Country singer-songwriter Kasey Tyndall is an artist you simply have to get on your radar.
She’s been grafting in Nashville for years, releasing her music and touring with the likes of Kelsea Ballerini, Kane Brown and Parmalee. Today, Kasey has unveiled her new song ‘Middle Man’, which marks a change in direction and showcases a vulnerable side to the rising artist.
I spoke with Kasey earlier this week ahead of ‘Middle Man’ arriving to talk about her experience writing the song with Lainey Wilson, discuss the impact of the pandemic and to find out her plans for new music for the rest of the year…
Your new song ‘Middle Man’ is quite different to what fans have heard from you before. What’s the story behind the song?
This wasn’t supposed to be the next single. I was trying it out at writer’s rounds here in Nashville and I kept getting standing ovations, and I was like, ‘well, this needs to be the next single’. It is a more vulnerable song. I wrote it with my best friend, Lainey Wilson and we were talking about everything one particular evening. It led to me talking about me having divorced parents, and how awesome it was. I just happened to say to her, ‘it was so weird being the middle man since I was the oldest sibling’ and she was like, ‘go get a guitar’. I did and we wrote it, and it just fell out the sky. We truly thank God as a co-writer on it, because it just fell out.
Did you intend to do something different with this song or is that just how it came out?
Honestly, it’s just how the song came out. Sonically, it felt so good and matched how vulnerable the song itself is. I’m so excited about how this turned out. It’s just a different side of me that I want everybody to see.
You mentioned that Lainey Wilson is your best friend and you wrote this song together. What was it like to work together in that capacity?
Well, we’re actually roommates here in Nashville so we were just on the back porch talking. Luckily, we’re both songwriters so we just said, ‘let’s write this thing’. It’s awesome. She’s so talented and she’s one of the best songwriters that that I’ve ever met and worked with. It makes it even better when you live together and you’re best phrasing, and you just sit down and write whatever you’re feeling or thinking. It’s incredible.
The past year has been so tough for everyone thanks to the pandemic. What has your experience been like?
My experience has been so interesting. It’s been a complete overhaul of my career. I feel like we all grew during this time, it’s been so difficult. I really feel like I’ve learned who I am and kind of grew into my skin. It was hard but it was also exactly what I needed in my life. My songwriting changed. Just everything feels fresh and new. Honestly, overall, I’m thankful for this difficult time that we’ve all experienced.
Do you think that the your songwriting changed because you’ve had more time to be introspective and to really think about things?
You nailed! Just the time to sit and think, and soak in all of the experiences that I’ve been through in my life. Just actually being able to be with those thoughts and those stories and put them on paper is definitely, is the (extra) time for sure.
How have you kept in touch with your fans during this time?
Just through social media, I try to respond to every single fan message that I can you. It has been a transition period for me so I’ve done a lives and stuff like that, but I’ve just been trying to keep in touch with everybody via direct message and emails and letters that people send. It’s definitely given me more time to actually do that, which is nice, to get personal with my fans for sure.
Have you picked up any new hobbies while you’ve had all this extra time?
I have. I don’t know why I wanted to do this but at the beginning of quarantine, I told myself I was gonna learn how to French braid my hair. And I did it. It was very difficult, but it’s something little that I said I was gonna do. I watched all the YouTube tutorials. I also learned how to build some tracks for my music, which was a new monster for me. I learned how to cook, like for real, nice meals. I’ve never really done that because we’ve always been on the road so it used to be hot pockets or McDonald’s, but I’ve actually made myself cook more and it’s been awesome.
What’s your signature dish?
Homemade spaghetti. That’s something my mom cooked growing up. She always made the spaghetti sauce from scratch and I feel like that’s my go-to now
Alongside the new hobbies, I imagine you’ve got a lot of new music ready to go…
We’re working on it. We’re going into the studio probably in the summertime, hopefully to work on an EP or just a few more singles. It’s been such a transition period with a new team and new everything. I am collecting up the music. I’ve been writing a ton and we’re just getting ready to start picking them out. I’m so excited to get new music out already. I’m so excited for ‘Middle Man’ because I feel like it’s changing my life. I’m so excited to get music out to the world.
‘Middle Man’ feels like a turning point for you and I think it’ll resonate strongly with Country music fans here in the UK. We do love a good story…
That’s what I love about you guys. You guys really appreciate a good story and the lyrics and you like listen very intently, and I love that. I hope it does well over there. You guys are awesome. You guys are like the best fans in the world (laughs).
Have you been able to perform in the UK?
I have not. I haven’t even been overseas yet. In September, I’m doing a writers festival in Denmark but that’ll be the first time that I’ve ever been overseas. I’m really excited.
We need to get you over here then. Lainey can tell you what it’s like being in the UK…
I know! Oh, yeah, she’s told me all about it. I mean, she just brags about you guys all the time, about how awesome you guys are and that her UK fans are her favourite fans (laughs).
Are you able to start plotting out touring yet now that the world is opening up a bit more?
I’m actually about to go on tour with Jamey Johnson starting in June. It’s gonna be awesome and it’s my first stretch of show’s back on the road. I’m really excited to feel the energy of how excited fans are to get back to live music. It’s gonna be awesome.
Do you think it’ll be a little overwhelming as you’ve not been able to get out on the road for over a year?
You know, I played a couple shows this past weekend with my friend Ian Munsick and it was something to get used to again. It was just electric. It was so awesome. You can just tell that people were hungry to get back to it and it was incredible. I’m excited to feel that all across the country.
It’s been such a shame that music was the first industry to really get hit when the pandemic arrived yet it’s music that’s got us all through this time. That must have been frustrating for you when things ground to a halt?
It really was but obviously understandably so. I hate that we’re the last ones to come back but I feel like when we’re completely back 100% people are gonna be extra thankful. We will never ever take for granted a show and a crowd of people again. We are just so excited to get back to it.
I’m so excited for people to hear ‘Middle Man’ and I hope that’s the song that brings you over to the UK next year…
I’m so tickled. I’m so ready. Something else that with ‘Middle Man, I didn’t realize how many people have divorced parents. Whenever I play it now, I go ‘raise your hand, if you have divorced parents’ and three fourths of the crowd every single time raises their hands. It’s so wild. I feel like it really is gonna just translate across the world. I’m so excited.
It’s more common to have divorced parents than not now I think…
Then the people that don’t have divorced parents, I get comments all the time that are like, ‘I don’t have divorced parents but I feel like my parents are divorced when I listen to your song’ (laughs). They’re able to be in the song and put themselves in my shoes.
Divorce is a really unique experience for children to go through and it’s something that those who haven’t been through can never really understand…
For me, it was overwhelmingly positive. I got lucky, I think. I’ve been hearing a lot of stories of people with divorced parents not having a great experience. My parents were awesome. They got along. I just grew up having divorced parents. I got my taste in music, my mom listened to rock and roll and my dad was into Country. That’s me as an artist. I got used to be in a vehicle for a long time, rocking back and forth and now I’m on the road. There’s a lot of things about having divorced parents that just made me who I am.
Is there anything else you have planned for the rest of the year?
Honestly, we didn’t expect for all this to happen so fast. We’re just taking it one step at a time. I know that we’re going to have some more dates coming and hopefully new music in the fall. That’s what we’re looking forward to right now.
Kasey Tyndall’s single ‘Middle Man’ is out now to stream and download. Listen to the song below:
