This past April, she performed at Stage 17 for the radio station NASH FM 94.7. “That felt pretty great! I always loved playing in New York,” she said. “It’s a city that’s very alive.”
More recently, on January 26, 2018, she performed at City Winery in New York City. “That was great! It was sold-out, which was nice as well. That was my first weekend out after being off the road for six weeks, so I was knocking the dust off a little bit, and I got back into the groove of being on the road,” she said.
On her upcoming touring this year, she said, “First, I’m performing in small theaters, club gigs, and wineries. Then, I am out with Dwight Yoakam, and I added a few dates with Willie Nelson, which is a bucket-list sort of thing. The tour with Sugarland is super-exciting. I don’t completely know what to expect. I toured with Jennifer Nettles and I loved that crowd. I hope the Sugarland fans embrace me as much as the Jennifer Nettles fans did.”
She revealed that after the Sugarland tour, she is looking forward to diving into a new record. “I am writing a lot, and I’m getting my head around what kind of record I want to make, and how all that is going to shape up,” she said.
Each day, the songstress is motivated by writing songs that will stand the test of time. “People are going to want to sing ‘Crazy’ by Patsy Cline 100 or 200 years from now. This new record is a challenge to me, since I made two records that I am proud of, so I want to make a third that I am equally proud of. I want to challenge myself as an artist, and that means stretching and growing,” she explained.
Clark listed “Hold My Hand” as her personal favorite song from her catalog. “That’s a song, where I never do I a show and I don’t perform it,” she said. “That song feels like an old friend.”
She listed country queen Patty Loveless as one of her biggest musical influences. “Last weekend, I played the Opry, and they asked me that night to play a song that inspired me, and I played Patty Loveless’ ‘Don’t Toss Us Away.’ I chose it because it was the first song of hers that I really remembered hearing. I am a big fan of hers, I have every record she ever made and I wanted to be her,” she said.
Speaking of Loveless, Clark listed her as her dream collaboration choice, along with global music star Ed Sheeran. “Outside of country music, Ed Sheeran reached out to me about loving a song of mine. I never thought he would be a fan, but he is. Just based solely on that, I would love to do something with him at some point,” she said.
Digital transformation of country music
On the impact of technology on the country music business, she said, “Technology has changed it in so many ways. For one thing, everybody can get their music quicker. People don’t have to go out and buy a record anymore. They can purchase it online or even stream it. Streaming is changing everything. As a songwriter, I was resistant to streaming because they still haven’t figure out how to pay songwriters, but as an artist, streaming is a great tool to have. Almost everything I watch these days is Netflix, and so, if I were just a consumer, that would be how I would consume my music too.”
For her fans, she said, “Thank you for continuing to come out and supporting me. I make records because of the fans.”
Clark defined the word success as “Doing something you are really proud of, and being able to make a living out of it.”
To learn more about Brandy Clark and her 2018 touring schedule, check out her official website.
