Originally from Texas, Erin Kinsey began honing her musical talents at the age of 11, before moving to Nashville and signing with Records Nashville in 2021.
She released her debut EP, ’40 East’, in 2022 and has since followed it up with two further projects, including her 2024 album ‘Gettin’ Away With It’ – racking up over 100 million streams in the process. As well as establishing herself as a star in her own right, she’s also written songs for the likes of Rita Wilson, Sara Evans and Dolly Parton. This week, she’s heading to the UK to play at The Long Road festival as well as a headline show in London, after wrapping up her first ever headline tour in the US.
Laura Cooney recently caught up with Erin to chat about her experience of headlining, her plans for her trip to the UK, recent single ‘Strangers’ and her upcoming release ‘Blue Jean Baby’ and more.
We’re speaking at the end of your first ever headlining tour – huge congratulations on that! How’s it all been going?
Thank you. It's been so great. It's my first headlining tour, and honestly, I haven't done that many headlining shows even before the tour. So when my team came up to me and they were like, “we should do a tour”, I was like, “Can we do that? Like, you're allowed?” And they were like, “yes, we can just book it and go.”
And it's been so fun to see all the people come out and them knowing all the words to all the songs. And I've been so lucky to get to open up for other artists. But when you do that, you're not playing to your people. You're playing to their people and warming up the crowd and introducing yourself. So to see people know all of the words to the second verse of a random song I released two years ago is crazy. [But] it's been so much fun.
What have you learned from the experience of being on this tour in particular?
I think it's really influenced the way I write songs and want to produce songs and want to post about songs. Because you see so many numbers and, in this world, where everything is so digital, it's made it so tangible. You're not just looking at a number of views or likes or whatever. It's like, “it's Katie from Oklahoma!” [laughs] So it's been really fun to be doing weekend warrior stuff and then go home and write songs in between, because it just feels like I have such a different connection with the audience now that I've gotten to see a lot of them and love on them and hear some of their stories. It's been really cool.
Are there any songs you’ve found the audiences are connecting with in ways you weren’t expecting? Or anything else that’s surprised you from this experience?
For sure. One of the songs that people have connected with a lot is “Best of My 20s”. And it is a little bit more of an emo song, but the way that that song has connected to people and the stories they've shared with me about people who… You know, I went through a relationship that wasn't right. But some people have been through some crazy stuff in life and just have been dealt such a hard hand. And for my music to be something that has gotten them through hard times, it's been really cool to see. So I did not expect that song to reach people the way that it has. It’s been really cool to see it.
But then also, people really like “Trouble” and they'll dance around and sing all the words to that one, and break out their cowboy boots for it. So it's been fun to see both sides of it.
You’re bringing the tour over to the UK this week – what can people expect from these shows?
Y’all better get ready to rock! We bring so much energy to our show and it's loud and it's fun. There are some touching moments, but most of the time we are there to party. And it's really fun. I'm so excited my whole band gets to come and that we get to bring our whole show. Because I feel like sometimes going over the pond, when you're going that far, you bring a bare bones team. Not us. We pull out all of the stops. So it's gonna be fun.
You’ll be playing at The Long Road festival as well as your own headline show in London. How do you find the experience of playing at festivals compared to your own shows?
Well, they are different. It's fun at the festivals to get to meet a lot of other artists. And you're a small part of a big production. There's benefits to that, because somebody else figures out a lot of the things that normally we would have to figure out. But then on our show, it's our show. So all the little things we have to figure out, which can be a lot. But it's also our show, so it's our people. It feels more like family. And sometimes the festivals can feel like you're going to entertain the crew, entertain the whole thing. And it feels like more like a house party at a headlining show. But they're both fun. You go to both [laughs].
I know it’s a bit of a flying visit, but is there anything you’re particularly excited
Okay, this is so funny. We were talking about this yesterday. We came overseas for two and a half weeks in December, we opened up for Restless Road. And I think we played like nine shows in 12 days. We did nothing but play shows. We were playing those shows.
But we really want to go to Harrods in London again, because the food court there is insane. Then… the fried chicken in Germany. I know, I know. But the fried chicken in Germany was one of the best meals we had. It was from some random pop up shop on the corner, that honestly, if I wasn't with a bunch of people, I probably wouldn't have gone to alone. But best fried chicken I had. So we have to go there.
We have some off days in Norway. So we're hoping to like get to see the nature and get outside. And we're there for 18 or 19 days, and we play seven shows. So we have a lot more off time this time. So I'd like to enjoy it.
I also wanted to ask you about ‘Strangers’ which has been out for a few weeks now – can you tell us a bit more about the song and what inspired it and so on?
Yeah, so that song was the first song I wrote after the holidays – not this last year, but the year before. And it was a song I've been sitting on for a minute, and it's just been haunting me. So I'm so excited it's finally out. But a couple big things with this one. One is the first song that I ever played guitar on that I've released, And I started learning guitar when I was 11 years old. So to finally get to play guitar on my own stuff was a big step. And it felt very scary. But it was very, very fun.
And writing the song came from running into an ex-boyfriend while I was home for the holidays. I ran into him at my local favourite Mexican restaurant. I don't know in the UK or in you know, Europe, if Mexican restaurants are a sacred place to people, but they are to a girl in Texas. You do not mess with your Mexican restaurant. So I'm home. I'm so excited. I walk in, I see him across the restaurant. And I'm like, “no way”. But I'm never home. I'm like, “I need to experience this. I'm going to stay.” And the longer I was there, I was looking around, I'm like, “no one in here is freaking out”. Like, we dated for six years, we broke up, it was this big thing. And everybody here's acting like it's completely normal. And it was so weird. And I said nothing to him. At one time, you would have gone there together, so it was just such a weird feeling.
So I went back to Nashville after Christmas and New Year's. And I was like, “I have this idea. We have to write it. I have to get this off my chest”. And I thought just writing it would be good enough, but no, I needed to release it too [laughs]
What’s the response from fans to the song been like so far?
You know, the response has been my favourite response, which I get with a lot of my songs – that a lot of other people have been through the exact same thing. And I think that one of the things that the devil will try to do is make you feel alone and make you feel like you're the only one who's ever been through what you're going through. Untrue. False fact. So many of us have been through the exact same things, and it's cool to realise we all get through the trauma together as well. But that's been kind of the fun part, hearing everybody's stories about how they've experienced the same feeling, but in a different place or at a different time or with a different person.
You’re also about to release ‘Blue Jean Baby’ on Friday and I know you’ve been posting some snippets of that song on social media – what can you tell us about it?
I am so excited for this song. I also love the first couple weeks before a song comes out where it's still mine. Because once you release it, it's the world’s, it's everybody's. But right now it's still my little secret. And I know what the whole thing sounds like and nobody knows. But I play guitar all over that sucker. And I produced it with a lot of my band.
So we've been on the road all summer, and we were on the road earlier this year, too. I've been lucky enough to work with some of the best musicians in Nashville, and they are so talented. My boys are scrappy, and I love them. And we just create such a different kind of vibe that feels unique. And it feels like my show. So I'm really excited for the song to come out because it's fun. It feels like summer, it feels like we're trying to convince summer to stay a little bit longer through releasing a song.
But it also just has all my favourite people on it. And I wrote it with two of my favourite people. And I'm just really excited for it to be out. It feels really special.
It feels like you’re on a really hot creative streak at the moment. Do you feel like you’re really inspired and fired up in that way right now?
Absolutely. I'm having a hard time writing the slow songs, you know? [laughs] I just want to rock out, I want to have fun. I want to like make music what I feel like it's supposed to be, which is just an escape, and bringing people together.
So I think being on the road has really influenced my writing, just making all those things so tangible and taking that into the writers’ room. And then also into the production room, which I haven't, honestly, been a huge part of before. I've normally let the professionals do the professional thing and just speak up when I feel like I need to. And this new music is not like that. I've had my hands on everything since the second we walked in the doors of the studio, doing pre-production and just writing the songs differently.
And they feel like what is in my head is on whatever platform you're listening to the song on, or whether it's on social media. For worse or for better, it is exactly what I wanted it to be [laughs] So I'm excited to people to see what people think. I hope they like it because it's what I wanted to do. And there's just a confidence. I'm excited.
Is there a song you’ve written you’re particularly proud of?
Probably “Best Of My 20s”. It was [written during] a dark moment, and I was trying to find hope. And it's been cool to see the way that that's given other people hope as well. I'm proud of that.
And then following on from that – what’s the song that you wish you could have written?
That is a hard one. But you know, honestly, I listened to early Keith Urban songs, and I wish I would have wrote ‘Somebody Like You’. Or one of those ones that gets you in your feels and feels nostalgic and just takes you back. I wish I would have written one of those.
What’s still on your bucket list career-wise – places you’d want to play, people you’d want to work with and so on?
Yeah, I really want to go to Australia. I have a big audience there, and timeline wise, calendar wise, nothing's lined up for me to get there yet. So I really want to do that.
And I working with people wise, I've never really released a duet with a guy. I did it with a girl group, with “Best Of My 20s” and Trousdale. But I haven't released one with a dude yet. And I want to have a perfect match. I love Keith Urban. I'm a huge Keith Urban fan. If Keith Urban was on a song with me, I would die. But also, just somebody where our voices blend really good together, if it feels like a good match, even that I'd be fine with. But Keith Urban, I would take if he was interested.
What’s the rest of the year looking like for you at the moment?
A lot of new music. We're definitely gonna be pumping it out. And then possibly some more shows. I'm kind of in the final stages of finalising some stuff. But I'm hoping it looks like more shows. And I'm just keeping the ball rolling. Things seem to be going pretty good. I'm really loving where things are at, and the audiences too. So keeping everybody happy [laughs]
Is the new music going to be similar to what you’ve been putting out recently or is it going to be a bit of a mixture?
So I'll tell you this. So the next song is more in the lane of “I Ain't Crazy” and sassy Miranda Lambert. I'm very excited for it. But it comes out in September. So you’ll be the first to know!
And lastly – have you got plans to come back to the UK after this trip?
Not yet, but I will. I know I will. I'm keeping my British Airways points. I know I'll be back.
Interviewer: Laura Cooney
Erin Kinsey’s latest single ‘Strangers’ is out now. Her new song, ‘Blue Jean Baby’, is out on Friday 22nd August.
See Erin live in the UK this month:
Sunday 24th August – The Long Road Festival, Lutterworth (Rhinestone Stage, 4.00 PM) – tickets right here.
Wednesday 27th August – O2 Academy Islington, London
