Brandy Clark is a Grammy, CMA and Americana Award-winning singer-songwriter renowned for her sharp storytelling and emotional depth. Emerging from Morton, Washington, she began her career as a songwriter in Nashville, penning hits for artists like Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves. Her solo debut, '12 Stories,' released in 2013, garnered critical acclaim and multiple Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist. Clark’s 2023 self-titled album, produced by Brandi Carlile, marked a personal milestone, earning her first Grammy for Best Americana Performance with the song ‘Dear Insecurity,' a duet with Carlile .
This autumn, Clark embarks on her UK tour, ‘The Art of the Storyteller,' bringing her acclaimed songwriting and captivating performances to places like Birmingham, Manchester, and London. Fans can expect an intimate evening filled with heartfelt narratives and musical mastery, as Clark delves into the stories behind her songs and the experiences that shape her artistry. Whether you’re a longtime admirer or new to her music, this tour offers a unique opportunity to witness one of country music’s most compelling voices in an up-close setting. We caught up with her recently to talk all about it.
It's always lovely to speak to you Brandy, thank you for your time today.
No, thank you for taking the time for me!
I hope you are fit and well and looking forward to your UK tour next month?!!
I'm so excited. You know, every time I get to come over to the UK it always feels like a home town show for me. I love the way that singer/songwriters are received there, it's just incredible. Other than the jet lag, it's always a pleasure! (laughing)
You are bringing your ‘Art of the Storyteller' show over. Can you give us an idea of what fans can expect from you in that type of format?
I'm really starting to figure out what this show and this series is about now. This will probably be the last time I will do it by myself. What I'd really love would be to get one or two more songwriters up on stage with me. We could then talk about the process and what songs move us. On this tour it will be just me and another guitar player – it will be a very intimate show. I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't a different show every night because I have a lot of freedom to change things up.
There will be stories behind my songs and I think I'll probably play some songs that made me want to write songs in the first place too.
If I could pin you down to tell me three songs that were songs that made you want to write songs – what would they be?
Well, ‘Crazy' by Willie Nelson or Patsy Cline. That one never changes. Man, there's just so many! ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow' from Carole King would be one. I think the third one would be ‘You Don't Know Me' by Ray Charles. Every day that I sit down and write a song I'm always trying to write one of those, you know? That's the bar. They are timeless songs that talk about common human emotions.
Which of the songs that you have written would you consider being up on the pedestal alongside those three songs?
‘Hold My Hand,' I think. That's the first place my head goes in answering that question.
You've written songs for yourself and so many artists over the years. Thinking back to the early days was there a particular cut that another artist recorded that gave you the confidence to think ‘I can do this?'
You know, one thing that happened after I had given up on making my own records was that I started writing with Shane McAnally and Jessie Jo Dillon. They both gave me a lot of confidence and had a lot of love for what I did. More than any song it was working with those two talented writers that inspired me and gave me confidence.
You've worked with some incredible people, stretching from Shane right up to Brandi Carlile. What qualities do you value in a creative partner?
Excitement. Honesty. The ability to be honest about what we are doing. Some people can't get out of their own head when they are collaborating and somedays your biggest job is to take more of a back seat and be the cheerleader. Some people just don't have that in them. They have to feel their fingerprint on a song.
Shuffling the deck a little bit is always appreciated – that ability to bring something to the write that I don't bring. I'm willing to always do that – look at things in a different way. It takes openness to be able to do that.
Since you released '12 Stories' in 2013 there's a whole new generation of writers now in Nashville. Your HARDY's and your Megan Moroneys. Are there any particular writers from that newer generation that you'd love to work with?
You mentioned Michael Hardy. I wrote with him once a long time ago and was very impressed with him. He's an incredible writer. I love what Megan does and I've never worked with her. I have found my best collaborations have come from people that I've either never heard of or people who I wasn't sure that I'd gel with.
When publishers talked about getting Shane and I together there was this feeling that I would be too country and he would be too pop and look what came of that pairing! (laughing) You need to have the respect to understand where the other person is coming from and when that happens you have a good chance of creating something special. Before I had hits I don't think I was on anyone's short list so it's all about chemistry and that hope that the right people come together with each other at the right time!
Is it better to be a woman in Country music now in 2025 than it was when you released '12 Stories' in 2013?
Oh yes! It is. It's still not easy and I'd love to see a time like we had in the 90s – I think of all the great influences I have from that time and if it were now, I'd maybe know about two of them because there are way less women in the industry now than there used to be in the 90s. Things have changed and people consume music differently now and I love that people get their music in different ways but I still wish there were more female voices out there – so it has improved but still not enough to place us on a par with the 90s.
When you know you have a write looming how do you prepare yourself, physically and mentally, so that you turn up in the best shape you can be in?
You know, I try to come in with ideas. I get ideas from books, music, films – the world – I always try to keep my antenna up! I also try to come in as a blank slate, unless something is really burning me up – so that I can be whatever the room needs me to be in that moment.
Things are politically divisive over in the States right now. Do you ever get the urge to write political songs or is that a subject you never really have an urge to write about?
I mean, I think it seeps in. I have a new song called ‘American Roots' which is all about what it means, in my opinion, to be an American. It's a song about inclusion but I wasn't trying to be political when we wrote it but to people who are political, it's a political song! I don't think of myself as being really political although everybody in America is that to some degree or other right now – I've noticed a lot of ideas swirling around since the shooting of Charlie Kirk and it appears to inspired a lot of writers and artists to create.
Traditionally, your themes have been mostly wrapped around small towns, messy, complicated relationships & mundane lives that have import to the people living them but to no-one else. What draws you to those narratives?
Wow. I love what you just said about small towns and complicated relationships. Small towns is because I am from one. I think small towns are complicated too and I love to play with some of those stereotypes. Complicated relationships are interesting to me – the heart is a complicated thing and I love anything about matters of the heart.
Right before I made '12 Stories' I was in a season of my life where I never thought I'd get to make my own record. I was writing songs for the market and I remember I was at the bank one day in the drive thru and I looked at the cashier in the window and thought ‘I wonder what she would write if she were the songwriter?' As a songwriter you can fall into this trap of just trying to impress other songwriters – that's not the audience – and it made me want to write songs for that woman in the bank and what I thought her life would be.
What season of your career are you in right now? Are you writing for other artists? Aiming to follow up your self-titled last album or maybe even planning on writing another musical?
Right now I'm at the very beginning of writing for a new record. I'm also recording it as we go along this time. I've recorded three songs so far and I'm going back in again this weekend with my touring band and re-recording a song with them that felt flat the first time I heard it back without them. We might record a few more since we have the studio time booked!
I'll really dive into it and do some serious recording next year.
I'm also at the beginning of another musical too, in fact I have a, potentially, a couple of musical opportunities swirling around. Myself, Shane McAnally and Robert Horn, the guy that wrote the book for ‘Shucked,' are working on an idea right now. All the musical stuff is in very early development but I had a great time with ‘Shucked' and would love to do more of that.
How different is it writing a song for the stage compared to crafting a three minute Country song?
The part I love, which is also a challenge that I think I'm good at, is telling a whole story in a Country song in just three minutes. In ‘Shucked' we have a 7 minute opening number just about corn! (laughing) That's a huge amount of time to devote to just one aspect of the overall story! You have two and a half hours to tell the story in a musical rather than just three minutes but that brings with it a while different set of challenges! (laughing)
There's some unlearning that has to be done when you make the transition from being a Country music writer to writing for a musical!
When we spoke last around the release of you self titled album you were crossing your fingers that ‘Shucked' would make its way across the Atlantic to London and it did! So, congratulations on that!
Thank you…..
What was the most gratifying moment of the whole ‘Shucked' journey for you?
Wow, that's such a great question. It was definitely the first night of previews because I was ready, internally, and had been prepared for people to not like it. I cried for about 24 hours after because I didn't realise how tense I was and I wasn't ready for people to love it. It was like when Sally Field won the Oscar and she said, ‘You like me, you really like me!'
As the show tours and becomes a hit there's moments of gratification at every turn that I didn't expect.
Between the hit songs, the solo records and Broadway acclaim is there still a mountain you're itching to climb or a goal you want to achieve that you haven't managed to do yet?
You know, I want to keep making records that I'm really proud of and that are relevant. I'd love to be involved in a TV or a movie project that music is at the heart of. I'm working on a TV project right now that is about to be pitched that will either fly or it won't! (laughing) I'd like to do another musical too – musical theatre is the hardest, at times, but also the most rewarding journey to undertake.
There's so much content or material you can play on the Stoyteller tour next month isn't there?
I'll probably do a medley from ‘Shucked' on the tour alongside some of my other things. One of the things I love about coming over to the UK is that I fully expect people to know the words to the ‘Shucked' songs! The first time I ever played in the UK was at the C2C festival on the main stage alongside Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan – I felt I didn't really fit on the bill but the crowd knew every word to every song and it hooked me in right then and there.
Don't miss out on what promises to be a very special night on Brandy Clark's ‘Art of the Storyteller Tour' when it arrives in the UK in October. Grab your tickets right here.
