the sit down with harper o'neill
We last caught up with Harper O’Neill just over eighteen months ago when she appeared in both London and Berlin at C2C: Country to Country but luckily she not only has her brand new EP coming next week called “Learning to Unlove You” but she recently came back to see us when she performed at last months The Long Road festival where Jamie was able to spend some time hearing all about her new record.
It’s so nice to see you and really nice to meet you in person at last.
“I know and it's good to get away from that Zoom life.”
I love that you're a Coors Light girl as well.
“I am a Coors Light girl, normally, I'm a Miller girl though, I have to say.”
I keep trying but I can't get onto Miller.
“Really?”
We drink a lot of like American beers and the pub we drink at has a lot of imports, so I'm a big Modelo guy.
“I love a Modelo and I love a good Corona too, though.”
It's been a hot minute since you were last here. It was at C2C last year so about eighteen months ago but you had done a couple of support runs before that.
“Yep, I came with Ashley McBryde and Lainey Wilson.”
Then here we are again in the rain in Leicestershire.
“That’s right.”
To you Americans, Leicester and Leicestershire are horrible words because they have a lot of vowels which you don’t pronounce.
“Ha-ha yes, it’s very intimidating.”
It’s so nice to see you and really nice to meet you in person at last.
“I know and it's good to get away from that Zoom life.”
I love that you're a Coors Light girl as well.
“I am a Coors Light girl, normally, I'm a Miller girl though, I have to say.”
I keep trying but I can't get onto Miller.
“Really?”
We drink a lot of like American beers and the pub we drink at has a lot of imports, so I'm a big Modelo guy.
“I love a Modelo and I love a good Corona too, though.”
It's been a hot minute since you were last here. It was at C2C last year so about eighteen months ago but you had done a couple of support runs before that.
“Yep, I came with Ashley McBryde and Lainey Wilson.”
Then here we are again in the rain in Leicestershire.
“That’s right.”
To you Americans, Leicester and Leicestershire are horrible words because they have a lot of vowels which you don’t pronounce.
“Ha-ha yes, it’s very intimidating.”
True but apart from the rain, how was it playing here earlier today at The Long Road?
“Oh my gosh, I always love playing here, I really do. I saw many repeat fans that I've met over the years from touring with Lainey and touring with Ashley, they had my merch on, they were singing the words and everyone's just so warm and welcoming. They were dancing in the rain and really stuck it out with me, which was awesome.”
It must be really nice to know that when you're not playing with your usual band over here, you've got Mr. Donnelly that you can rely on and have your back.
“He is the best, I was really excited to play with Phil, we've known each other for a couple years now and this is a great excuse to have him put together a fantastic band of guys and play music together.”
The cool thing about playing at this festival compared to ones back at home is that you get a couple of bites of the cherry as you’re doing more than one set so it maxes out the day a bit more.
“Absolutely, especially since the last couple of our songs in our set got rained out, so it would be nice to start with those in my solo autistic set and make sure all the songs get the love.”
It keeps things fresh for you when you go from playing a full band set to be able to strip it back and do the storytelling stuff too.
“Yeah, I get to play some songs that maybe I wouldn't normally play in a festival setting and it'll be good to tell a little bit of my story.”
Then, coming on to the most exciting talking point, which is that we have a new project coming very soon.
“Ooooh this is exciting, isn’t it.”
“Oh my gosh, I always love playing here, I really do. I saw many repeat fans that I've met over the years from touring with Lainey and touring with Ashley, they had my merch on, they were singing the words and everyone's just so warm and welcoming. They were dancing in the rain and really stuck it out with me, which was awesome.”
It must be really nice to know that when you're not playing with your usual band over here, you've got Mr. Donnelly that you can rely on and have your back.
“He is the best, I was really excited to play with Phil, we've known each other for a couple years now and this is a great excuse to have him put together a fantastic band of guys and play music together.”
The cool thing about playing at this festival compared to ones back at home is that you get a couple of bites of the cherry as you’re doing more than one set so it maxes out the day a bit more.
“Absolutely, especially since the last couple of our songs in our set got rained out, so it would be nice to start with those in my solo autistic set and make sure all the songs get the love.”
It keeps things fresh for you when you go from playing a full band set to be able to strip it back and do the storytelling stuff too.
“Yeah, I get to play some songs that maybe I wouldn't normally play in a festival setting and it'll be good to tell a little bit of my story.”
Then, coming on to the most exciting talking point, which is that we have a new project coming very soon.
“Ooooh this is exciting, isn’t it.”
We have to wait until the 25th September but tell us all the deets about “Learning to Unlove You” which is three songs that you have put out this year and three more on there.
“That's right and then probably or maybe it'll roll into a whole album, I bet, if I had to guess. These songs are all some of my favourites I've written, especially the next one coming which is called “Unlove You”.”
Someone knows how this releasing music lark goes don’t they.
“I know!”
One a month leading up to the release and then the EP drop with the last ones, clever girl who that’s got it sussed.
“I'm trying to pretend, maybe he's talking that way ha-ha. I'm really excited though, it’s some of my favourite songwriting I've been able to do and I feel like I've just grown a lot since I first released the album in 2023. So, I think it's gonna be a big step in the right direction and still more to go, but super, super proud of this.”
Like you said, the last record was a few years back now so are these songs all things that have been work in progress over this period or are they generally very new where you felt like they fit together and have a good vibe?
“Some of the songs have been a work in progress over the last three years or so. I'd say the recording process has been about a year long, so it's a good mix of both. I always try to write for something and then if I write something better, it'll replace something in it and you're always trying to figure out the best songs.”
Talking about the three that have come out already, when we last spoke, we did a lot of fangirling about a strawberry blonde from Georgia and Meg (McRee) is a co-writer on two of those but you've got a Brit as a co-writer in there too!
“Yep, Jon Green.”
Indeed, we are talking about Mr Jon Green who was Lucie Silvas’s best kept secret and now everyone releases that this man is a genius. When did you first meet Jon and start writing with him?
“When I first moved to Nashville which I think it was late 2018 and Lucie’s record “E.G.O.” blew my mind, so I studied that record from top to bottom and I saw that she was a collaborator with Jon, then it's been a joy of my time there to get in the room with people that I've really looked up to for so long and I just think they're both brilliant. It was fun to collaborate with Meg too who I know very well and then one of my one of my idols and heroes in the same room was really special.”
With the three tracks so far, I see that you’ve had Brandon Hood sat in the chair for them, what's he like to work with and what makes him the right fit for this next phase of Harper O'Neill music?
“That’s a great question and I actually did a couple of songs with Anderson East as well including the next one that’s coming. Brandon is wonderful, I met him through my collaboration with Ty Myers and I think we have just a lot of similar tastes in music. We like the same records and we like the same style of playing so it's been really easy to create together and I would say the same with Anderson too. I'm a huge fan of Anderson East as an artist and as a songwriter, then as a producer, I feel like he just has a really unique way of bringing to life things, especially that we've created together as writers. It's been really special to work with both of them for so many different reasons.”
“That's right and then probably or maybe it'll roll into a whole album, I bet, if I had to guess. These songs are all some of my favourites I've written, especially the next one coming which is called “Unlove You”.”
Someone knows how this releasing music lark goes don’t they.
“I know!”
One a month leading up to the release and then the EP drop with the last ones, clever girl who that’s got it sussed.
“I'm trying to pretend, maybe he's talking that way ha-ha. I'm really excited though, it’s some of my favourite songwriting I've been able to do and I feel like I've just grown a lot since I first released the album in 2023. So, I think it's gonna be a big step in the right direction and still more to go, but super, super proud of this.”
Like you said, the last record was a few years back now so are these songs all things that have been work in progress over this period or are they generally very new where you felt like they fit together and have a good vibe?
“Some of the songs have been a work in progress over the last three years or so. I'd say the recording process has been about a year long, so it's a good mix of both. I always try to write for something and then if I write something better, it'll replace something in it and you're always trying to figure out the best songs.”
Talking about the three that have come out already, when we last spoke, we did a lot of fangirling about a strawberry blonde from Georgia and Meg (McRee) is a co-writer on two of those but you've got a Brit as a co-writer in there too!
“Yep, Jon Green.”
Indeed, we are talking about Mr Jon Green who was Lucie Silvas’s best kept secret and now everyone releases that this man is a genius. When did you first meet Jon and start writing with him?
“When I first moved to Nashville which I think it was late 2018 and Lucie’s record “E.G.O.” blew my mind, so I studied that record from top to bottom and I saw that she was a collaborator with Jon, then it's been a joy of my time there to get in the room with people that I've really looked up to for so long and I just think they're both brilliant. It was fun to collaborate with Meg too who I know very well and then one of my one of my idols and heroes in the same room was really special.”
With the three tracks so far, I see that you’ve had Brandon Hood sat in the chair for them, what's he like to work with and what makes him the right fit for this next phase of Harper O'Neill music?
“That’s a great question and I actually did a couple of songs with Anderson East as well including the next one that’s coming. Brandon is wonderful, I met him through my collaboration with Ty Myers and I think we have just a lot of similar tastes in music. We like the same records and we like the same style of playing so it's been really easy to create together and I would say the same with Anderson too. I'm a huge fan of Anderson East as an artist and as a songwriter, then as a producer, I feel like he just has a really unique way of bringing to life things, especially that we've created together as writers. It's been really special to work with both of them for so many different reasons.”
From what I’ve heard from these new tracks, sonically, it's not vastly different to what you've put out before so it's almost like you've honed in on this is what I do, I now know what I'm doing, I do it very well and this is what works. In terms of growth for you as an artist, what do you think people will see with this new project compared to “Dark Bar Daisy” which obviously goes back a couple of years.
“I think I've done a lot of soul searching in the last three years or so and made a bunch of different types of songs. I think exactly what you're saying is that I've recommitted to what I do naturally and just try to dial it up a little bit. I think the songs have gotten stronger, I think my voice has gotten stronger and I think it's just gonna naturally show up, then obviously I'm already thinking about what's next, so I'm trying to hone into it even further and take it up to the next level.”
Lastly, have you got plans to be coming back again?
“I can't see that far into the future, but you know I will be here as soon as it happens when the phone rings.”
The new EP “Learning to Unlove You” from Harper O’Neill is released on September 25th and is available to pre-save HERE. To learn more about Harper and all that she is up to you can check out her WEBSITE or follow her socially on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK X & FACEBOOK
The Long Road Festival will return to Stanford Hall in Leicestershire in 2027 between Thursday 26th and Sunday 29th August, with early bird tickets on sale now. You can find ticket details and further information on their WEBSITE and you can be the first to know all updates ahead of next year’s event as well as looking back on this years by checking out their socials on INSTAGRAM or FACEBOOK.
“I think I've done a lot of soul searching in the last three years or so and made a bunch of different types of songs. I think exactly what you're saying is that I've recommitted to what I do naturally and just try to dial it up a little bit. I think the songs have gotten stronger, I think my voice has gotten stronger and I think it's just gonna naturally show up, then obviously I'm already thinking about what's next, so I'm trying to hone into it even further and take it up to the next level.”
Lastly, have you got plans to be coming back again?
“I can't see that far into the future, but you know I will be here as soon as it happens when the phone rings.”
The new EP “Learning to Unlove You” from Harper O’Neill is released on September 25th and is available to pre-save HERE. To learn more about Harper and all that she is up to you can check out her WEBSITE or follow her socially on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK X & FACEBOOK
The Long Road Festival will return to Stanford Hall in Leicestershire in 2027 between Thursday 26th and Sunday 29th August, with early bird tickets on sale now. You can find ticket details and further information on their WEBSITE and you can be the first to know all updates ahead of next year’s event as well as looking back on this years by checking out their socials on INSTAGRAM or FACEBOOK.