The Sit Down with Sykamore
The Long Road Festival at Stanford Hall in Lutterworth is always one of the highlights of the calendar for the fans of country and Americana music and also acts as a great way to end the summer. This year sees the likes of Midland, Drake Milligan, James Bay, Alana Springsteen, Ashley Monroe, Charles Wesley Goodwin, Trousdale and Mackenzie Carpenter appearing over the bank holiday weekend along with an artist that may be a new name to many fans but we are sure that Sykamore will be one of the most talked about performers after this year’s event.
We have already had the pleasure of chatting with the Carseland, Alberta native three times in the past and really enjoyed seeing her play back in 2023 when she came over to the UK for shows in London and also at Liverpool’s iconic Cavern Club. She was a member of CMT’s Next Women of Country class in 2020 that was first discovered by Rhett Atkins and continues to be one of the sonically most creative artists in country music so ahead of the festival, Jamie was glad to have an overdue catchup on all that she has been up to.
Hey Jordan, great to see you, I haven’t spoken to you in ages, I think it was actually when you came to see us.
“Oh my gosh, that’s like over two years ago so I mean, I feel like I'm overdue to come back for an in-person visit.”
Well, we’re really excited that you’re coming back and I can’t wait to see you in person. TLR is a really fun festival with a cool lineup and then when they released that second wave of artists it’s like thank you Baylen for sneaking one of our best Canadian buddies in there.
Yeah, you know, it's funny, I have wanted to play The Long Road for a long time and I sort of made it my mission. Last year, Baylen was at the CCMA’s in Edmonton and we met briefly before in the UK when I came in 2023 but it was right after the Americana Awards and it was in a crowded bar so I didn't really expect him to remember me per se. I knew that he knows of me because he's played my stuff on Absolute so, I made a point to reintroduce myself when he was doing a panel. So, I got a ticket to the panel and I was like, if I can organically try to talk to him at some point, I'm going to try. I got there early and I waited, I saw him talking with the other panellists and I thought, well, I'm not going to be rude, I’m not going to barge in but I got lucky and I was kind of sitting a few seats away and all the other panellists kind of filtered away and he was kind of just standing there all by himself and I'm like, this is perfect. I went over and just chatted with him, in all honestly, all we really talked about was the Black Dog pub.”
Ha-ha, that’s the Taylor Swift pub in Vauxhall.
“Yeah, I think we were talking about Taylor Swift and then he said, well, now nobody can go to that bar because they're always swarming it, so we just chatted for a minute and then followed each other's Instagram. Then it was a few months later, I DM'd him and I said, hey, I know that you're still kind of booking for The Long Road and I'd love to pitch, you know? He said, yeah, here's my email, then I sent him a mailed him and then didn't hear anything for a while so kind of had made my piece with it. I was like, well, maybe it didn't work this year, that's okay. Then because of the time change, it's always kind of funny when you get an email from you guys over there, so I had I just woken up, turned to my phone on and I had an offer and it was, you know, probably months after I had pitched. I was like, yeah, this is great, I'm now going to change my plans, so it all worked out well, even if I kind of plotted and schemed to try to get on it this year.”
We have already had the pleasure of chatting with the Carseland, Alberta native three times in the past and really enjoyed seeing her play back in 2023 when she came over to the UK for shows in London and also at Liverpool’s iconic Cavern Club. She was a member of CMT’s Next Women of Country class in 2020 that was first discovered by Rhett Atkins and continues to be one of the sonically most creative artists in country music so ahead of the festival, Jamie was glad to have an overdue catchup on all that she has been up to.
Hey Jordan, great to see you, I haven’t spoken to you in ages, I think it was actually when you came to see us.
“Oh my gosh, that’s like over two years ago so I mean, I feel like I'm overdue to come back for an in-person visit.”
Well, we’re really excited that you’re coming back and I can’t wait to see you in person. TLR is a really fun festival with a cool lineup and then when they released that second wave of artists it’s like thank you Baylen for sneaking one of our best Canadian buddies in there.
Yeah, you know, it's funny, I have wanted to play The Long Road for a long time and I sort of made it my mission. Last year, Baylen was at the CCMA’s in Edmonton and we met briefly before in the UK when I came in 2023 but it was right after the Americana Awards and it was in a crowded bar so I didn't really expect him to remember me per se. I knew that he knows of me because he's played my stuff on Absolute so, I made a point to reintroduce myself when he was doing a panel. So, I got a ticket to the panel and I was like, if I can organically try to talk to him at some point, I'm going to try. I got there early and I waited, I saw him talking with the other panellists and I thought, well, I'm not going to be rude, I’m not going to barge in but I got lucky and I was kind of sitting a few seats away and all the other panellists kind of filtered away and he was kind of just standing there all by himself and I'm like, this is perfect. I went over and just chatted with him, in all honestly, all we really talked about was the Black Dog pub.”
Ha-ha, that’s the Taylor Swift pub in Vauxhall.
“Yeah, I think we were talking about Taylor Swift and then he said, well, now nobody can go to that bar because they're always swarming it, so we just chatted for a minute and then followed each other's Instagram. Then it was a few months later, I DM'd him and I said, hey, I know that you're still kind of booking for The Long Road and I'd love to pitch, you know? He said, yeah, here's my email, then I sent him a mailed him and then didn't hear anything for a while so kind of had made my piece with it. I was like, well, maybe it didn't work this year, that's okay. Then because of the time change, it's always kind of funny when you get an email from you guys over there, so I had I just woken up, turned to my phone on and I had an offer and it was, you know, probably months after I had pitched. I was like, yeah, this is great, I'm now going to change my plans, so it all worked out well, even if I kind of plotted and schemed to try to get on it this year.”
That’s cool, are you doing any other shows while you're here or is it just coming over for the festival as an in and out?
“I'm in for TLR and then some media, because I have a single coming out on August 15th so I’m hoping to do a little bit of British media while I'm over there last time as honestly, it was so fun last time. I kind of had the same deal where I was kind of on the heels of a release and I went and did some morning television, I got to go to the BBC building and do a radio interview so all that was really fun. So, if I can do a little bit of that maybe a day or two that would be great and then my mom's coming with me and she has some dreams. If we have time, we're going to take the train to Edinburgh and maybe do a little sightseeing.”
Oh, very nice, very nice. You had a cool trip last time too because you went to Stourhead and played at The Cavern too.
“Yeah, we went to Liverpool, I think before we played Camden Club in London, because that was kind at the back half of our trip. I think we showed up, we did Americana Awards first, I believe and then we took the train to Liverpool and did The Cavern Club and all that, then came back and did London. That was more of a showcase, I suppose, for media and that was so great. I'm still kind of floored at how many media people showed up and covered the show. Honestly, I feel bad that we had such a good trip and I was like, I have to come back next year but it just kind of got tabled and then I was I was on the road with Eli Young Band for a lot of last summer so it just didn't work out. I'm happy to be to be becoming in this context too for The Long Road especially with the headliners being a really cool mix with James Bay, Midland and Drake Milligan, I think it's a really cool year to be there.”
They do a great job of getting a really varied lineup at The Long Road where you get traditional country artists, more commercial acts, Americana, Roots and more folky acts which like we said having James, Midland and Drake gives three very different headliners. With the variety across the stages, it’s really cool how people aren’t put into a box and that’s great with people like you who is a bit harder to put into a box anyway as you typically have a lot more going on with your sound.
“That’s what I love about the UK's sort of interpretation or the lens through which they look at country music. I think overall it’s just very broad and very accommodating. I think that's probably why we had such a warm reception when I was there last because, like you said, I am a little bit harder to fit into one box. I feel like I have my hands in a couple different influences and sounds which I think is something that people can choose to focus on as perhaps a negative, or you can look at it like a positive. I choose to look at it as a positive, an opportunity to reach more ears and more interested parties. So, yeah, that's one really great thing I love about coming to the UK in I think that it's not all that strange, necessarily to have James Bay at a country festival, you know? It feels very accommodating in that way.”
You put out “Country Kid” in February and put that out on its own, so it isn’t obviously leading into a project at the moment, but it’s very centred around you and growing up because the whole rodeo things was something that your parents did and you were heavily involved with as a child.
“Yes, and my mom actually, not all the time, but she's still active in it. She still does barrel racing, that's kind of the ladies event and my parents still live on and operate the farm that me and also my dad grew up on. I think this song still might end up being part of a bundle or some kind of a project, maybe towards the end of the year but like you said, it was mostly kind of a personal release for me. I think I wrote it in 2023 and I didn't have a lot of plans necessarily for it, I just felt there was a bit of a void that I needed to fill because I hadn't written a lot from a place of my childhood. Like I really hadn't, in terms of my branding and my artistry, you know. I talk a lot about my roots and where I come from, but I kind of thought to myself, I don't have a lot of material that really is attributed to that and so that's how “Country Kid” was born. I didn't want to point it or guide it in one direction, I just wanted to put it out and just kind of see if it resonated. Even if it didn't, I mean, it did, but even if it didn't resonate, I know that I would have felt good just putting it out because it felt like a personal thing for me to do. I think ultimately, it's helped my fan base understand a little more and I think they're always happy to let me indulge. This is the thing that I've learned about my fans specifically, is the more real I can be with them, I think the more they appreciate it. I think they're not interested in me putting on a facade one way or another, I think that they want to hear about my life and my experiences. I'm happy to do that because I'm a storyteller, and so it's a great match.”
“I'm in for TLR and then some media, because I have a single coming out on August 15th so I’m hoping to do a little bit of British media while I'm over there last time as honestly, it was so fun last time. I kind of had the same deal where I was kind of on the heels of a release and I went and did some morning television, I got to go to the BBC building and do a radio interview so all that was really fun. So, if I can do a little bit of that maybe a day or two that would be great and then my mom's coming with me and she has some dreams. If we have time, we're going to take the train to Edinburgh and maybe do a little sightseeing.”
Oh, very nice, very nice. You had a cool trip last time too because you went to Stourhead and played at The Cavern too.
“Yeah, we went to Liverpool, I think before we played Camden Club in London, because that was kind at the back half of our trip. I think we showed up, we did Americana Awards first, I believe and then we took the train to Liverpool and did The Cavern Club and all that, then came back and did London. That was more of a showcase, I suppose, for media and that was so great. I'm still kind of floored at how many media people showed up and covered the show. Honestly, I feel bad that we had such a good trip and I was like, I have to come back next year but it just kind of got tabled and then I was I was on the road with Eli Young Band for a lot of last summer so it just didn't work out. I'm happy to be to be becoming in this context too for The Long Road especially with the headliners being a really cool mix with James Bay, Midland and Drake Milligan, I think it's a really cool year to be there.”
They do a great job of getting a really varied lineup at The Long Road where you get traditional country artists, more commercial acts, Americana, Roots and more folky acts which like we said having James, Midland and Drake gives three very different headliners. With the variety across the stages, it’s really cool how people aren’t put into a box and that’s great with people like you who is a bit harder to put into a box anyway as you typically have a lot more going on with your sound.
“That’s what I love about the UK's sort of interpretation or the lens through which they look at country music. I think overall it’s just very broad and very accommodating. I think that's probably why we had such a warm reception when I was there last because, like you said, I am a little bit harder to fit into one box. I feel like I have my hands in a couple different influences and sounds which I think is something that people can choose to focus on as perhaps a negative, or you can look at it like a positive. I choose to look at it as a positive, an opportunity to reach more ears and more interested parties. So, yeah, that's one really great thing I love about coming to the UK in I think that it's not all that strange, necessarily to have James Bay at a country festival, you know? It feels very accommodating in that way.”
You put out “Country Kid” in February and put that out on its own, so it isn’t obviously leading into a project at the moment, but it’s very centred around you and growing up because the whole rodeo things was something that your parents did and you were heavily involved with as a child.
“Yes, and my mom actually, not all the time, but she's still active in it. She still does barrel racing, that's kind of the ladies event and my parents still live on and operate the farm that me and also my dad grew up on. I think this song still might end up being part of a bundle or some kind of a project, maybe towards the end of the year but like you said, it was mostly kind of a personal release for me. I think I wrote it in 2023 and I didn't have a lot of plans necessarily for it, I just felt there was a bit of a void that I needed to fill because I hadn't written a lot from a place of my childhood. Like I really hadn't, in terms of my branding and my artistry, you know. I talk a lot about my roots and where I come from, but I kind of thought to myself, I don't have a lot of material that really is attributed to that and so that's how “Country Kid” was born. I didn't want to point it or guide it in one direction, I just wanted to put it out and just kind of see if it resonated. Even if it didn't, I mean, it did, but even if it didn't resonate, I know that I would have felt good just putting it out because it felt like a personal thing for me to do. I think ultimately, it's helped my fan base understand a little more and I think they're always happy to let me indulge. This is the thing that I've learned about my fans specifically, is the more real I can be with them, I think the more they appreciate it. I think they're not interested in me putting on a facade one way or another, I think that they want to hear about my life and my experiences. I'm happy to do that because I'm a storyteller, and so it's a great match.”
It’s like it’s your origin story and you were going to put this out because it's what you want to do but the interesting thing about it when you listen to it and this is why I kind of kind of talked about it being a standalone, it's quite different sonically to your stuff typically. Your stuff generally has a lot more going on rather than just guitar, song and things whereas this is a typical country song, you know, there’s no bells or whistles or kind of anything else. Was that just for this song or is it potentially something that's going to be happening with more music to come?
“I think there's going to be, in the future, at least in the near future, songs are a little bit more influenced like “Country Kid”, they sound a little bit like that. You know, you make a great point that I've definitely never been shy about using synthesisers and more pop heavy things in my music. I wouldn't say at all that it's going away but I think when you're an artist, you have preferences that kind of ebb and flow where what you're listening to changes. I think it's partly because I do want to, it's sort of the style of the project that I'm working on currently. It's a little more country heavy but it's also just a fun departure, you know, because for my last full album “Pinto”, I had a lot of inspiration for all at once. I immediately heard a lot of really bright electric guitars and synthesisers where I knew that was the direction I wanted to take the album. This is just sort of a fun, kind of left turn for me and the great thing about it that it still feels like me to me because like we mentioned before, I feel like there's a lot of layers to my sound. This is just the chapter, I think, where I'm peeling back the production and leaning a little heavier on the lyrics and for lack of a better word, maybe just a more traditional kind of sound but you know, who knows? Who knows what will come in the next project? We might be using accordions, like, we'll see, you know? That’s the fine thing about art and being an artist, especially as your career goes on over time, you become influenced by other artists and by culture, and it speaks its way into your work. You can kind of almost identify where you were mentally and emotionally by the kind of instruments you're using, like, oh, it's because I was listening to a lot of XYZ back in the day, that's why I chose to use this. It’s a nice little journal of markers through your catalogue so it's great.”
You’ve teased me about new music and we’ve got a single coming this month, is that going to be something which is potentially leading towards something expanded later on this year as well?
“Potentially and there might also be some acoustic versions of existing songs that are also coming out. If I'm not doing an opening slot at a show, if I'm doing maybe 60 minutes, I do try to have an acoustic portion in my set because it's just a really kind of intimate time where it's honestly, at this point in my career, it's what I've done the most is a lot of solo acoustic stuff. I feel a little bit like, it's time to finally record that aspect as close as I can get to that part of the show because some people come up to me and say that was their favourite part of the show. I really would love to put up more of these acoustic versions so that is on the horizon as well.”
That comes back to that layers thing because all the videos you put on social media, or the majority of the, are just you playing a song on your guitar and what people are going to hear when they go onto Spotify or whatever, sounds very, very different.
“Yeah, the funny thing is that those songs, for the most part, are all written on acoustic guitar and then we kind of dress them up and produce them, and they all sound, I love the way they end up. But you're right, I would love to share that sort of missing element of this is how it was written and this is how I first kind of conceived it, it was all on guitar, just very stripped down. I think that people, like, speaking as a fan of that kind of thing myself, if I have an artist that I love and they put out a single, there's not a chance that I won't listen to the acoustic version of it. I don't even care, like, there's some artists that say they release an acoustic version and it's literally the same vocal as the original, but they've just like pulled back but I'll still listen to it because with that much more pulled away, you can really let the melody itself dine, let the lyrics step forward and it just becomes an opportunity to interpret it a little differently. You might also be able to listen to it in a slightly different setting, you know, like if you're a little bit moody and you're on the drive and you don't want to listen to the pounding up-tempo version, you can listen to the chill version. I appreciate that with the artists that I listen to and so I'd love to give that to my fans as well.”
On that, lastly, what are we going to get at the long road? Are we going to get the big, extra version or the acoustic chill version?
“It's the acoustic version because it's just me. That was kind of, I guess, partly because of the stages but also just logistically for me, it was easier for my first time out at the festival. I think I find I connect, especially when it's the first time I'm meeting a crowd, I almost like to be acoustic first because then I can talk a little bit more in between my songs and tell the story of who I am as an artist because I think a big part of my branding is my story. So, I like to be able to chat a little bit in between songs, just let people know who I am, where I come from and why these songs are important to me. I think people that resonate it, they appreciate that so I have no problem just bringing the acoustic show this time around and I would love to bring a full bound at some point but this is a great jumping off point.”
The new track “He’s Mine” from Sykamore is coming out on August 15th and is available to pre-save HERE. She will return to the UK later this month to appear at The Long Road Festival and in the meantime you can learn more about Sykamore on her WEBITE and keep up to date with her socially on X INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK.
The Long Road Festival takes place at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire over the weekend of August 22nd to 24th where you can find ticket details and further information on their WEBSITE and you can be the first to know all updates ahead of the event by checking out their socials on INSTAGRAM or FACEBOOK.
“I think there's going to be, in the future, at least in the near future, songs are a little bit more influenced like “Country Kid”, they sound a little bit like that. You know, you make a great point that I've definitely never been shy about using synthesisers and more pop heavy things in my music. I wouldn't say at all that it's going away but I think when you're an artist, you have preferences that kind of ebb and flow where what you're listening to changes. I think it's partly because I do want to, it's sort of the style of the project that I'm working on currently. It's a little more country heavy but it's also just a fun departure, you know, because for my last full album “Pinto”, I had a lot of inspiration for all at once. I immediately heard a lot of really bright electric guitars and synthesisers where I knew that was the direction I wanted to take the album. This is just sort of a fun, kind of left turn for me and the great thing about it that it still feels like me to me because like we mentioned before, I feel like there's a lot of layers to my sound. This is just the chapter, I think, where I'm peeling back the production and leaning a little heavier on the lyrics and for lack of a better word, maybe just a more traditional kind of sound but you know, who knows? Who knows what will come in the next project? We might be using accordions, like, we'll see, you know? That’s the fine thing about art and being an artist, especially as your career goes on over time, you become influenced by other artists and by culture, and it speaks its way into your work. You can kind of almost identify where you were mentally and emotionally by the kind of instruments you're using, like, oh, it's because I was listening to a lot of XYZ back in the day, that's why I chose to use this. It’s a nice little journal of markers through your catalogue so it's great.”
You’ve teased me about new music and we’ve got a single coming this month, is that going to be something which is potentially leading towards something expanded later on this year as well?
“Potentially and there might also be some acoustic versions of existing songs that are also coming out. If I'm not doing an opening slot at a show, if I'm doing maybe 60 minutes, I do try to have an acoustic portion in my set because it's just a really kind of intimate time where it's honestly, at this point in my career, it's what I've done the most is a lot of solo acoustic stuff. I feel a little bit like, it's time to finally record that aspect as close as I can get to that part of the show because some people come up to me and say that was their favourite part of the show. I really would love to put up more of these acoustic versions so that is on the horizon as well.”
That comes back to that layers thing because all the videos you put on social media, or the majority of the, are just you playing a song on your guitar and what people are going to hear when they go onto Spotify or whatever, sounds very, very different.
“Yeah, the funny thing is that those songs, for the most part, are all written on acoustic guitar and then we kind of dress them up and produce them, and they all sound, I love the way they end up. But you're right, I would love to share that sort of missing element of this is how it was written and this is how I first kind of conceived it, it was all on guitar, just very stripped down. I think that people, like, speaking as a fan of that kind of thing myself, if I have an artist that I love and they put out a single, there's not a chance that I won't listen to the acoustic version of it. I don't even care, like, there's some artists that say they release an acoustic version and it's literally the same vocal as the original, but they've just like pulled back but I'll still listen to it because with that much more pulled away, you can really let the melody itself dine, let the lyrics step forward and it just becomes an opportunity to interpret it a little differently. You might also be able to listen to it in a slightly different setting, you know, like if you're a little bit moody and you're on the drive and you don't want to listen to the pounding up-tempo version, you can listen to the chill version. I appreciate that with the artists that I listen to and so I'd love to give that to my fans as well.”
On that, lastly, what are we going to get at the long road? Are we going to get the big, extra version or the acoustic chill version?
“It's the acoustic version because it's just me. That was kind of, I guess, partly because of the stages but also just logistically for me, it was easier for my first time out at the festival. I think I find I connect, especially when it's the first time I'm meeting a crowd, I almost like to be acoustic first because then I can talk a little bit more in between my songs and tell the story of who I am as an artist because I think a big part of my branding is my story. So, I like to be able to chat a little bit in between songs, just let people know who I am, where I come from and why these songs are important to me. I think people that resonate it, they appreciate that so I have no problem just bringing the acoustic show this time around and I would love to bring a full bound at some point but this is a great jumping off point.”
The new track “He’s Mine” from Sykamore is coming out on August 15th and is available to pre-save HERE. She will return to the UK later this month to appear at The Long Road Festival and in the meantime you can learn more about Sykamore on her WEBITE and keep up to date with her socially on X INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK.
The Long Road Festival takes place at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire over the weekend of August 22nd to 24th where you can find ticket details and further information on their WEBSITE and you can be the first to know all updates ahead of the event by checking out their socials on INSTAGRAM or FACEBOOK.
