Rising Country singer-songwriter Tucker Beathard is making waves in the US with his debut single Rock On.
The son of songwriter Casey Beathard, Tucker has been picking up plenty of critical acclaim for not only his own songwriting but also his impressive guitar skills. Heās currently on tour with Dierks Bentley for the Somewhere on a Beach tour and he made his first trip to the UK this past week.
I caught up with Tucker before his support slot at the Eventim Apollo Hammersmith in London to talk about the buzz around him, find out what he thinks of UK audiences, and to talk about his forthcoming debut album.
How has the UK been treating you since you got here?
I love it. Itās great. So far itās everything I expected it to be; great crowds, great listening crowds, people who seem like theyāre thirsty for new music so itās always fun as an artist to play for those types of people who respect what youāre doing.
Itās not a bad way to experience the UK for the first time in the company of Dierks Bentley is it?
Not bad at all (laughs).
I spoke with Dierks about this tour a couple of months back and he couldnāt praise you highly enough. Whatās it like to have an artist like that in your corner?
It means the world to me because heās such a good guy and well respected in the music business. If you have someone like that on your sideā¦it really means the world to me.
Your single Rock On is being released on 27th April here in the UK. Whatās the story behind the track?
When I first got into song writing I always thought a little differently and I like to look at songs in different ways. Thatās one that I came up with the hook and it pretty much says ārock on girl, go on and do your thing, I donāt careā and the man comes back and says āI should have put a rock on or whateverā. I like to play on words and once I come up with the hook I try to make it as good as possible. Itās one that just came to me and itās kind of a simple hook. Most writers, especially when they hear it, think ādamn, why didnāt I think of that?ā (laughs)
Rock On was originally part of The Demos, Vol 1 EP you released last year. Why did you decide that was the song to launch yourself with?
When we put it out on Spotify it got a lot of good reactions and people were already gravitating to it. I donāt know if it would have been my first pick honestly but at the same time itās not a bad song to get your foot in the door with. I was fine with it because it still shows enough of who I am of an artist and gives a good enough representation of who I am as an artist and what Iām doing.
That EP showcased a lot of variety. Is it important for you to be able to do different styles that represent your influences?
100%. Thatās whatās always been tough. Even right now, you have one song out on the radio so people think of you from that one song. Itās tough because there are so many different sides. Some shows you only get 30 minutes to play and Iām like āI want to show them this song too because thereās this side of the story and this influence on this songā. I just listened to every kind of music I could growing up ā a lot of rock influences ā and I just moulded it all into one thing.
UK audiences have a tendency to really listen and pay attention during shows. How have you found the audiences over here since youāve been touring with Dierks?
Really cool. Thatās one of the reasons I was so excited to come over here in the first place. Last night I had somebody yelling from the crowd asking for a song Iāve not even record thatās not out anywhere and she must have heard it from somebodyās video. I was like āhow the heck do you know that song?ā Itās cool that they do their homework and actually pay attention and listen. Itās great.
Youāre on tour with Dierks for pretty much the rest of the year. Are you going to be working on an album during that time too?
Iāve started working on it. Weāve recorded an album but I donāt know if weāre going to record more and weed some out. Iāll be finishing up the album in that time and hopefully coming out with a full-length album in August; thatās the plan. Itās going to be tough to reach that goal. I donāt even know if thatās possible but thatās what weāre going to try to do.
Will you be taking a mobile recording studio on the road?
I guess so! Recording at 3am (laughs). Itās good!
With the reaction youāve been getting from crowds in the UK and Ireland, would you like to come back for your own headline shows?
I was just talking to my manager today actually. I want to come back here as much as possible. I respect the people over here. Whether theyāre sitting there and listening and they do or donāt like it, theyāre making their own judgement on it and listening for themselves. I definitely want to come back here for sure.
Has the reception for Country music here surprised you?
Yeah. I was wondering what the Country music scene is like over here. Thereās a lot of bands over here that I grew up listening to, and I still listen to, that youāre all into but over in the US they havenāt blown up yet. For example, Kings of Leon are one of my favourite bands and I respect yāall for actually picking up on the great music they were doing. They were superstars over here before anyone knew who they were over (in the US). Itās a shame and disappointing.
C2C: Country to Country is our big Country festival here in the UK. Is that something you might like to get involved in?
Iād love to. Thatās awesome. Itās cool to see how wide of a reach Country music can spread. I had no clue what the Country scene was like over here but it seems like thereās a good amount of people that are picking it up. It looks like itās continuing to grow and itās really cool so Iād love to do that.
Going back to your song writing. Are you planning to write for other artists too?
I have so many songs man. Thereās so many that I want almost just take off my hands. Itās not the goal for me writing for somebody else but if I write a song, listen to it back and itās not me, Iām all for pitching it to another artist. On the other hand a lot of the stuff I write is riff-driven from a guitar riff ā thatās how I get inspired to put words around it. Itās more of a unique thing in the Country scene. A lot of the Country writers base around chords so I almost donāt want to give away my thing to someone else if itās a lick or riff or something. Iām all for getting another artist to sing one of my songs if I donāt want it.
I was talking to Kip Moore recently and he was telling me he has a vault of songs stored up for future projectsā¦
Same here! I really try to weed them out. I may love these songs here but think I should probably wait until the next album. Iām trying to put together an album that fits as a project. There are plenty of songs I love that arenāt going to be on the first album but I wonāt forget about them.
Do you have a group of people that you can test your songs out on to get honest feedback?
I kind of just leave that to playing live. I donāt ever do any cover songs live. Even if weāre playing an hour and a half I do all my own songs. Youāve got to see what feels good or what doesnāt. Not only that but Iāve got a big family and friends so Iām surrounded by a lot of good people. Itās a team effort.
Youāve got a hectic year ahead but if there anything else you want to achieve before Christmas rolls by?
(laughs) Not burn myself out, thatās number one. Itās all exciting and itās all fun. I just want to keep doing what Iām doing, see the progress and see what happens, making steps and reaching goals along the way so you can look back with the band and the group youāre with. Iām just going to keep doing what Iām doing.
Rock On is released on 27th April 2016. Listen to the song below: