Country Music Features

Calling from a front porch swing on her Mt. Juliet, Tennessee farm with dog Whiskey by her side, Taylor candidly reflected on everything from using nature as inspiration to working on your own terms, while discussing the long and difficult road to releasing Real Me.

What’s particularly special about Russell’s choices and the stories behind them, is how they relate directly to the autobiographical nature of her own record. Having dealt with such trauma and abuse growing up, music and writing have been a vehicle for her to make sense of it and find her way out. Each of her choices tell part of that story.

If ‘What the Stars See’ is any example, Cassadee Pope is surely set to find even more success, and the sort of creative fulfilment her heroes and friends Fairchild and Ell have established - each in their own unique way.

Sitting down to discuss her debut record Ramble On, Marie shares the relief felt in having the extra time to complete it the way she wanted, how traditional country allowed her to be her true self and how Westworld inspired one of her best songs.

As we sit down to mull over the five essentials he couldn’t live without, Arlo McKinley shares what kept him going through a period of self-doubt and what continues to bring him comfort in both music and life.