m really excited, I heard a lot about Song Suffragettes when I was in Nashville and I think it’s so cool to be a part of it, it’s a platform for country music, so long live, you know.”
You'd said that this was the third of three songs this year, are we building towards something bigger and more extended with them?
“I'm not too sure yet. I'm working on a lot of stuff and I'm kind of compiling as it goes along, where whatever happens next year, happens next year, but I think there's a lot of new music that I will be putting out next year because I just love it. I think that “Big Girl Boots” and “Shotgun Seat” have set a really fun wave for my sound and I think it's just been so cool to be able to see them connect with my fans in a different way. So, yeah, I expect lots of new music next year. I'm not sure what it will look like but I have plans in my head and I'm very excited so we'll see where it goes.”
In terms of the rest of this year and prior to the show at The Grace, have you got any other things planned? I know you're doing Song Suffragettes which is really cool that it is starting up again over here. It’s become such a Nashville institution with what Todd set up there and then all the great work that Phoebe did to get it running over here before so I’m interested to see how it works at Lil Nashville and it looks a fun lineup with Maya Lane on there too.
“I’m really excited, I heard a lot about Song Suffragettes when I was in Nashville and I think it’s so cool to be a part of it, it’s a platform for country music, so long live, you know.”
Well, hopefully the rest of the tickets sell out as quickly tomorrow, once they go on general sale.
“Well, if anyone wants to come, that’s super exciting to me as it’s my first headline show so, I’m so stoked for it and also, I’ve got my Christmas song so we’ll start hearing that again with some new fun content around that. It's called “Cowboy For Christmas” and it it'll be so fun because of the growth from last year to this year, a lot of people don't know that song exists. I released that in December last year, so we we'll be hearing it again, it will feel brand new again to everyone as we've not heard it for a whole 365 days so, that will be up and about soon too.”
The new single “Colourblind” from Chanel Yates is out now and is available HERE. Chanel will play her first solo headline show at The Grace in London on Thursday 12th February 2026 with tickets on sale tomorrow at 10:00 and available HERE.
To learn more about Chanel, you can check out her WEBSITE and you can keep up to date with her socially: INSTAGRAM TIKTOK FACEBOOK & X.
“Well, if anyone wants to come, that’s super exciting to me as it’s my first headline show so, I’m so stoked for it and also, I’ve got my Christmas song so we’ll start hearing that again with some new fun content around that. It's called “Cowboy For Christmas” and it it'll be so fun because of the growth from last year to this year, a lot of people don't know that song exists. I released that in December last year, so we we'll be hearing it again, it will feel brand new again to everyone as we've not heard it for a whole 365 days so, that will be up and about soon too.”
The new single “Colourblind” from Chanel Yates is out now and is available HERE. Chanel will play her first solo headline show at The Grace in London on Thursday 12th February 2026 with tickets on sale tomorrow at 10:00 and available HERE.
To learn more about Chanel, you can check out her WEBSITE and you can keep up to date with her socially: INSTAGRAM TIKTOK FACEBOOK & X.
