She may have only burst onto the country scene back in 2020 with her viral hit ‘Just About Over You’, but it’s safe to say Priscilla Block has been absolutely embraced by the UK country crowd ever since.
After making her debut here in 2022 as part of the Introducing Nashville segment at C2C, she followed that up with a sold-out headline tour and performances at Nashville Meets London and The Long Road festivals last summer. Earlier this month, she wowed audiences with her solo performance at C2C following the release of new music at the start of this year – her first since 2023’s deluxe edition of her debut album ‘Welcome To The Block Party’.
Whilst she was over here, I sat down with Priscilla to chat about her festival experience, latest single ‘Good On You’, her plans for new music – and why she ended up in North Dakota in ‘Fake Names’…
How was your C2C?
Oh my gosh, it’s amazing. This is actually my second time, so I did C2C, the Introduction to Nashville, but this was my first time opening the main stage on my own. It was amazing. I came out here two years ago and played and it was so awesome and we’ve been back a couple of times, so you could really feel that this past time. There was so many fans and we had a blast.
Were there any particular standout moments from this trip?
Oh my gosh. Just seeing familiar faces again. I think that’s really cool, when you make connections with fans and you see them again and you’re like, “we’re really far from home! Aw!”
You said before we started chatting that you’d had lots of really early starts while you’ve been here – but did you get any time to explore?
I really haven’t, unfortunately. Because typically how it’s been working is we’ve been flying out every morning. So we’ll wake up at 4am, fly to the new place, then you’re at the venue, you sound check, then you play the show and then redo it the next day. But hopefully whenever we come back and do some headlining stuff we’re gonna explore.
The last time you were here was The Long Road back in 2023, so what is it that keeps you coming back over here?
The fans. I mean it’s just so… they’re amazing and they’ve been so welcoming to me. Like I said we’re so far from home but this feels like home. I wanna come back as much I can.
You also did your own headlining tour last time you were here. How do you find that festival experience compared to playing your own shows?
You know, it’s hard. Like, it’s really hard to compare to playing your own shows. Obviously your set’s longer so you get to play more songs, and it’s a little bit more intimate. So I feel like there’s really nothing that can compare to that. But the festivals have been amazing too. It’s a good way for new people to hear you, you know?
Are there any songs you’re particularly enjoying playing live lately?
Yes, I just put out a song called ‘Good On You’, and we released that song a couple of weeks ago. It’s crazy because it’s really kind of taken off and done its own thing. Playing it live has been unbelievable. I feel like it’s been a song that I’ve had forever but people just love the song, so it’s so much fun. I’m excited ’cause it’s something new, but I think the fans are too.
I did want to ask you about ‘Good On You’ – can you tell us a bit more about that song?
So ‘Good On You’ is… it’s been one that I’ve been really excited about. I think since the day that I wrote it there was just something really special about the song, and the whole song is about getting your confidence back and owning anything that maybe somebody didn’t like about you. And I feel like anyone can relate to the song, whether it’s a relationship or just anyone that’s ever made you feel like you need to filter who you are or look a certain way for somebody to feel comfortable. This song is just about owning it and being like, “you know what, I’m never gonna be who you want me to be so good on you for going and finding that, and I’m’a do me”.
You put out a video for the song recently as well – how was that?
Oh my gosh, it is so fun. These videos… the videos all kind of tell a story, and when you watch the ‘Good On You’ visualiser you’re gonna see flashbacks to ‘Hey Jack’ [Priscilla’s previous single]. So it’s gonna be really cool for the fans to watch these videos unfold, because there’s a big story that I wanna tell through this next album, and I feel like it’s just kind of starting.
Speaking of fans, is there anything about the audiences in the UK that’s surprised you at all? Like maybe songs they react to in ways you perhaps didn’t expect or anything like that?
It’s really awesome just seeing how much everyone… it’s a very listening crowd, and I love that. You know, back in the US it’s like, they’re similar but it’s a little bit different. I feel like a lot of the shows we play back home, they’re big parties and everyone’s just wild and loud. But out here I think there’s a big love for songwriters and the storytelling side of it, which is something that I really appreciate because I write all my own songs. And it’s cool when an audience is interested in why you wrote a song rather than just hearing a song that you love.
You’re currently out on your ‘Hey Jack’ tour in the US. How do you feel you’ve grown over time as a live artist and a performer?
I think, you know, I try to get better each show. I think that my confidence has grown a lot on stage. And just learning how to interact with a crowd. It’s definitely something that comes natural to me but every single show I just want to get better and better and better. So that’s what we do. I think that the ‘Hey Jack’ tour is better than any tour we’ve ever done.
Is there a song you’ve written that you’re particularly proud of?
Yeah, gosh, I feel like there’s so many. [pause as Priscilla thinks] You know, for me to be able to sit down with songwriters and just be able to share my story with them and being able to collaborate on a song is really cool. I feel like I have a lot of those songs but one that I feel like I’m really proud of is a song called ‘Me Part 2’. It was a song I wrote by myself at two in the morning and it was the first song that made me realise that I’m a true songwriter. Because when you write with a bunch of different songwriters, sometimes you’re like, “I think I’m good, I don’t know” and then when I wrote ‘Me Part 2’ I was just really proud. I was like, “wow”. I felt like I finally said something that I’ve never heard before in a clever way, and I’m an OK songwriter.
Turning that on its head a little bit – is there a song you wish you could’ve written?
Oh yeah. ‘Girl Crush’ is one. I mean, ‘The House That Built Me’ by Miranda Lambert. There’s so many Miranda songs I wish I wrote. ‘Tin Man’. So yeah, those are the ones that come to mind right off the bat.
What does the rest of the year look like for you? You’ve got the tour dates and you’ve mentioned you’re working on new music – is that going to be the main focus?
Yeah. You know, obviously touring but the biggest thing is getting out a bunch of music. We’ve already released ‘Hey Jack’ and ‘Good On You’ but I’m really excited to put out a lot of music this year.
Can you give us any hints about what that might be? Will it be similar to ‘Hey Jack’ and ‘Good On You’?
Yeah, I think that these past couple of songs have definitely set a tone of what this record is gonna be. But a lot has happened in the past three years since I put out my album, so there’s a big story to tell and I’m excited for fans to know what’s been up.
How do you feel you’ve grown as a writer and an artist in that time since the last album?
I think that I am a lot more confident in where I wanna go as an artist. Right when it happens it’s like, I’ve always dreamed of this but when you start doing it you’re like, “oh my gosh there’s so much going on”. But I feel like I’ve really dialled in what I wanna say, who I wanna be as an artist and what my music is about, which I think is something that artists learn through their career. You try new things and you’re like, “oh, people love this side and this side”. But I feel like I’m really dialled in on this next chapter.
Have you got plans to come back to the UK any time soon?
[chuckles] For sure. We don’t have anything on the books yet but y’all know I love it out here, so as soon as I can be back I’ll be back
And lastly… in ‘Fake Names’, why did you end up in North Dakota?
Oh my gosh! Because I feel like whenever I think of random places, North Dakota… I don’t know. Like all the love to North Dakota but it’s so far from us. Also it’s so funny because we have had van breakdowns and bus breakdowns in the Dakotas. Like North Dakota and South Dakota. So I was like, “alright, it’s North Dakota”.
I did wonder if it was because you were hanging out with Tigirlily Gold who are from North Dakota…
[laughs] No we weren’t, but that would have been really fun!
Priscilla Block’s latest single, ‘Good On You’, is out now.
