Noah Rinker on Being Inspired By John Mayer, Performing at C2C Festival 2026 and More

The idea of drawing peace and quietude from natural surroundings has always been a prominent theme in both country and folk. But few artists are able to capture the healing power of spending a few moments in the great outdoors as viscerally as Noah Rinker.

The California native is quickly cementing himself as a key voice in the often-traversed intersection between country and folk. Rinker's viral track, ‘Save My Soul’, reveals the spirit that underpins his music, as he cries out for salvation while likening the shade and light in his life to the road that leads from the city to the country.

It feels apt that Rinker takes our interview while sat outside against a backdrop adorned with towering pine trees, a clear blue sky and - from time to time - his beloved dog, Doug.

There's a tension, though, that arises when you look at Rinker's hectic touring schedule for 2026 - which includes his debut show in the UK at C2C Festival. How, then, does the fast-emerging artist balance his need for serene country environments as his means of healing and recharging, with his current meteoric career trajectory, which inevitably leaves him with increasingly sparing moments at home.

“I mean, it's super important to me”, he muses, “Obviously, you can tell - I'm even taking taking this meeting outside. It's part of me. I live in this small town near Shaver Lake in California, and it's just a beautiful mountain town, and it's quiet. There's almost nothing that goes on here. It's maybe a couple thousand people in this town”.

He goes on, “It allows me that space to think, and so much has been drawn from this place. And to answer your question, right now, is actually part of the balance. Throughout January, I was home for the whole month just writing the next record”.

He emphasises his excitement ahead of C2C Festival, “That is going to be very special, because this is my first headline tour ever, and then obviously my first C2C rolling in over there. Getting to experience what it's like to be in Europe, playing these songs and seeing how that goes. Then, I get to come back with all that energy and all that emotion, and come back and turn it into into some more songs”.

Rinker explains that he has been calling on Sam Barber, who has made the trip across The Pond regularly over the past few years, for advice about his forthcoming shows.

Rinker reflects, “I've had a lot of good conversations with my buddy Sam Barber whenever we get a chance to talk backstage. It usually gets very real, and I won't go into too much detail about what we talk about, but it's fun to have people in the same lane as you and doing the same things that are a little bit further ahead”.

As for what Rinker is most looking forward to experiencing in the UK, he unsurprisingly gushes about the chance to see some stunning natural landscapes, “So much! My tour manager has told me about the train from London to Glasgow, and we're actually going to travel up there by train, which I'm so excited for, because I love the idea of being on the ground, looking out the window and just absorbing the nature. So much of that has inspired me here in America, in my hometown, but I haven't been over to the UK. I haven't been over to wider Europe, besides Sweden a couple times. I'm just so excited to be inspired by the landscape and what it feels like to be over there, and to tear up London, and go over there and have a couple off days in Amsterdam. It'll be great”.

We're keeping our fingers crossed Rinker might treat his C2C audiences to a live rendition of his beautifully evocative unreleased track ‘Dying's A Life Without You’.

Rinker smiles, “That is one of my favorite songs. It is definitely coming out soon. It was born on the tailgate of my truck in the middle of the forest. It happened in 15 minutes. It was an overwhelming feeling that I just needed to get this song out. It's just about feeling that necessity of needing somebody...It feels like a life without you is just meaningless...It's a waltz, and no one's making waltzes”.

This unreleased gem captures Rinker's ability to nimbly navigate the boundaries between contemporary folk, classic country and Americana, with the Shaver Lake prodigy drawing just as much from John Mayer as he does from Noah Kahan.

He recalls, “I'm from the deep rural mountains of central California. I'm not from the South, I'm not from Appalachia, but I still have lived my whole life in a completely country setting, living a very country life. My family doesn't have livestock. We don't have horses. But we're surrounded by cattle farms and I've lived a life that indicates so much of what you would find in country music. At the same time, I've also had such a love for all the great pop hits and a bunch of folk music”.

He expands, “I mean, come on, The Lumineers? That's just on top. Mumford & Sons, too, my dad used to listen to all of that stuff. Cat Stevens from the old days, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Lynyrd Skynyrd. All of this stuff combined, while sprinkling a little John Mayer in there. We are musical culminations of everything we've ever listened to, and everything we've ever lived. So I would say my heart is a storyteller and a songwriter, and I love adding popular influences into storytelling, songwriting and just making instrumental-focused, rootsy music that rides the line in a lot of ways and is more progressive”.

It's an enchantingly unique concoction, and in today's crowded landscape of sub-genres, crafting a distinct sound is no mean feat. With his C2C Festival run this March and the imminent release of new music, Rinker is solidifying his one-to-watch status.

“ICONS” with Noah Rinker:

Most Influential Artist: John Mayer

“I would say my favorite artist of all time, and a person who has shaped so much of my musical identity and my playing, is John Mayer. I mean, just undeniably one of the greatest guitarists and writers of our generation. And I remember, I was late to the party. I discovered him in 2020, during COVID, and I just listened to every single record, and my mind was blown because of the emphasis he had on the playing, the perfection of the records, the writing - the fact that he wrote most of those himself. It just blew me away, and it made me deep dive into making sure that I put playing my instruments first, and making sure the songs I write are the best they can possibly be. That player-forward musicianship is kind of missing a little bit I feel in this newer generation of people coming up”.

Most Influential Album: Continuum or Paradise Valley by John Mayer

“I obviously gravitated towards Continuum. But even Paradise Valley is really where I dug in deep, because that's his more country record. He was ahead of his time. I mean, 2013 is when that came out and he was kind of making very Western, very country songs in there that really felt very Americana, very rootsy, and I really gravitated towards those, because that's more of the stuff that I make”.

Most Influential Lyric: “And I love you like the mountains / Loves the way the mornin' opens / To a soft and bright greetin' from the sun” from ‘Shake the Frost’ by Tyler Childers”

“My second favorite overall is the record Purgatory from Tyler Childers. Top to bottom, what a record. I could listen to it over and over again. That shaped so much of my musical identity as well, and I know this is not on that record, but my favorite lyrics ever are from his song ‘Shake the Frost‘: “And I love you like the mountains / Loves the way the mornin' opens / To a soft and bright greetin' from the sun”. It's just so poetic and incredible. I remember hearing that, and it just slapping me in the face and going, ‘Wow, that's writing’. That's the goal, right there”.

For more on C2C Festival 2026, see below: