The Sit Down with Florence Sommerville
2025 has been a busy year for Florence Sommerville, following sold-out full band concerts in January, she headed to Nashville in March and performed at the iconic Bluebird Café, alongside three of Music City’s top songwriters Sally Barris, Rebecca Folsom and Isaac Gill. The singer-songwriter from the small village of Orsett in Essex, thrives on modern Country music and has been playing guitar since she was eight years old. In addition to playing a string of large UK events including Latitude and Maverick Festival, Florence has just released her debut album “Endless Horizon” and as the summer continues to build traction including an appearance at Country Calling in Chelmsford, we spoke with Florence to hear more about the new record and everything else that is on the horizon.
Firstly, how does someone from South Essex start singing country music? What was like the first hit that got you addicted?
“I grew up with my sort of age range of girls, every sort of pop co reference was kind of countrified, whether it was early Taylor Swift or it was Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana and people like that, I was completely obsessed with Disney Channel when I was younger. That was basically everything that we were being shown but I didn't necessarily really know what country music was for a long time and it was only once I started learning to play the guitar. I was very shy child and music helped me come out of my shell a bit. I always liked singing then I started learning the guitar and it was when we went to a family friend's house who was a guitar player and he said to me here's a guitar, show us a bit of what you’ve got. I was playing Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and things like that but I didn't really know what it was that I liked. They’re country music fans themselves and they said, oh, you really remind us of a character from a TV show, I said, oh, okay, you know, which one is that? I was probably about twelve years old at the time and it was the Nashville series. I went home and watched it and I just remember watching the first episode, and that the whole series is just laced with brilliant songs and fantastic songwriting. I was obsessed from then on and I was obsessed with that music, I had the extended deluxe version of the albums and literally learned how to play the guitar by learning songs from that show. Once I knew that it was country music that it was that I liked, I just expanded from there, I was really into Carrie Underwood, Kelsea Ballerini, people like that and it just kind of kept going from there. I’ve heard a lot of UK acts got into it from their parents playing it, but my parents didn't necessarily at the time but they love it now. It's not something that they played so I kind of found it myself a little bit.”
I guess with the more modern generation, the stigma of country music isn't as taboo as what it used to be. Yes, when Beyonce played those shows at Spurs, they rolled up there in pink, frilly cowboy hats and stuff so there is a bit of that still around, but more people know what country music actually is now. I think the thing that makes country music what it is, is the songwriting and the depth of it where even though we don't have that Southern lifestyle that's central for a lot of people, it’s just real. I guess that's the real draw as a songwriter where you’ve found your place and it just allows you to be real whereas other kind of boxes don't really allow you to do that.
“Absolutely, I think one of the reasons that I fell in love with it so quickly and so easily was because I've always been someone who wears their heart on her sleeve and as a younger kid at school who didn't really fit in, it was kind of like, oh, that's not great, you know, that doesn't really help. But as soon as I saw how the characters of the show were basically just living out the songs, then as soon as I saw all of that happening, it was something that I could relate to, something that I could believe in and something that I felt represented me. You’re so right that songwriting is the most important part, not only is it stories because country music is built on stories, but it’s also the roar and a lot of the times it's just not sugar coating it. It's just this is what it is, this is how it is and this is who I am which I think is so brilliant for young people to see and as a young person, I was absolutely obsessed.”
You've been to Nashville yourself a couple of times now, in terms of when you've been going over there professionally and working, obviously you get to work with really talented people where music is their entire life, but as an artist, what do you take most out of spending time in Nashville and working there compared to back at home?
“I think the thing that sets Nashville apart from any other city that I've been to, whether it's a city full of music or not, is that it’s purely the community. It's insane that apart from the fact that there is a songwriter everywhere you go, you go to a bar and your bartender's a songwriter, you go get coffee and the lady pouring your coffee is a songwriter. Everyone is a songwriter and there are so many amazing people to learn from because every house is full of artists and creatives. For a place that really citywide is not that small, for there to be that much saturated talent but where everyone supports each other, is completely unheard of. The first time I went, I was so nervous to play a songwriters round and I played some open mikes as well, I was so nervous to play my music because, I was like this English girl coming in and my version of their music, you know what I mean? I was terrified, but I have never been to a place that was more loving and welcoming of any kind of creative, any talent and people say that it's the country music city, it is absolutely but it's Music City! It's the blue scene, the jazz or the rock scene, all of that is massive there and for such a saturated talent pool, everyone helps each other out. Everyone knows each other because it's like a small town but it never feels like anyone is trying to out anyone of the circle or that there's any stepping on each other's toes and stuff like that. It's an industry at the end of the day, yes, it is but it just feels so wholesome and small town like. I think that's the thing that sets it apart from everything else, Nashville, it's one big, massive community and that's not just for people that are from Nashville. There are Australians that I know that live there, people from England, people from Canada and all over the US. I would say that only one out of every twenty people that I spoke to actually comes from there, it full of transplants. One of my favourite songwriters that I write with all the time in Nashville, Sally Barris, she comes from Minnesota and there are so many people from all over. Nashville has turned into the city where everyone who didn't know where to go and didn't know who to be goes there and we can be like that together. I think it brilliant.”
Since you last went over, you've now got a full body of work out which is obviously quite a big thing. While you might have put bits of music out, the odd single, you'll have covers online and people can hear how you sing but you’re still having to tell your story every time before an album. Now you do have “Endless Horizon” out and having that full body of work released is that the biggest thing you take away from putting it out? It's like, this is my introduction, this is who I am, this is where I'm at right now. You've seen snapshots in the past, but this is my story so far.
“Absolutely, the music that I had out before, I had a three track EP that I released in 2023, but even when I released that, those songs were quite old songs so they were hearing me before what I was even then, let alone now. Singles's are good, but again, it's just one song, you're right and especially in the UK, for some reason that seems to be more important, it was kind of in the States as well. People would say, oh, what kind of music do you play? I said I play country music and they’re like so what kind of country music? I'm like, do we really have to get it down? I don't like genres, do we really have to go down that far into what kind of country music. When people ask me it’s like, yeah, my music is country, it's kind of Americana, it's kind of this and kind of that, because I love variety, even in this album, I wouldn't say that there are two songs that you can easily put in the same you know, specific sub category. For someone like me who loves variety and as much as they can, to be asked to define your music that closely is a bit of an, oh, I really don't know what to say right now. Having the album out in its varied beauty, has been really good because when people say what kind of music do you play? I'm like, well, take this. There’s a song on there that is bluesy, there’s one that’s straight up pop country, there are some on there that are a bit more rock county, there’s all sorts on there and each one is a representation of a part of my musical taste and who I am as an artist.”
You'd said that when you put the “On My Way” EP out a while back, that some of those were quite old songs as well by the time it came out and then on “Endless Horizon” it is a mixture of songs that you had written yourself and ones where you had a co-writer on. Were you generally writing that in kind of two blocks with some of some of the songs being older songs that just weren't a fit at the time with the EP or have they all been songs you wrote since the EP where you obviously had the co-written songs that just pulled in nicely?
“When we first started putting this all together, it wasn't an album, it was planned to be a seven track EP, then myself and my manager took a Nashville trip where I did a lot of co-writes and I was writing six songs anyway at the same time on my own and we kind of had all of these songs that belonged with the other songs, the original lineup of seven. Then we said it's got bit album, just got to do it. As far as the writing goes, it wasn't like the songs were written for an album, a lot of people write to release an album but it wasn't like that at all. I think there's one that it kind of older than the rest of them but a lot of them were written at the same time, they were definitely written after the EP. I did a lot of songwriting development after releasing them because I’d never been in the studio before, I'd never really done any of that so it was such a learning curve and because those songs were older songs, I was kind of like, that's not really how I feel in myself anymore so let's write a whole load of songs that are how I feel in myself.”
Are you one of those people that kind of writes all the time to the extent that now you're playing these shows and you're essentially touring the album where even though the songs are new songs in terms of putting them out, but you'd written those a while back and by the time you are playing the shows, you have even more songs that you are itching for people to hear?
“Yeah, it's really bizarre because I definitely am someone who's writing all the time, whether I've got co-writes set up, which I try to do regularly, or just on my own, I'm always writing. You're kind of right that when we're touring the album, we're basically playing the album track list and I still can't get over the way it sounds with the band because I spent so long being just me and my guitar where I've been dreaming about playing with the band for such a long time. Every time I get on stage with the band, it's like I'm hearing these songs in a whole new way so it still does feel new to me, it all feels new to me all the time and I'm so excited by that every time I'm on stage. You are right in a sense as well, because there's maybe ten, twelve or like a whole other album’s worth of songs that I’ve written since we started doing this album and yes, like you say, every songwriter's favourite song that they've written is just the last one that they wrote most of the time. Because this is the first album that I've been playing with the band, the only songs that I'm really loving playing at the moment are these songs from the album. It’s special because I feel like I've finally released a body of the work that does really represent me as an artist so you get excited every time you get to play it.”
You talked about playing with your band and in a couple of weeks' time, you have got your guys with you for a nice local show in Chelmsford for Country Calling. Being from Maldon, I spent a lot of my teenage years and early twenties at V Festival where that weekend at Hylands Park was always the highlight of the summer so it is awesome to have big events back there. How good does it feel to have a really big country festival with a host of international stars in your home county and how cool does it feel to be a part of something like this so close to home?
“Oh, it's insane cool, I mean, I'm such a big fan of festivals, I have been my whole life. My whole family love going to festivals, we camp and we love the whole festival journey, so the fact that this is their second year and it’s in Chelmsford which is so close to me, for it to be a country festival with these amazing artists coming from all over to play it, is so exciting. I’m so happy that I get to be a part of it and play there. I've done a few festivals in my career so far, but they've all been on my own and I mean, all the festivals that I've been to, I have to say, the bands are who I aim for so I'm so excited about that. It’s funny, Nathan who is in the band, lives in Morden where a lot of our gigs have seemed to be in rural Kent or rural Essex along with a few London shows. We were laughing because he said that playing with me, he felt like he was just a tour of the rural parts of the counties and places that he’d never been to before. So, I'm happy to be able to be doing that and actually we have Motor Mule festival in Kent this weekend where I’m playing with the band as well so, we've got a Kent one and then we've got an Essex one straight after.”
2025 Show Dates
August 9 – Motor Mule Festival, Birchington
August 9 - The Hare, Blean
August 14 – Lil’ Nashville, Chiswick
August 16 – Country Calling Festival, Chelmsford
August 22 – Hux Kensington Live, London
August 24 – The Dog House Charity Festival, Ashford
August 29 – The Star, Guildford
August 31 – Anchor Arts, Wingham
October 1 – Hot Box, Chelmsford
October 19 – Headgate Theatre, Colchester
The new album “Endless Horizon” from Florence Sommerville is out now and you can catch her through the summer on the tour dates shown above with full details on her WEBSITE or you can keep in touch with her socially on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK & FACEBOOK.
Firstly, how does someone from South Essex start singing country music? What was like the first hit that got you addicted?
“I grew up with my sort of age range of girls, every sort of pop co reference was kind of countrified, whether it was early Taylor Swift or it was Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana and people like that, I was completely obsessed with Disney Channel when I was younger. That was basically everything that we were being shown but I didn't necessarily really know what country music was for a long time and it was only once I started learning to play the guitar. I was very shy child and music helped me come out of my shell a bit. I always liked singing then I started learning the guitar and it was when we went to a family friend's house who was a guitar player and he said to me here's a guitar, show us a bit of what you’ve got. I was playing Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and things like that but I didn't really know what it was that I liked. They’re country music fans themselves and they said, oh, you really remind us of a character from a TV show, I said, oh, okay, you know, which one is that? I was probably about twelve years old at the time and it was the Nashville series. I went home and watched it and I just remember watching the first episode, and that the whole series is just laced with brilliant songs and fantastic songwriting. I was obsessed from then on and I was obsessed with that music, I had the extended deluxe version of the albums and literally learned how to play the guitar by learning songs from that show. Once I knew that it was country music that it was that I liked, I just expanded from there, I was really into Carrie Underwood, Kelsea Ballerini, people like that and it just kind of kept going from there. I’ve heard a lot of UK acts got into it from their parents playing it, but my parents didn't necessarily at the time but they love it now. It's not something that they played so I kind of found it myself a little bit.”
I guess with the more modern generation, the stigma of country music isn't as taboo as what it used to be. Yes, when Beyonce played those shows at Spurs, they rolled up there in pink, frilly cowboy hats and stuff so there is a bit of that still around, but more people know what country music actually is now. I think the thing that makes country music what it is, is the songwriting and the depth of it where even though we don't have that Southern lifestyle that's central for a lot of people, it’s just real. I guess that's the real draw as a songwriter where you’ve found your place and it just allows you to be real whereas other kind of boxes don't really allow you to do that.
“Absolutely, I think one of the reasons that I fell in love with it so quickly and so easily was because I've always been someone who wears their heart on her sleeve and as a younger kid at school who didn't really fit in, it was kind of like, oh, that's not great, you know, that doesn't really help. But as soon as I saw how the characters of the show were basically just living out the songs, then as soon as I saw all of that happening, it was something that I could relate to, something that I could believe in and something that I felt represented me. You’re so right that songwriting is the most important part, not only is it stories because country music is built on stories, but it’s also the roar and a lot of the times it's just not sugar coating it. It's just this is what it is, this is how it is and this is who I am which I think is so brilliant for young people to see and as a young person, I was absolutely obsessed.”
You've been to Nashville yourself a couple of times now, in terms of when you've been going over there professionally and working, obviously you get to work with really talented people where music is their entire life, but as an artist, what do you take most out of spending time in Nashville and working there compared to back at home?
“I think the thing that sets Nashville apart from any other city that I've been to, whether it's a city full of music or not, is that it’s purely the community. It's insane that apart from the fact that there is a songwriter everywhere you go, you go to a bar and your bartender's a songwriter, you go get coffee and the lady pouring your coffee is a songwriter. Everyone is a songwriter and there are so many amazing people to learn from because every house is full of artists and creatives. For a place that really citywide is not that small, for there to be that much saturated talent but where everyone supports each other, is completely unheard of. The first time I went, I was so nervous to play a songwriters round and I played some open mikes as well, I was so nervous to play my music because, I was like this English girl coming in and my version of their music, you know what I mean? I was terrified, but I have never been to a place that was more loving and welcoming of any kind of creative, any talent and people say that it's the country music city, it is absolutely but it's Music City! It's the blue scene, the jazz or the rock scene, all of that is massive there and for such a saturated talent pool, everyone helps each other out. Everyone knows each other because it's like a small town but it never feels like anyone is trying to out anyone of the circle or that there's any stepping on each other's toes and stuff like that. It's an industry at the end of the day, yes, it is but it just feels so wholesome and small town like. I think that's the thing that sets it apart from everything else, Nashville, it's one big, massive community and that's not just for people that are from Nashville. There are Australians that I know that live there, people from England, people from Canada and all over the US. I would say that only one out of every twenty people that I spoke to actually comes from there, it full of transplants. One of my favourite songwriters that I write with all the time in Nashville, Sally Barris, she comes from Minnesota and there are so many people from all over. Nashville has turned into the city where everyone who didn't know where to go and didn't know who to be goes there and we can be like that together. I think it brilliant.”
Since you last went over, you've now got a full body of work out which is obviously quite a big thing. While you might have put bits of music out, the odd single, you'll have covers online and people can hear how you sing but you’re still having to tell your story every time before an album. Now you do have “Endless Horizon” out and having that full body of work released is that the biggest thing you take away from putting it out? It's like, this is my introduction, this is who I am, this is where I'm at right now. You've seen snapshots in the past, but this is my story so far.
“Absolutely, the music that I had out before, I had a three track EP that I released in 2023, but even when I released that, those songs were quite old songs so they were hearing me before what I was even then, let alone now. Singles's are good, but again, it's just one song, you're right and especially in the UK, for some reason that seems to be more important, it was kind of in the States as well. People would say, oh, what kind of music do you play? I said I play country music and they’re like so what kind of country music? I'm like, do we really have to get it down? I don't like genres, do we really have to go down that far into what kind of country music. When people ask me it’s like, yeah, my music is country, it's kind of Americana, it's kind of this and kind of that, because I love variety, even in this album, I wouldn't say that there are two songs that you can easily put in the same you know, specific sub category. For someone like me who loves variety and as much as they can, to be asked to define your music that closely is a bit of an, oh, I really don't know what to say right now. Having the album out in its varied beauty, has been really good because when people say what kind of music do you play? I'm like, well, take this. There’s a song on there that is bluesy, there’s one that’s straight up pop country, there are some on there that are a bit more rock county, there’s all sorts on there and each one is a representation of a part of my musical taste and who I am as an artist.”
You'd said that when you put the “On My Way” EP out a while back, that some of those were quite old songs as well by the time it came out and then on “Endless Horizon” it is a mixture of songs that you had written yourself and ones where you had a co-writer on. Were you generally writing that in kind of two blocks with some of some of the songs being older songs that just weren't a fit at the time with the EP or have they all been songs you wrote since the EP where you obviously had the co-written songs that just pulled in nicely?
“When we first started putting this all together, it wasn't an album, it was planned to be a seven track EP, then myself and my manager took a Nashville trip where I did a lot of co-writes and I was writing six songs anyway at the same time on my own and we kind of had all of these songs that belonged with the other songs, the original lineup of seven. Then we said it's got bit album, just got to do it. As far as the writing goes, it wasn't like the songs were written for an album, a lot of people write to release an album but it wasn't like that at all. I think there's one that it kind of older than the rest of them but a lot of them were written at the same time, they were definitely written after the EP. I did a lot of songwriting development after releasing them because I’d never been in the studio before, I'd never really done any of that so it was such a learning curve and because those songs were older songs, I was kind of like, that's not really how I feel in myself anymore so let's write a whole load of songs that are how I feel in myself.”
Are you one of those people that kind of writes all the time to the extent that now you're playing these shows and you're essentially touring the album where even though the songs are new songs in terms of putting them out, but you'd written those a while back and by the time you are playing the shows, you have even more songs that you are itching for people to hear?
“Yeah, it's really bizarre because I definitely am someone who's writing all the time, whether I've got co-writes set up, which I try to do regularly, or just on my own, I'm always writing. You're kind of right that when we're touring the album, we're basically playing the album track list and I still can't get over the way it sounds with the band because I spent so long being just me and my guitar where I've been dreaming about playing with the band for such a long time. Every time I get on stage with the band, it's like I'm hearing these songs in a whole new way so it still does feel new to me, it all feels new to me all the time and I'm so excited by that every time I'm on stage. You are right in a sense as well, because there's maybe ten, twelve or like a whole other album’s worth of songs that I’ve written since we started doing this album and yes, like you say, every songwriter's favourite song that they've written is just the last one that they wrote most of the time. Because this is the first album that I've been playing with the band, the only songs that I'm really loving playing at the moment are these songs from the album. It’s special because I feel like I've finally released a body of the work that does really represent me as an artist so you get excited every time you get to play it.”
You talked about playing with your band and in a couple of weeks' time, you have got your guys with you for a nice local show in Chelmsford for Country Calling. Being from Maldon, I spent a lot of my teenage years and early twenties at V Festival where that weekend at Hylands Park was always the highlight of the summer so it is awesome to have big events back there. How good does it feel to have a really big country festival with a host of international stars in your home county and how cool does it feel to be a part of something like this so close to home?
“Oh, it's insane cool, I mean, I'm such a big fan of festivals, I have been my whole life. My whole family love going to festivals, we camp and we love the whole festival journey, so the fact that this is their second year and it’s in Chelmsford which is so close to me, for it to be a country festival with these amazing artists coming from all over to play it, is so exciting. I’m so happy that I get to be a part of it and play there. I've done a few festivals in my career so far, but they've all been on my own and I mean, all the festivals that I've been to, I have to say, the bands are who I aim for so I'm so excited about that. It’s funny, Nathan who is in the band, lives in Morden where a lot of our gigs have seemed to be in rural Kent or rural Essex along with a few London shows. We were laughing because he said that playing with me, he felt like he was just a tour of the rural parts of the counties and places that he’d never been to before. So, I'm happy to be able to be doing that and actually we have Motor Mule festival in Kent this weekend where I’m playing with the band as well so, we've got a Kent one and then we've got an Essex one straight after.”
2025 Show Dates
August 9 – Motor Mule Festival, Birchington
August 9 - The Hare, Blean
August 14 – Lil’ Nashville, Chiswick
August 16 – Country Calling Festival, Chelmsford
August 22 – Hux Kensington Live, London
August 24 – The Dog House Charity Festival, Ashford
August 29 – The Star, Guildford
August 31 – Anchor Arts, Wingham
October 1 – Hot Box, Chelmsford
October 19 – Headgate Theatre, Colchester
The new album “Endless Horizon” from Florence Sommerville is out now and you can catch her through the summer on the tour dates shown above with full details on her WEBSITE or you can keep in touch with her socially on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK & FACEBOOK.
