Rising Country singer-songwriter Angie K has really picked up momentum this year and she's on the cusp of becoming one of the next big stars of the genre.
With performances at CMA Fest in Nashville last month and the release of her new single ‘Red Dirt on Mars‘, the El Salvador-born artist is really making waves in the industry. She's also part of the new generation of queer artists that are gaining traction in the Country music genre.
Ahead of arriving in the UK next month for The Long Road, I caught up with Angie to talk about her new music, discuss the big year she has ahead and to talk about the importance of gratitude…
I've been going through all your music on Apple Music ahead of this interview, and I have to start by saying that I adore your voice…
Thank you for saying that. I've been working really hard at it. This is my eighth or ninth year putting out music. A lot of work, and blood, sweat and tears goes into trying to make something that people connect with so it means a lot when you say that.
You just put out your new single ‘Red Dirt on Mars'. What's the story behind that track?
That song is really about grief. I wrote it with three friends of mine and we all came at it from different perspectives. I had a little bit of a relationship element but also a coming to know myself moment, and then somebody (else) wrote it about losing somebody. We all had different things we were talking about but it was like, when that pain is so big you feel kind of detached but still you want that tether that keeps you home. I think the song is so interesting in that there is that really real place that you're connected to if you meet somebody that's gone through something similar. I was shocked at the response because I thought this would be a song I'd never put out. I was just overwhelmed (while) playing it out around Nashville how many people really liked it. I think with artists like Zach Bryan and Cody Johnson really writing about real stuff, it's not just the party songs doing well with the dawn of streaming. It just came at the right time where I was able to share such a vulnerable song, and it really had a shot to be listened to. I'm really grateful the response this song has had because it's really made me feel free and seen and heard as an artist and as a person.
The song is quite different from what fans have heard from you this far, and it shows off another facet of what you can do. It's interesting what you said about songs focusing on real stuff doing well, and not just the party songs, as Country music lost that for a little while during the Bro Country era. Do you feel that things are swinging back around?
Yeah, I really (do) and as somebody who's been in the industry for a while it's so refreshing. I have nothing against Bro Country, there's definitely Bro Country songs that I love and rock out too, but I like a balance. As human beings, we need balance. Going from terrestrial radio being the main way we discovered music, most people driving don't necessarily want something that's a little too feely; they want something to get them to work or get some relief. Now because we have streaming, and we can access all this amazing music, I can create my own playlist (for when) it's a rainy day (or whatever). What's beautiful about the way we can access music now is we can use it for all of our emotions for all these different places in our lives. It's so beautiful because then you don't ever feel like you have to be one thing. If there's one thing (from) this generation that's happened, or at least right now in music, it's that nobody has to be one thing. Nobody has to feel one way. No one has to be the partier that never does anything else. You can release a Bro Country song if you're Luke Bryan and then have a beautiful ballad that's incredible as the same artist. I think, as we allow artists to have more permission to do that, we allow ourselves also to have permission to have complex emotions and ups and downs.
With the streaming generation genre is almost becoming irrelevant at this point and people aren't as hung up on it. I like that in your iteration of Country music, you weave your Latin roots in there. Why is it important for you to do that?
It kind of goes back to saying you can be like a lot of things. Early on in Nashville I had a lot of label meetings, and a lot of them were like, ‘we want you to be our Latin artist'. I'm a lot of things and I can represent what I am, but what I know about Latin America is there are Country artists in Mexico and in Brazil and in Spain, that are fantastic. One of my biggest things is trying to get people to understand that Country can be global, that we can find people from all over the world that want to do Country music. One cool thing about me being independent, and getting to put out music the way that I do, is I'm able to connect with people from El Salvador in the same way I'm able to connect with people from the United States, because I'm from both places.
I always say I don't know if I can be your Latin artist that represents 23 countries in the world, one of them being Brazil which you could fit all the rest into (laughs), but I could definitely be an El Salvador American artist and I can definitely represent those two worlds because I was born there and I moved here. This dawn of ‘you're gonna be our Michigan artist' or ‘you're going to be our California Country girl', I think those days are a little more further behind us and we're more interested in the complexities of people's cultures. That's important because I meet so many people that are afraid to embrace their roots, whether they're Armenian or from Belgium, or from all these different places, because they look a certain way but they maybe don't feel connected to the culture. Now people can just be a lot of things, which is just gonna happen more and more as the world gets more globalized.
You've released a number of singles and in 2022 you released your EP ‘Sun Up To Sundown'. With albums become more of a discussion point thanks to the impact of people streaming individual tracks, are you working towards a bigger project?
I've been so fortunate to have done this on my own for a while that my community is so close to me. They really feel like family. I have maybe 100,000 fans on Instagram and I would say I recognize at least 60% of those faces. I feel like I'm in a very safe place where I'm able to release music however I want and I have my family there to support me. I love albums, I really do. I've always loved having a chapter of my life where I really sat down and tried to write about everything I was feeling, thinking and going through at that moment, and then putting it out. It's so cathartic. I recorded six songs all at once, including ‘Red Dirt on Mars' and I'll probably go into the studio and record another six ,and that'll be the full record.
I'm glad to hear you're planning on putting out an album as I'm such an advocate for albums…
I love that about you, that makes me really happy. I think because the UK is so multicultural, that they all automatically crave a deepness. There's such a depth to the fans in the UK and every single artist that I know that has gone to tour overseas, they say the same thing; the fans are different. They're there for you for longer than a moment.
We're very loyal and we love a deep cut. You'll be in the UK in August for The Long Road. Is this your first time performing in the UK?
I did Pizza Express Live a long time ago, maybe five years ago, but it was very brief. In 2020 I flew in to play C2C (but we had to fly back home). I didn't know if I'd ever be able to get the opportunity to (come to the UK) again so I'm very, very grateful I'm coming for The Long Road Festival.
The Long Road is always a good festival. You'll find the audience there will want to hear all of the songs you won't even expect them to know yet…
That's the best part. As artists, a lot of times we don't play those deep cuts because they're so real to us that it's easier to sing a fun song and get everybody clapping than sing something that really was about a hard time, like ‘Red Dirt on Mars'. When people ask for those deep cuts, it's so much more to the artist than just like, ‘hey, I like the song'. It's like, ‘hey, I like you' and it's so much more meaningful. That's always one of my favourite things when somebody walks up and says this deep cut really meant something to me.
Before you get to the UK, you'll be making your debut at The Grand Ole Opry in August. That's quite a milestone isn't it?
Oh my god, yes. I cried like a baby that night. I don't know if you saw the video of when I got asked? My manager stopped the middle of a show, which I immediately as an artist think there's something wrong with the sound, I sound terrible and something bad's happening. I'm listening to everything happening through monitors so I can't hear what the front of house sounds so I thought something really wrong was happening. He comes in, he stops the show and he goes, ‘hey guys, I think we'll do a little little q&a really quickly' and I was just confused but I'm going with it. He said, ‘I think she has the first question over here' and I look at her and it's Jenn Tressler from the Opry. I've known her for years and I just knew. I dropped to my knees and I just absorbed it. I really just took a moment and wow. It's something that you never know if you'll get to do as an artist. Everybody and their mom wants that spot and to think that I somehow impressed them enough to get an invite… there's just no words. I don't even know if I'll be able to sing (laughs) honestly. It's gonna be such a moment.
I was emotional just doing the tour of the Opry recently and I didn't even have to sing. How on earth do you prepare for a moment like your debut?
I'm definitely gonna have a little tequila to take care of the nerves. My entire family's coming, and I have a big old family. I have a big Latin family where everybody shows up for big stuff so backstage is going to be a little chaotic. I have probably at least 30 or 40 people that have supported my career from the very beginning that are actually flying in for it. I think I'm gonna feel so much love that day. That's the beauty of being around for a while. I'm 32 now. If I had done this at say 22, I don't think I'd have the capacity to really enjoy and savor every moment. But now going through the highs and the lows, and always knowing that you'll figure it out, and knowing that I get to wake up every day and play music and do this, I think I'll actually have the capacity to really just bite into it and let it feel good all over. It's something I'm going to remember for the rest of my life without a question.
These opportunities and these milestones must feel validating to you after working so hard for the past 9 years?
Yeah. I think what's really beautiful about it is, like I said, I'm kind of in a different place in my life and my energy is so different. If I could go back and talk to myself as a kid, or as a younger person, I feel like I would really wish that I could help my energy change. When gratitude comes easy, when existing comes easy and your lifelong friends are there, you're able to prioritise things differently. I can't explain. When my energy shifted to gratitude and genuinely loving seeing my friends succeed, and feeling real joy from from my songwriter community, my producer community… everything… my friends that are in publishing now that I've watched climb the ladder… we're still here. You see a lot of people of drop out. The change of my energy to being very grateful and calm, that's allowed me to create the safe space to make music that honest to God I made, assuming nobody maybe would want to listen to. The ability to get to that place to write just for yourself again, like I did when I was 18, it's just such a gift. I wouldn't have gotten here without some incredible mentors and some people that really show me a lot of love and teach me how to rise above and just balance your energy and feel good with every step.
With so many big things on the horizon, you must be setting your sights high. What else do you have coming?
I actually have a big meeting today with an agency that I just really connect with. I like them a lot. I'm like real deal Country girl, I'm in the dirt and the mud half the day. I operate heavy equipment and I can do a lot of different stuff so I get pulled in a lot of directions whenever I have my time off. I'm going to be driving from Martin and changing my clothes going into this meeting, and I'm so excited about it. A big part of my vision board is touring touring with three artists that I've always deeply wanted to work with. I won't say them out loud right now but I love them, and this particular agency is connected to all three and mentioned all three the first time I met with them without any kind of prompting. I believe in very full circle moments so if this happens and I got on one of those tours, it would probably be the best year of my life, I would say.
2024 is going to be a tough year to beat isn't it?
Oh, yeah, it really is. I used to think that way all the time. I read something the other day that was talking about marathon runners and who's happiest. It turns out that the person second place is always the least happy. First place comes after that and the happiest person is third place (laughs) if that makes any sense. It's so interesting because, like I said, if you're able to just flood yourself with gratitude – I've seen so many people not make it in the industry for 10 years – every day I'm in this, I feel good. I came from El Salvador. I moved when I was 11. I have it easier than most of the world just being in Nashville where this music is made. I got to grow up here and experience it, and speak English easily. There's so much that I have to be grateful for. I really feel like I'm going to be able to savor this whole year. I think that comes across on stage too. Everything feels so genuine and it's been such a journey. I really do just feel so grateful.
You've worked really hard though too to create these opportunities and that shouldn't be forgotten…
I appreciate you saying that. I think it's a balance between knowing you deserve something, but also feeling this responsibility to pass it on. I've found that when you get somewhere, when you're able to bring somebody with you that you believe in, it really compounds it a lot. I used to not look around and see other people working hard. Now I look around and I see this new generation in Nashville, especially in the queer community, and I have this deep desire to pull them up. There are so many people that are working so hard. What I think I wish that I knew, instead of feeling like (I had to) work the hardest, it's more about working the smartest and balancing your energy. When I stopped trying to be the one that worked the hardest, I was able to be grateful. As soon as I was able to make better decisions for myself and for my mental health, I was able to look around and show up for my friends way better, I was able to be front row at their shows and genuinely be in their moments with them. When you start to do that, the hard work doesn't feel as hard anymore because you feel like you're in it together. It's just funny that you mentioned that because I was really thinking about that the other day, and how growing up everything was about how hard you work. Now I think my whole perspective on it has changed a little bit and it's more just like, who's surrounding you? Why are you working hard? Do you feel good about who you're working hard for? What's the purpose behind all of it? When all of that's aligned, the hard work comes so easy.
It's a healthier mindset too because if you continually slog your guts out, you end up burning out…
I've seen a lot of that. I've seen a lot of big artists make it fast and then feel very off balance. The problem with making it is everybody wants to be your friend and everybody wants your time, and it's very hard to make decisions for yourself that feel natural and real versus like what if you lose it all tomorrow?
Angie K's new single ‘Red Dirt on Mars' is available to stream now. She will be performing at The Long Road Festival, which takes place from 23rd to 25th August 2024.
