The Sit Down with KC Johns
KC Johns had a breakthrough 2024 with the success of her hit track Rodeo Queen, which was selected for Top 10 Songs in Texas by Texas CMA and reached nearly a million streams across platforms. This year KC has released two further singles – Break From The Heart and Smoke Show – and now brings her band to the UK for the first time. Raised on the Tennessee-Mississippi Line, KC is in the UK to play a mixture of festival and headline shows including Buckle and Boots Festival and Country in the Afternoon.
Hi KC, welcome to England!
Oh my gosh, this is my first time to the UK, it's been so much fun.
When did you land?
We had some flight stuff go on, but we got here and then we had to fly to Spain and come back on Saturday morning! So, we got here just in time for sound check for our Saturday show. We played the show and then we played Sunday in Cardiff and we're still in Cardiff right now.
How have those first kind of shows been then?
Amazing, so much fun. It's been great. The first show was in Wolverhampton and it was at a bar called Rodeo's and was super cool vibes. The show was sold out and super fun. On Sunday, we played at the Foodies Festival, which was really fun.
Were you expecting a sold out show for that first day?
Absolutely not. I didn't know it was sold out until a week before, and my manager Paul had texted me and he was like, good news, your show is sold out. And I'm like, well, there must be other bands playing that night, because literally I hadn't looked at the schedule or anything and when I was looking at everything, I was like, oh, dang, this is like just me, this is awesome.
Have you kind of noticed listeners building over here in the UK the last few months?
Definitely, especially with people reaching out on my Instagram and talking about how much they love country music. That's been like crazy to me. That's awesome.
Was it always the idea to come over to do a string of shows rather than just coming for Buckle and Boots?
Yeah, the Buckle and Boots reached out to me about doing one date out here and I was like, dude, if we're gonna be out there, can we just stay out there for a couple of weeks? We might as well just put a legit tour together. It’s worked out great.
Are you already messaging back home and put in dates for another comeback?
Oh, yes, absolutely. The first gig we played, they're already reaching out for us to come back in the fall. They're working on dates now, which is awesome. That's what we want and I'm just happy people like the music. That's like, it means a lot.
Are you noticing any differences so far between the crowds over here and what you're getting back in Nashville?
You guys know how to party. That's for sure. It’s good vibes all around, good energy, it's been really fun.
You've got quite a mixture of shows, from Foodies to festival appearances o pop up shows at bars, is it quite nice to get that mixture in and almost get your name out there to such a wide variety of people, not just necessarily country music fans?
It is really cool. What I do isn't just country music, it's like country, rock and roll and blues. I hope that whoever comes out to our shows breathe that in, and they like it. I feel like it's been good feedback and hopefully people accept it and like it. There's a gig that I play that will be just an acoustic gig, it'll just be me and my guitar, so I'm actually looking forward to that as the whole band is out here for the other shows and they're just rocking it. We've got my girl Andrea on guitar. We've got my girl Casey on bass. I mean, we got all chicks in the front and it's just a rocking show. It's awesome.
You've got some new tracks released in recent months. Are you getting to play those tracks and obviously introduce yourself that way?
Yeah, we’ve got two more singles coming out this year too. They're both original tracks and I'm going to continue to keep just popping those out. One of the songs is a really summer kind of rocking song, then in the fall we'll release one that’s more like Rodeo Queen - about my granddad and he gave me my first guitar. It's kind of his story and it should be really fun. The rest of the year is going to be just crazy full of new music and touring and should be good.
You had such a breakthrough last year with that release of Rodeo Queen. When you first put that out, were you expecting that kind of reaction to it?
No, not at all. That was the only song I released last year because it kind of just laid there on the charts and I just let it do its thing. Then it had its own little milestones. Miranda Lambert used it in her video and then the Hawk Tuah Girl used it too. It just had all these little milestones. We just let it live its life and breathe. I didn't even release a song until just this February because it was the only song I released last year.
When Rodeo Queen starting to get traction, were you watching it or did you have to step back and only check every now and then?
Oh, no, I was definitely watching it! I'm all about the numbers. I'm like number game.
Is that when you started to feel the traction from places like the UK and Europe?
Definitely. When I saw the UK on the list, I was like, oh man, this is going to be cool. We've also seen Australia pop up a few times.
As you said, you released music again in February with Break From The Heart, was it nice to some new music out there having obviously had the success of Rodeo Queen?
Honestly, yes, because I wanted to release more music last year, but it just didn't work. We just let Rodeo Queen live its life, do its thing, and then this year, finally we released the radio single Break From The Heart and then came Smoke Show. I'm excited to get the two songs out now.
Did you feel the pressure then with those two releases having had that success of Rodeo Queen?
A hundred percent felt the pressure for sure. You don't really know how people are going to respond because Break From The Heart was very different from Rodeo Queen, not musically. Musically they're still the same, but like just a different type of story to tell. I think what I love about the way we're doing it is that I'm writing way more personable now and I'm writing things that I want to say and each song has its own niche. It's kind of exciting. Like Smoke Show is just a song for the girls - we're reaching out for women empowerment. Each song's kind of got its own thing.
Is this cycle of releases now leading up to an EP or a full album into next year?
Yes. Beginning of next year, we'll finally get to put a full record out with some other songs that people probably won't even hear yet. We have a huge catalogue that I'm just picking through so it'll take some time. If we do end up having to push it back past February, then we'll do that, but I'd like to get it out by February. That's my goal.
Hi KC, welcome to England!
Oh my gosh, this is my first time to the UK, it's been so much fun.
When did you land?
We had some flight stuff go on, but we got here and then we had to fly to Spain and come back on Saturday morning! So, we got here just in time for sound check for our Saturday show. We played the show and then we played Sunday in Cardiff and we're still in Cardiff right now.
How have those first kind of shows been then?
Amazing, so much fun. It's been great. The first show was in Wolverhampton and it was at a bar called Rodeo's and was super cool vibes. The show was sold out and super fun. On Sunday, we played at the Foodies Festival, which was really fun.
Were you expecting a sold out show for that first day?
Absolutely not. I didn't know it was sold out until a week before, and my manager Paul had texted me and he was like, good news, your show is sold out. And I'm like, well, there must be other bands playing that night, because literally I hadn't looked at the schedule or anything and when I was looking at everything, I was like, oh, dang, this is like just me, this is awesome.
Have you kind of noticed listeners building over here in the UK the last few months?
Definitely, especially with people reaching out on my Instagram and talking about how much they love country music. That's been like crazy to me. That's awesome.
Was it always the idea to come over to do a string of shows rather than just coming for Buckle and Boots?
Yeah, the Buckle and Boots reached out to me about doing one date out here and I was like, dude, if we're gonna be out there, can we just stay out there for a couple of weeks? We might as well just put a legit tour together. It’s worked out great.
Are you already messaging back home and put in dates for another comeback?
Oh, yes, absolutely. The first gig we played, they're already reaching out for us to come back in the fall. They're working on dates now, which is awesome. That's what we want and I'm just happy people like the music. That's like, it means a lot.
Are you noticing any differences so far between the crowds over here and what you're getting back in Nashville?
You guys know how to party. That's for sure. It’s good vibes all around, good energy, it's been really fun.
You've got quite a mixture of shows, from Foodies to festival appearances o pop up shows at bars, is it quite nice to get that mixture in and almost get your name out there to such a wide variety of people, not just necessarily country music fans?
It is really cool. What I do isn't just country music, it's like country, rock and roll and blues. I hope that whoever comes out to our shows breathe that in, and they like it. I feel like it's been good feedback and hopefully people accept it and like it. There's a gig that I play that will be just an acoustic gig, it'll just be me and my guitar, so I'm actually looking forward to that as the whole band is out here for the other shows and they're just rocking it. We've got my girl Andrea on guitar. We've got my girl Casey on bass. I mean, we got all chicks in the front and it's just a rocking show. It's awesome.
You've got some new tracks released in recent months. Are you getting to play those tracks and obviously introduce yourself that way?
Yeah, we’ve got two more singles coming out this year too. They're both original tracks and I'm going to continue to keep just popping those out. One of the songs is a really summer kind of rocking song, then in the fall we'll release one that’s more like Rodeo Queen - about my granddad and he gave me my first guitar. It's kind of his story and it should be really fun. The rest of the year is going to be just crazy full of new music and touring and should be good.
You had such a breakthrough last year with that release of Rodeo Queen. When you first put that out, were you expecting that kind of reaction to it?
No, not at all. That was the only song I released last year because it kind of just laid there on the charts and I just let it do its thing. Then it had its own little milestones. Miranda Lambert used it in her video and then the Hawk Tuah Girl used it too. It just had all these little milestones. We just let it live its life and breathe. I didn't even release a song until just this February because it was the only song I released last year.
When Rodeo Queen starting to get traction, were you watching it or did you have to step back and only check every now and then?
Oh, no, I was definitely watching it! I'm all about the numbers. I'm like number game.
Is that when you started to feel the traction from places like the UK and Europe?
Definitely. When I saw the UK on the list, I was like, oh man, this is going to be cool. We've also seen Australia pop up a few times.
As you said, you released music again in February with Break From The Heart, was it nice to some new music out there having obviously had the success of Rodeo Queen?
Honestly, yes, because I wanted to release more music last year, but it just didn't work. We just let Rodeo Queen live its life, do its thing, and then this year, finally we released the radio single Break From The Heart and then came Smoke Show. I'm excited to get the two songs out now.
Did you feel the pressure then with those two releases having had that success of Rodeo Queen?
A hundred percent felt the pressure for sure. You don't really know how people are going to respond because Break From The Heart was very different from Rodeo Queen, not musically. Musically they're still the same, but like just a different type of story to tell. I think what I love about the way we're doing it is that I'm writing way more personable now and I'm writing things that I want to say and each song has its own niche. It's kind of exciting. Like Smoke Show is just a song for the girls - we're reaching out for women empowerment. Each song's kind of got its own thing.
Is this cycle of releases now leading up to an EP or a full album into next year?
Yes. Beginning of next year, we'll finally get to put a full record out with some other songs that people probably won't even hear yet. We have a huge catalogue that I'm just picking through so it'll take some time. If we do end up having to push it back past February, then we'll do that, but I'd like to get it out by February. That's my goal.
Your main appearance over her is for the Buckle and Boots Festival in Manchester, we love it and it’s one of our favourites on the Country Festival calendar as it has such a hometown, community feel to it. Is that the kind of the things when you read into the festival that you look forward to, especially coming over this way for the first time?
Definitely. I think what's so fun playing the shows with like a lot of artists on the lineup, because like you said, you do feel at home. You do get to interact with these other artists and you get to just hang with these other artists. Then just the people that come to the shows too. I mean, everybody out here is just so nice and they make you feel at home.
Our favourite part of Buckle and Boots is the bus that’s been transformed into a bar with a view of the main the stage!
That's going to be awesome, I know where I’ll be heading to then! That's such a vibe. I'm so excited. I love that.
You have though got London dates with Foodies Festival, but then a more specific one with Country in the Afternoon at The Half Moon in Putney too.
Yes, I'm really happy that they added London. I used to sing on cruise ships and I met so many singers and now have so many friends from London. It's so cool to reach out to them and be like, hey, you guys got to come to the show now. It's really cool that I have friends over here that will come.
Is that quite cool now to look back at a cruise ship day and reflect on your journey to where you are today?
Absolutely. Yeah. Like cruise ships are really cool. It was a different time. It was like in my early twenties. It was perfect, going through college and learning about life. You make friendships for a lifetime. You get to travel the world and it was such a cool job. It was fun.
Well, we're very glad, obviously, you've managed to turn that into a band and bringing the band all the way over to us here.
Me too, man.
Thank you so much, KC. Really appreciate it and hopefully we will see you at one of the shows around London.
That would be awesome. I'm so excited for them all. Thank you.
Find KC Johns Online:
Website: https://kcjohns.rocks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kcjohnsmusic
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6iZLBlYyKMI6R_-xBntzKA
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kcjohnsmusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QoFTL03dyRNkukUWVVwfK
Definitely. I think what's so fun playing the shows with like a lot of artists on the lineup, because like you said, you do feel at home. You do get to interact with these other artists and you get to just hang with these other artists. Then just the people that come to the shows too. I mean, everybody out here is just so nice and they make you feel at home.
Our favourite part of Buckle and Boots is the bus that’s been transformed into a bar with a view of the main the stage!
That's going to be awesome, I know where I’ll be heading to then! That's such a vibe. I'm so excited. I love that.
You have though got London dates with Foodies Festival, but then a more specific one with Country in the Afternoon at The Half Moon in Putney too.
Yes, I'm really happy that they added London. I used to sing on cruise ships and I met so many singers and now have so many friends from London. It's so cool to reach out to them and be like, hey, you guys got to come to the show now. It's really cool that I have friends over here that will come.
Is that quite cool now to look back at a cruise ship day and reflect on your journey to where you are today?
Absolutely. Yeah. Like cruise ships are really cool. It was a different time. It was like in my early twenties. It was perfect, going through college and learning about life. You make friendships for a lifetime. You get to travel the world and it was such a cool job. It was fun.
Well, we're very glad, obviously, you've managed to turn that into a band and bringing the band all the way over to us here.
Me too, man.
Thank you so much, KC. Really appreciate it and hopefully we will see you at one of the shows around London.
That would be awesome. I'm so excited for them all. Thank you.
Find KC Johns Online:
Website: https://kcjohns.rocks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kcjohnsmusic
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6iZLBlYyKMI6R_-xBntzKA
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kcjohnsmusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QoFTL03dyRNkukUWVVwfK
