The Sit Down with Kasey Tyndall
Like any artist with a lasting impact, Kasey Tyndall knows that staying true to yourself takes a whole lot of courage and growth. A North Carolina native who started writing her own songs as a little girl and later got her big break after winning a radio contest to sing onstage in 2014 with Keith Urban before quitting school and heading to Nashville the next year. Tyndall is the former roommate of Lainey Wilson and was selected by CMT in 2023 as part of the same Next Women of Country class as Megan Moroney, Carter Faith, Ashley Cooke, Avery Anna, Mackenzie Carpernter and Alana Springsteen, which was the same year as her breakout hit “Dirt Road to Hell” but she really solidified her position as the leading female artist in the country rock space with her self-titled sophomore record released last year. UK fans will get their first opportunity to hear songs from this project played live at Country Calling in Chelmsford this weekend and before she flew over for the trip, Kasey jumped on Zoom with us to talk all about it.
Hey girl, how you doing?
“Hi, how are you?”
I'm doing really good and I'm looking forward to seeing you in person in a couple of days.
“I am the same, I can't believe it, it's my first time going over there, so I'm kind of freaking out a little bit but I can't wait and I'm so excited.”
So, have you never actually been here before at all then?
“First time to get across the pond. I have only been out of the states twice which were to Canada and Mexico, so I'm very excited.”
Are you just pretty much in and out or have you got time to be a tourist as well?
“This time, it’s in and out. I have a three year old, so it's going to be hard to be away from her, but next time, I'm definitely hoping to make a little mini trip out of it. This one this one ended up being kind of quick, but hey, it's better than nothing and I'll take it.”
Well, that's good news straight up that we're already talking about next time when you haven't even been here before. I’m really pumped for you coming to play because it has been a long time and I guess, the killer questions is why has it taken Kasey Tyndall so long to come over here?
“Well, to be really honest, the biggest thing is money. It's hard, it's really expensive and you have to be able to make like a run out of it to be able to do it. I've been asked a couple of times, but I just didn't have the money to front it, you know? I'm very excited and his is the first time I've actually been able to say yes.”
But I'm guessing you've heard from a few people that have been over here before, that the UK audiences are a little bit different. What have you heard about UK audience and what makes that so exciting to get to play for them?
“I'm excited. I've heard from my friends that y'all just love music, I mean everybody loves music but, we're not there all the time, so if you're a big country music fan, when we do get to come over, it's a huge party which is so exciting, everybody's just happy to be there and that makes me really excited. I feel like I have a lot of fans over there that I've just never been able to be in front of. During CMA Fest this year, a sweet couple from Germany was like, hey, we're coming to the festival and I'm like, oh, really? They're like, oh yeah, we go there all the time for anything like this. I'm just so excited.”
One thing that's going to be really cool about the festival is when you look at the lineup, both you and Erin Kinsey are playing on Sunday, where compared to a lot of the other girls who are playing, you're both a lot more towards the sort of rock side of country music.
“I would say definitely.”
You obviously put out “Jesus and Joan Jett” which tells a lot of your story on this but in terms of your musical influence, where did that sort of rock side really grab you and make you think this was the way to try and blend the two together?
“I mean, it starts with my mom, she was just a huge like eighties rock fan in general, but she loved Pat Benatar, Joan Jett and Heart, so that's kind of where I caught the bug. Then, obviously, growing up on Avril and Brantley Gilbert, but I also grew up on Alison Krauss and Rhonda Vincent, so it's really just a big mixture. I grew up riding in the car lot, my parents were divorced, so there was a lot of back and forth where I had a lot of time to listen to music and that's just where it shaped me and especially with the rock side. This next batch of music is a lot more rock, which is crazy and I'm really excited.”
“Hi, how are you?”
I'm doing really good and I'm looking forward to seeing you in person in a couple of days.
“I am the same, I can't believe it, it's my first time going over there, so I'm kind of freaking out a little bit but I can't wait and I'm so excited.”
So, have you never actually been here before at all then?
“First time to get across the pond. I have only been out of the states twice which were to Canada and Mexico, so I'm very excited.”
Are you just pretty much in and out or have you got time to be a tourist as well?
“This time, it’s in and out. I have a three year old, so it's going to be hard to be away from her, but next time, I'm definitely hoping to make a little mini trip out of it. This one this one ended up being kind of quick, but hey, it's better than nothing and I'll take it.”
Well, that's good news straight up that we're already talking about next time when you haven't even been here before. I’m really pumped for you coming to play because it has been a long time and I guess, the killer questions is why has it taken Kasey Tyndall so long to come over here?
“Well, to be really honest, the biggest thing is money. It's hard, it's really expensive and you have to be able to make like a run out of it to be able to do it. I've been asked a couple of times, but I just didn't have the money to front it, you know? I'm very excited and his is the first time I've actually been able to say yes.”
But I'm guessing you've heard from a few people that have been over here before, that the UK audiences are a little bit different. What have you heard about UK audience and what makes that so exciting to get to play for them?
“I'm excited. I've heard from my friends that y'all just love music, I mean everybody loves music but, we're not there all the time, so if you're a big country music fan, when we do get to come over, it's a huge party which is so exciting, everybody's just happy to be there and that makes me really excited. I feel like I have a lot of fans over there that I've just never been able to be in front of. During CMA Fest this year, a sweet couple from Germany was like, hey, we're coming to the festival and I'm like, oh, really? They're like, oh yeah, we go there all the time for anything like this. I'm just so excited.”
One thing that's going to be really cool about the festival is when you look at the lineup, both you and Erin Kinsey are playing on Sunday, where compared to a lot of the other girls who are playing, you're both a lot more towards the sort of rock side of country music.
“I would say definitely.”
You obviously put out “Jesus and Joan Jett” which tells a lot of your story on this but in terms of your musical influence, where did that sort of rock side really grab you and make you think this was the way to try and blend the two together?
“I mean, it starts with my mom, she was just a huge like eighties rock fan in general, but she loved Pat Benatar, Joan Jett and Heart, so that's kind of where I caught the bug. Then, obviously, growing up on Avril and Brantley Gilbert, but I also grew up on Alison Krauss and Rhonda Vincent, so it's really just a big mixture. I grew up riding in the car lot, my parents were divorced, so there was a lot of back and forth where I had a lot of time to listen to music and that's just where it shaped me and especially with the rock side. This next batch of music is a lot more rock, which is crazy and I'm really excited.”
Now with the genre opening up a lot and in a lot of different directions, where you're getting people that are doing things with EDM, people that are kind of looking on the pop side, people that are bringing rap into it as well as the heavier rock side like what Brantley Gilbert or TC3 are doing and everything can live in the country mainstream. Do you think this is a really bright time to kind of kick on for you and what you are saying is more on that rock edge with this new music?
“Totally. I've always had the rock edge, but I feel like, especially right now, the Brantley Gilbert's, definitely Hardy, (Jason) Aldean too are the reason in the country space that we get to really open up the rock door. I definitely think a lot of the artists that made the features and other genres super popular for country have definitely kicked that door open even wider, so I have definitely felt that I've been able to lean into the rock side even more than I already was without any hesitation from anybody. I'm really, really excited to keep to keep leaning that way.”
In terms of doors pushing open, we'll touch on your story with Lainey (Wilson) in a little bit, but what she's achieving is fantastic, then you've got Ella (Langley) who’s quickly become one of the biggest stars on the whole planet in any genre and Megan Moroney right up there as well, where it's amazing to see these girls getting the success. You were part of that same Next Women of Country class a couple of years back as Megan and some other girls that are killing it right now and I know Leslie (Fram) has moved on from CMT but are there still voices like her that are really fighting for girls getting the shot they deserve? Is it being a lot more open and are a lot more opportunities coming for female artists in general from what you're seeing?
“Definitely and speaking of Leslie, she has been such a huge part of leading the charge, honestly, on really kicking the doors down for women right now and she still is, she's just a new position doing that same thing, which is really cool. I just played her event in Napa, which was really neat, so she's still doing that. Everybody knew that this wave of females was coming as they were really good, the music was incredible and it was gonna happen, but I mean, all the females that came before us, like the Miranda’s, the Reba’s and all those women, everybody's just been ploughing away for us to be here. Obviously, Lainey and Ella are on top of the world right now so it's kind of like, we're here and we ain't going nowhere.”
Let's talk a little bit about your former roommate, how did the two of you meet? What makes Lainey Wilson so special and one of the best people to be able to write with where the two of you came up with “Middle Man”?
“Me and Lainey met, gosh, almost twelve years ago, I've been here for twelve and a half years and we met about a year in, I think. No, actually, we met once before I even moved to town. I was introduced through an old manager of mine and then we kind of reconnected after me and Mandelyn (Monchick), her manager moved here together from North Carolina and we met her again. I want to say it was at a writer's round and we just hit it off, then we realised that we lived up the street from her so we just all became best buds and then ended up getting a house together where we were roommates for five or six years. We just came up in the industry together and it's been so fun. I mean, what you see on TV and in interviews, that is who she is off camera, she's just as great as you think she is. I feel like sometimes there's artists that you meet that you're like, you're a little different behind the scenes, but Lainey is awesome. I mean, she is the give the shirt right off of her back kind of girl and when I met Lainey, she was writing two songs a day trying to get there and if you know anything about the writing world, writing two songs a day can be ridiculous. I mean, your brain just can't handle that but she was doing it, she was putting in the work and obviously you see that now, like she still puts in the work at just a crazy level and it's so fun.”
“Totally. I've always had the rock edge, but I feel like, especially right now, the Brantley Gilbert's, definitely Hardy, (Jason) Aldean too are the reason in the country space that we get to really open up the rock door. I definitely think a lot of the artists that made the features and other genres super popular for country have definitely kicked that door open even wider, so I have definitely felt that I've been able to lean into the rock side even more than I already was without any hesitation from anybody. I'm really, really excited to keep to keep leaning that way.”
In terms of doors pushing open, we'll touch on your story with Lainey (Wilson) in a little bit, but what she's achieving is fantastic, then you've got Ella (Langley) who’s quickly become one of the biggest stars on the whole planet in any genre and Megan Moroney right up there as well, where it's amazing to see these girls getting the success. You were part of that same Next Women of Country class a couple of years back as Megan and some other girls that are killing it right now and I know Leslie (Fram) has moved on from CMT but are there still voices like her that are really fighting for girls getting the shot they deserve? Is it being a lot more open and are a lot more opportunities coming for female artists in general from what you're seeing?
“Definitely and speaking of Leslie, she has been such a huge part of leading the charge, honestly, on really kicking the doors down for women right now and she still is, she's just a new position doing that same thing, which is really cool. I just played her event in Napa, which was really neat, so she's still doing that. Everybody knew that this wave of females was coming as they were really good, the music was incredible and it was gonna happen, but I mean, all the females that came before us, like the Miranda’s, the Reba’s and all those women, everybody's just been ploughing away for us to be here. Obviously, Lainey and Ella are on top of the world right now so it's kind of like, we're here and we ain't going nowhere.”
Let's talk a little bit about your former roommate, how did the two of you meet? What makes Lainey Wilson so special and one of the best people to be able to write with where the two of you came up with “Middle Man”?
“Me and Lainey met, gosh, almost twelve years ago, I've been here for twelve and a half years and we met about a year in, I think. No, actually, we met once before I even moved to town. I was introduced through an old manager of mine and then we kind of reconnected after me and Mandelyn (Monchick), her manager moved here together from North Carolina and we met her again. I want to say it was at a writer's round and we just hit it off, then we realised that we lived up the street from her so we just all became best buds and then ended up getting a house together where we were roommates for five or six years. We just came up in the industry together and it's been so fun. I mean, what you see on TV and in interviews, that is who she is off camera, she's just as great as you think she is. I feel like sometimes there's artists that you meet that you're like, you're a little different behind the scenes, but Lainey is awesome. I mean, she is the give the shirt right off of her back kind of girl and when I met Lainey, she was writing two songs a day trying to get there and if you know anything about the writing world, writing two songs a day can be ridiculous. I mean, your brain just can't handle that but she was doing it, she was putting in the work and obviously you see that now, like she still puts in the work at just a crazy level and it's so fun.”
“Then with “Middle Man” it was during COVID and we were on the back porch one night where we just got to talking about our families and how my parents were divorced. We literally had nowhere to go, we were just bored on the back porch, drinking a glass of wine and talking, where I was like, you know, the only thing that sucked about having divorced parents was being the oldest sibling and I was the middle man. Then she was like, go grab your guitar and that song kind of helped me not have to move home during COVID and it got me another publishing deal that allowed me to stay afloat. Lainey's one of my best buds and I’m just really thankful for her friendship and just what she's doing for the rest of us girls and country music.”
You've sort of teased that we're working towards album number three, I guess. What sort of stage are we in? Are you still writing towards it? Have you just got a bunch of songs and it's the case of picking them? Have you cut any or have you done all of that and you're just waiting for people to press the buttons and someone else tells you when they can drop? Where are we?
“Yeah, so I've cut five and we're going in in a couple weeks to finish the rest of it where we're eyeing the first quarter of next year for putting it out. I’ll have announced it by the time you get this out but I’ll have my first single from the record coming out in September. It will be out on the 18th and it's a song called “Old Me Is Dying” and we're playing it this weekend, it's on the list. That'll be the next single and that to me paints the picture, sonically where this record is going to go and lyrically as well. You're definitely going to see growth in all the things and I'm really excited to play it for you guys.”
Well, I'm buzzing for you to play and I'm really looking forward to meeting you IRL and giving you a massive hug.
“I'm so excited, thank you guys for having me and I'm looking forward to seeing y'all.”
The new single “Old Me Is Dying” from Kasey Tyndall will be released on September 18th and is available to pre-save HERE. You can find details of any of Kasey’s upcoming shows in North America on her WEBSITE and you can keep up to date with all that she is up to socially by following along on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK & FACEBOOK.
Country Calling will take place at Kings Farm in Chelmsford over the weekend of August 14th to 16th and you can find more details, along with ticket information on their WEBSITE whilst you can keep up to date with all of the latest news on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK or FACEBOOK.
You've sort of teased that we're working towards album number three, I guess. What sort of stage are we in? Are you still writing towards it? Have you just got a bunch of songs and it's the case of picking them? Have you cut any or have you done all of that and you're just waiting for people to press the buttons and someone else tells you when they can drop? Where are we?
“Yeah, so I've cut five and we're going in in a couple weeks to finish the rest of it where we're eyeing the first quarter of next year for putting it out. I’ll have announced it by the time you get this out but I’ll have my first single from the record coming out in September. It will be out on the 18th and it's a song called “Old Me Is Dying” and we're playing it this weekend, it's on the list. That'll be the next single and that to me paints the picture, sonically where this record is going to go and lyrically as well. You're definitely going to see growth in all the things and I'm really excited to play it for you guys.”
Well, I'm buzzing for you to play and I'm really looking forward to meeting you IRL and giving you a massive hug.
“I'm so excited, thank you guys for having me and I'm looking forward to seeing y'all.”
The new single “Old Me Is Dying” from Kasey Tyndall will be released on September 18th and is available to pre-save HERE. You can find details of any of Kasey’s upcoming shows in North America on her WEBSITE and you can keep up to date with all that she is up to socially by following along on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK & FACEBOOK.
Country Calling will take place at Kings Farm in Chelmsford over the weekend of August 14th to 16th and you can find more details, along with ticket information on their WEBSITE whilst you can keep up to date with all of the latest news on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK or FACEBOOK.