Maddie & Tae crashed onto the Country music scene with their feisty debut single Girl in a Country Song back in 2014, which topped the US Country Airplay Chart.
The duo achieved success with follow-up singles Fly and Shut Up and Fish, and their debut album Start Here hit number 2 on Top Country Albums chart. Earlier this year Maddie & Tae made their UK live debut as part of C2C: Country to Country where they wowed the packed O2 Arena audience.
In October the ladies will be heading over to the UK for their first headline tour. I caught up with them to find out what we can expect from the tour, discuss the progress of their new album, and to discuss their experience at C2C.
Youāre coming over to the UK in October for a headline tour. Is that off the back of your success at C2C?
Maddie: Yes, completely. The reason we are coming back is because of C2C. We could feel the love from the UK when we started but we didnāt really understand it until we actually went and played that beautiful arena with so many people there. There were people singing songs that arenāt singles and probably will never be singles. They were singing every single word so we thought about how passionate people were for us in the UK, scrapped our schedule for October and we were like ānope, weāre going to the UK. Weāre going to figure it out!ā (laughs)
Your C2C set was one of the highlights of the weekend for me. Did you expect the reaction you received?
Tae: First of all thank you for saying that our set was one of your favourites. We were pretty nervous because before even going to the UK with the release of our singles and album, we had seen a lot of support from the fans; these fans we had never even met are loving our music, buying it and making it go really high on the iTunes chart. That love all across the world is pretty overwhelming. I think we just wanted to do it justice. We wanted the fans we have supporting us to keep supporting us and to see us live. It was really neat that we could make that connection with them. Our love for them definitely grew after seeing them, getting to meet all of them and hearing their stories of how they connected with our music.
What kind of show can we expect when you visit in October for your tour?
Maddie: Weāre going to do a full band show weāre trying to put a really cool acoustic moment together in the set. Itāll be more full band than anything. Weāre going to create some brand new covers when we come over and weāre actually demoing, which is what you do before you go cut an album, a bunch of songs for the new record so weāre going to come to the UK and test some of those songs out to see how the fans react. We want to see which ones are their favourites so the UK is probably going to get to be one of the first to hear our new songs. Weāre really excited about that.
Do you get nervous when debuting new songs during a live show?
Tae: It definitely can go either way. We pretty much respect the audienceās opinions a lot because ultimately when our music is released, weāre doing it for them. I think when we love a song so much, hopefully the reaction is positive but if some people donāt like it, then thatās just going to come with the music. Weāve definitely had people not really understand what weāre trying to say and thatās OK because more people than not loved it. We want to go out there, play them our music and have them love it but thereās always going to be doubters and thatās alright as long as we believe in what weāre doing.
What can you tell me about the direction that the new album is going in?
Maddie: Weāre actually testing that our right now. I think the one thing thatās not going to change too much is the acoustic-driven, leaning a little more traditional, sound. Last night we went and recorded all these new songs and I think weāve gotten really inspired by a lot of the new Country albums ā Chris Stapleton, Maren Morris, David Nail, Brothers Osborne ā and one of the things we loved about all those records is how loose the drums were. Weāre experimenting with different sounds and different feels for the percussive part of the record. Lyrically weāre in a totally different place in our lives now where weāre getting settled down in Nashville, we got our first houses and weāre coming into this new chapter in our lives. Itās this new time of adulthood really and we always call it adulting. Sometimes it kinda sucks but sometimes itās fun! (laughs). The second record is definitely going to have some of that in there, just what itās like to find out who you are, your place is in the world, where you stand and who you really want to be.
Your debut album Start Here was loved by fans and critics. Did you anticipate that youād have the success youāve had with the record?
Tae: I definitely donāt think we anticipated the love that we got for this album. We just hoped people would like it but just to hear how much people are connecting with itā¦whenever you write a song thatās so specific to your situation, there comes a little bit of āoh I hope other people can feel what Iām feelingā. Thatās the cool thing about Country music, no matter how specific youāre writing the situation at the end of the day weāre all experiencing the same emotions. Thatās life and weāre just grateful that we get to write about it and put it into an album that people go out of their way to buy it. We have definitely felt the love and weāre very appreciative for it.
With the release of Girl in a Country Song, and your debut album, it feels like youāre leading the charge for women in modern Country music. Do you feel pressure to be female role models?
Maddie: Not really. Thereās not really any pressure. Itās more of an honour for us that people enjoy our music and relate to it, and represent women very well. Thatās a huge compliment so we try to really focus on that and make sure that if we are representing women, not just in Country, that weāre representing young women very well and giving them a voice; that what they want to say is being said on Country radio. We do get that question about being a role model a lot but we just try to incorporate positivity in our music and also the way that we treat people.
One of the things I love about you guys is the variety within your music. You have the feistier Your Side of Town kind of songs then the slower ballad moments like Fly. Do you have a preference in terms of style or do you just like to mix it up?
Tae: Itās a lot of fun to play with different grooves and different sounds. We love the acoustic-driven Country songs because thatās the kind of music that we grew up loving and it inspired us to do what weāre doing. I think weāve got a lot better on being open minded about different instruments because it is fun to switch it up and I think our fans have a lot of fun too whenever they hear a song thatās different for us.
Iām so glad that Sierra is your new single in the UK. Itās like the sweetest revenge song. How did you manage to convey such an important message in such a fun way?
Maddie: Weāve always really gravitated towards tongue-in-cheek music. We think that Kacey Musgraves does that really well and weāve admired what she does. We were really digging into her record when we wrote that song. It was really a very vulnerable experience for me having someone tell me I wasnāt good enough or that I was the next wannabe Taylor Swift or that I wasnāt pretty enough, or whatever that was. She would get girls to gang up against you and spread rumours, and she did this to so many people in school. I went home bawling for like the thirteenth time because of this girl. We were going to Nashville the next day and I wrote that first verse but I didnāt know if it was any good. Tae loved it and was like āyou need to put her name in the song and we need to make this super honest!ā I was a little afraid because I planned on no one hearing this song and of course it gets cut on the record and turned into a single. The beautiful part of the song is the fact that people relate to it and theyāre able to say āI went through something like this and it gave me the strength and courage to get through it.ā The whole message of loving yourself no matter what people say and thereās going to be mean people ā thatās just how it is ā but if you know that youāre good enough, youāre confident and you love yourself then those people arenāt going to matter.
Will we get a fifth single from the album or is Sierra the final single from Start Here?
Tae: A fifth single ā thatās awesome! I donāt think so; I think weāre going to end it with Sierra. Weāre just so excited to bring new music out and our fans are a little bit anxious as well because I think they want to hear what the next chapter is. For us getting to make a second album and having started it has made it all a little bit more exciting. Weāre so excited about Sierra and seeing where that goes so itās going to be fun but this next chapter is going to be more exciting.
Youāre on tour for pretty much the rest of the year. How do you cope with a relentless tour schedule while trying to get a new album together at the same time?
Maddie: Honestly I donāt really know how we cope. We still get very stressed out. Weāve had a lot of anxiety and freaking out a little bit but I think thereās some good parts in that because we hold a very high standard for ourselves and want to make sure that our shows are great and our second record is great for our fans. Thereās a lot of pressure but I think itās a healthy amount that we put on ourselves just to make sure weāre doing the best that we can. For us sleep is a huge thing (laughs). We havenāt had much recently but today weāre home so weāre going to write some songs. Itās really trying to rest when you can whether itās taking a nap on an airplane or taking a nap at a venue, and making sure you eat healthy and have three meals a day. Sometimes you get so busy that you forget to eat and thatās what really messes us up because we get hangry (hungry and angry). We try to make sure that enjoy it rather than getting so stressed out about the next step. We try to be in the moment but stay aware of all the other things we need to take care of.
Maddie & Taeās album Start Here and the single Sierra is available now. Listen to Sierra below:
[brid video=”57011″ player=”531″ title=”Maddie & Tae Sierra (Audio)”]
You can catch the duo on tour in the UK this October at the following dates:
Sat Oct 22nd ā Manchester Academy 3
Sun Oct 23rd ā Glasgow Oran Mor
Tues Oct 25th ā Birmingham O2 Institute 2
Wed Oct 26th ā London Islington Assembly Hall
Thurs Oct 27th ā Bristol Bierkeller
Tickets are on sale via www.gigsandtours.com and www.ticketmaster.co.uk.