Interview with Katy Hurt

Last week I headed into London to see Katy Hurt at the iconic ‘Troubadour’, the third time I have seen Katy play live this year. It would be no exaggeration to say that she has got better and better every time and she was simply outstanding last week, her headline show the perfect end to a great night of country music.

The last time I saw you live before this week was just after ‘Love You More’ had hit number one.  That must have been such a high? 

That week was probably one of the craziest in my life. I still can’t really wrap my head around how “Love You More” went to Number 1, but I am so honoured that it did. I have so much love in my heart for all the fans and people who supported that record and my music and that high is definitely still here and I hope it sticks around for a lot longer!  

You’ve been crazy busy since with a joint headline tour with Megan O’Neill and the headline show at the Troubadour. How good an experience were they?

The tour with Megan O’Neill was a great experience, she’s such a wonderful friend and musician so it made sense when we decided to go on tour to choose her as a collaborator. It was also really different for us too, we now both play with bands, and we did the tour acoustically. I think a recurring theme for the tour was that we tried to take the audience back to those moments when we were first struck with inspiration and first wrote the songs, so it was great to be able to share them the same way. 

The headline show at the Troubadour was also a full circle moment for me. I have played at the Troubadour now about 5 times, met so many great friends there and learnt so much which made having my own show there a really special experience and to see so many familiar faces in the crowd meant I got to share the night with great people too.  

In a recent review I stated that you had one of the best voices in UK country.  Where did the voice come from?

Wow, thanks so much. Well, I don’t know exactly where the voice came from but I started singing when I was about 4 years old and we were living in Long Island, NY and I have been ever since. My parents are huge country fans and started playing me Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline as lullabies when I was born so music has always been a part of my life, it was pretty much the first thing I ever heard and I fell into that world and haven’t ever wanted to leave it! 

How exciting is it to be part of the rapidly growing UK country scene right now?

I think the UK country scene is a strong now as it has ever been, and to be a part of it really is such an honour. England is my home and Country Music is where I have always considered myself whole, so I can’t really put into words how much it means to me that there are crowds here who are embracing it. 

What has been the best experience of your career so far?

That’s really hard to choose from, there have already been so many exciting experiences so far and there are so many more hopefully to come, but I think it would have to be “Love You More” reaching Number One and then getting to play it at Henley Festival with the legend Jose Feliciano. Walking out on that stage to play my song with him, a song that I wrote in a car, and seeing the reaction from the crowd was definitely something I will never forget. 

And which artists have influenced you?

When I sit down to write, my first thought is always how would Patsy have said this or would Johnny have been more to the point. I look back a lot, so I have to thank them for my initial inspiration. But there are so many phenomenal artists at the moment who are make up the face of country music and they all influence me too. Miranda Lambert is a huge influence of mine currently, her new album is stunningly heartfelt and so well put together. Kacey Musgraves is another, every show she brings a new element to the performance and her songs are so traditionally country but with a twist which as a writer always drives me to find another perspective. But I like to think that i’m influenced a little by every piece of music that I listen to. 

Which country artists are you listening to yourself at the moment?

I am a huge fan of Maren Morris and the Hero album, I think she has been very creative in her sound. I recently visited Grimey’s in Nashville and I bought a copy of the Brother’s Osborne album on vinyl and that is simply awesome, it sounds like summer.

If you could host a fantasy dinner party — which 3 people would you invite?

Oh now that is a really hard question, but I think if I had to pick three it would most probably be:

Patsy Cline, because she has always been the voice that made me start singing in the first place and she is the reason I fell in love with country music. 

Rick Riordan, because he is my favourite author. I studied classics and he took something that I learned in school and brought it to life. He found a way to bring magic to today’s society and growing up and reading those books made me want to learn to be a better writer. 

Dolly Parton, because she is everything I have aspired to be, a fantastic entertainer, songwriter and storyteller, generous, humble and kind, and I would love to talk more to her about all the incredible stories she must have!

What can we expect from Katy Hurt in the coming weeks and months?

You can expect a lot from me in the coming year, I have been doing a lot of planning and I will absolutely have new music coming very very soon … so keep an eye out.