Abby Anderson has released her new single today and we wanted to share with you our little chat we had with this firecracker to see what she has been up to in London, how she was feeling about playing Europes biggest country music festival, working with Jimmie Allen and her success in Nashville!

Amy: So Abby! First trip here?

Abby Anderson: Oh my gosh. I love it here! First trip ever! Ever overseas, yes.

Amy: So you are just enjoying it!

Abby Anderson: I really am! I was kind of bracing myself for being tired or jet lagged or something but I feel so good!

Amy: Adrenaline?

Abby Anderson: Yes that’s what it is!

Amy: When did you fly in?

Abby Anderson: We flew in, goodness, yesterday morning.

Amy: So you have also just been thrown straight into it.

Abby Anderson: Right. We flew in overnight. So I took a melatonin and slept all night. It is beautiful here. I mean the weather is just like Nashville right now, you know.

Amy: Yeh it seems so!

Abby Anderson: Hey, I don’t even care, I’m in London. It could rain it could storm, I still feel cool!

Amy: So how about yesterday? Did you have a media day yesterday too?

Abby Anderson: No I just had one meeting and then we got to walk around, shop a little bit, hit up a couple of little pubs! Just got to see where the locals kind of hang out! But honestly, I’m not a big drinker drinker. I mean I was probably the only girl at the bar with a glass of wine!

Amy: It’s classy! [laughs].

Abby Anderson: Right, it’s classy Amy!

Amy: That was me yesterday, everyone was ordering beer and I was sitting there with a pomegranite daquiri!

Abby Anderson: I’ve never tried beer! Wine is kind of my thing so… When I say drink like it’s once a month maybe! 

Amy: Ha right ok, we are getting distracted [laughs]. Time to hone in on the questions! So how are you feeling about the shows coming up this weekend?

Abby Anderson: I’m excited! For C2C just in general, I mean we sound checked in the arena and honestly like… I’m sure I’ll get nervous. I Kind of wish I was a little more nervous right now but I still have about two and a half hours to go! I just feel like I’m in, I don’t mean this in a cocky way, but just comfortable. Excited. I get a little nervous before, because I care but they all go away as soon as I start singing. I just feel comfortable.

Amy: I think it’s always good to have those nerves because you can channel them into the performance!

Abby Anderson: Absolutely.

Amy: So, have you heard much about the UK audiences, in terms of playing? That’s a big thing when people come over that we are very attentive and it makes a lot of people really nervous!

Abby Anderson: I have heard that! I’m very anxious to see what is, yeah, how the audience responds to everything. I will say I’ve gotten, somehow, I don’t know how these girls even heard about me but a little UK following through Instagram, through social media and just their response alone has kind of blown my mind. Just how supportive they are, so I am excited to see what it’s like tonight.

Amy: So we only have one country station, it’s a digital station, so it’s not FM, you can’t just dial into it if you only have a normal radio in your car. That’s the only country station that we have. The way to our radio it works, it’s just everything. So on a Thursday night on Radio 2, Bob Harris has a 2 hour country show.

Abby Anderson: Yeh, I have heard about that yet.

Amy: So everything’s mixed, for people to listen to country here you have to go out of your way to find it. So I guarantee you, the people that know your music they know every song that you’ve ever put out, even the things you think no one’s going to find they’re going to dig down and they are gonna find it!

Abby Anderson: These girls definitely have done that, it blows my mind.

Amy: That’s why I think the audience get very invested in just everyone that comes over!

Abby Anderson: Eek! I am so excited!

Amy: So we were speaking to Jimmie Allen this morning, so I have to ask about ‘Shallow’ It is a fantastic version. I know you spoke about it a little bit in the press room but can you tell us a little bit about how that came about?

Abby Anderson: So, Jimmie’s brilliant! I mean, the man has a thousand ideas a second! He called me in the beginning of January. Actually this was before Christmas, called me like hey, beginning of the year I want to cover Shallow with you. Here’s the idea for video. Literally every concept, every detail mapped out and made my job pretty easy. I mean my job was the same so i sang, yeah I just had to show up. He’s amazing, his team is amazing. Honestly I thought, both of us kind of felt like it would be cool, because obviously we put it out Friday before the Oscars. That was very strategic on his part. We planned it out but the response we did not planned and the response was very humbling.

Amy: It really is a great version.

Abby Anderson: Thank you. We didn’t think it would get as much attention as it did. That was very cool and kudos to Jimmy for having a good idea. I’m very honored he would ask me to be a part of it… So Jimmie might come hang out tonight….

Amy: So in terms of being in Nashville, you moved there when you were 16?

Abby Anderson: 17. I mean, I say 17 because it sound way cooler than 18. Like I was two months away form turning 18!

Amy: So four years from then to you sitting here with me now! Had you been before or when you moved there did you just hit the ground running?

Abby Anderson: I hit the ground running. I mean, I always told my parents that, you know, music was gonna be my career, my life. They knew I wanted to move to Nashville so I started home schooling, graduated early and moved out there and I made one trip out there… a couple of trips out there before and met like some writers and my CAA agent now, Carolyn Sharp. She’s the one who really pushed me to move. She’s like kid, I can’t do crap for you if you don’t know move here! I think she was thinking I’d wait till i was 18 or go to college. And I was, I’m here! She was like ‘oh crap! ok!’. I just hit the ground, started grinding. I mean shoot, you know. I can imagine being a journalist. It’s all connections to you. I mean you got to build it from the ground up.

Amy: Right, I’ve been going out to Nashville for the last 10 years, I’ve so many friends and contacts out there. It’s like, hell they couldn’t do anything when you were just in a different state, let alone me being in a different country.

Abby Anderson: It’s different when you see them face to face.

Amy: Yeh, you have to be there but four years is still pretty incredible. I was at the CMT Women of Country event in 2017 when you played.

Abby Anderson: Oh my gosh. Holy cow, you were there? Thank you. I appreciate you being there.

Amy: That is one of my favourite events of that week if only just for girl power!

Abby Anderson: Amen, sister!

Amy: If i roll into town and turn the radio on I’m not going to hear any female artists so I like to make the most of that show! I think there is so much talene coming up and Leslie Fram does such a great job.

Abby Anderson: Oh, she’s a queen, she’s our rock star.

Amy: You have a phenomenal voice and you really deserve this.

Abby Anderson: I really appreciate it.

Amy: I think you’re going to be blown away by the response.

Abby Anderson: Oh, I’m so excited! You know people keep saying that so I am trying not to like hype it up in my mind too much!

Amy: So what else do you have other than the spotlight stage.

Abby Anderson: Oh gosh, we are doing the Indigo after party tonight with Runaway June. Then the CMW hub tomorrow. That would be a really fun. Then Sunday, I have one more performance for that’s the meet and greet day which I am really excited about.

Amy: Have you got any plans to come back?

Abby Anderson: Not set in stone. But in my mind yes. I definitely make overseas a priority.

Amy: I feel like we haven’t spoken about any of your music right now but we’ve had a great chat! So lets, real quick.. What have you got out now? Where can people go to find your music and is there more to come in the pipeline?

Abby Anderson: Okay so right now I released an EP called I’m Good in September 2018 and the response on that has been awesome. Very thankful for that. New music is coming out, between you and me, 22nd this month! We make the announcement, like a little teaser thing, on Sunday!

Amy: This has been great. Thank you so much for taking the time, enjoy your show tonight and hopefully we get to catch up with you soon!