Mackenzie Carpenter has quickly emerged as one of country music’s most exciting new voices, blending classic country storytelling with a modern edge that feels both familiar and fresh. Born and raised in the small town of Hull, Georgia, she grew up singing in church and writing songs with her brothers, a foundation that helped shape her warm, authentic sound and sharp lyrical perspective. Carpenter first gained industry attention as a songwriter, contributing to hits like Megan Moroney’s ‘I’m Not Pretty,' ‘Indifferent' and '28th of June,' before stepping into the spotlight as a solo artist after signing with The Valory Music Co. in 2022. Her debut album ‘Hey Country Queen,' released in 2025, showcased her ability to balance cheeky humour with heartfelt emotion across 13 co-written tracks, and featured breakout moments such as the duet ‘I Wish You Would' with Midland and fan-favourites like ‘Dozen Red Flags' and ‘Sound of a Heartbreak.'
As Carpenter continues to build her career, she has been recognised on multiple industry watchlists including MusicRow’s ‘Next Big Thing’ Artists Class of 2025, Spotify’s Hot Country 2024 Artists To Watch and CMT’s Next Women of Country, reflecting her growing influence and rapid rise. She has shared stages with major acts like Miranda Lambert, Megan Moroney, Jake Owen and Parker McCollum, and her dynamic live performances have helped her connect with fans across the country. Now, as she makes her debut on the main stage of the C2C festival in London, Belfast and Glasgow, Carpenter is poised to bring her compelling blend of traditional roots and contemporary flair to an international audience, marking a major milestone in what has already been a remarkable journey.
It's lovely to speak to you again Mackenzie. This time last year I brought my vinyl of ‘Hey Country Queen' in for you to sign and it was so new it was the first vinyl copy that you had seen. And here you are a year later on the main stage at the C2C festival!
I know! I'm so excited to be back and so soon. I'm so nervous and yet so excited at the same time. I've got my band back with me this time. We just put out the new song, ‘Drunk Cigs' and we are going to be playing that, kinda for the first time live this weekend too!
Before we get into that let me ask you a couple of Megan Moroney questions. Did you get in a room with Ed Sheeran on ‘I Only Miss You' for Megan's new album or was it all done remotely?
It was remote. He actually joined the song after we had written it. He took his verses and tweaked them a little bit to make them fit his style a little more. It was so cool to hear his voice on it, we've actually never met but to hear his voice on a song that I had a part in writing is so surreal because I am a huge fan of his.
Same thing for ‘Bells and Whistles' with Kacey Musgraves, having her voice on that was so cool. Crazy. I'm such a fan of hers too. For the release I actually got to head back towards my hometown in Georgia and sing it with Megan! She was in Athens and asked me to come out and sing the Kacey part and asked my brother, Micah, who co-wrote these songs with me, to come out and sing the Ed Sheeran part. That was a special moment.
My favourite song on the album is ‘Change of Heart……….'
We wrote that one too! (laughing)
I can hear and Avril Lavinge influence on that chorus.
That's a good vibe, she could easily sing that. I always think of it as, like, a Taylor Swift evolution for her. As you grow you need to have songs that fill up big arenas and that one does, it's such a great song.
What magic happens when you and your brother, Micah, write together? Why do you work so well together?
Honestly, I think we understand each other so well and we know each other's strengths and weaknesses. I think we also respect each others' craft so a lot of the BS is pushed out of the way.
I guess there's no tentative feeling each other out or getting to know you process that songwriters have to go through when getting to know each other that you guys don't have to do?
Yeah! Any co-worker has to go through that whole ‘Am I going to vibe with you or not' process. You also know when one of you is not in the mood or not giving the other one their full attention. Sometimes I'm like, ‘Eh, your mind isn't here today' or he could be like, ‘You don't know what you want to say today,' and that helps because it means you don't force something out that isn't natural or meaningful.
How do you manage that balance between giving away some of your best songs to other artists like Megan and keeping them for yourself? Where do you draw the line?
Songs always find where they are supposed to go. Megan is an amazing songwriter herself and knows what she wants to say, the fact that I get to help her sometimes is really special and I'm thankful to be a part of it. Then there's alwasy those songs that I know are something I want to say or a message I want to send out. They all just have a way of finding where they need to go – it's been working pretty well so far! (laughing)
How would you sum up in a nutshell what you want your message as an artist to be?
I was thinking about this the other day having a ‘pinch me' me moment thinking how this is what I get to do as a job. It's soo cool that I get to be a part of writing and performing songs that teenage girls and beyond listen to in their cars just like I used to do. It means so much to me to think that there are people out there relating to my music and bonding with me over things I've been through and relating my experiences to things that are happening to them.
I want girls to know that they are seen and that they are not alone.
We've been talking about women being seen in Country music for about 15 years now. Do you think this new wave of female artists, from Megan and yourself to Ella Langley, Willow Avalon, are helping to finally redress the balance in Country music?
It does seem that way. It's amazing how many women are getting their moment right now. It's amazing to have seen how quick it had happened in the past couple of years. It's been rare in the past but these are exciting times right now.
‘Hey Country Queen' has been out for a year now. What's your reflections on the album a year in?
You know, the album was such a culmination of so much time and hard work. It occupied so many more years of my life than any other project is likely to do, right? I'm really proud of it and believe that it is standing the test of time and I hope it has laid an amazing foundation from which I can build off. There isn't a song on there that I'm not proud of.
‘I Wish You Would' helped to get my name out there and gave me a great boost for me to go into this next era with.
Let's talk about ‘Drunk Cigs' then. Tell me about the inspiration behind that song and why you chose to launch season two with it.
Honestly, I would say that “I Wish You Would' was kinda the diving board into this next era. I was inspired by that and working with my producer, Jamie Moore, and the sounds that he brings to the table. ‘Drunk Cigs' was written after ‘I Wish You Would' and I've never felt something that felt so like me before, sonically. It's exciting to start to find that with ‘Drunk Cigs' was the perfect intro to this sound that I want to release – from ‘I Wish You Would' to ‘Drunk Cigs' and beyond.
Can you share any tidbits about album number two with us?
There's no ETA as yet but we are going to be dropping singles over the next few months to lead into it. I'm really really proud of this music and excited for people to hear it.
Having you written with any new writers this time round or stayed with your trusted crew of Micah, Nicolle Galyon and Brandon Hood?
There's a lot of Nicolle on there. Jamie Moore, my producer. There's a couple of new people – Mia Mantia is someone I really love to write with.
If Midland was the big duet from the first album – is there going to be one on album number two?
As it is right now now I'm standing alone! There's no telling what can happen and there's always room for an amazing collaboration but it's gotta be the right fit.
If you could pick ‘the right fit' for a duet on album number two – who would you have in mind?
That's a great question. My galaxy dream collab would be with Miley Cyrus. Even just writing a song for her.
Uptempo banger or plaintive ballad?
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh. Gosh. I'm going to go uptempo banger. I'm gonna start working on it!
Check out Mackenzie Carpenter's new song ‘Drunk Cigs' out now in all the usual places.
