Photo by: Alex Berger
Elles Bailey had an incredibly successful 2019. Starting with her much anticipated second album, Road I Call Home, which received rave reviews and charted in the Official UK Country Charts & Americana charts, gaining over 2 million streams and counting since its release. The singer-songwriter’s album also reached No. 2 on iTunes and No. 1 on the Amazon Blues Bestseller chart.
A self-confessed DIY artist, Elles saw her belief in hard work paying off as she played sold-out shows worldwide. She also saw herself becoming a featured artist at key festivals in 2018/2019 as well as playing in the US for the International House of Songs Summit in Arkansas and playing Nashville’s Americana Fest.
Currently, Elles will be live streaming on Facebook and StageIt! as her tour dates and summer festivals have been postponed/canceled due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. To help her band and family’s livelihoods during this difficult time, she will be donating all money raised through her live streams, music downloads, and direct donations to them. More information can be found on her website, www.ellesbailey.com
Her latest single, “Woman Like Me” was released on April 2. Elles explains that “The song is about being a confident, independent woman, and about being comfortable in your own skin.” The music video was recorded live as part of the ‘Blacktop Companion’ sessions when she and her touring band had 20 minutes at the end of that session. Learn more about the song by watching the video at the end of this interview.
I interviewed Elles earlier this year (prior to the pandemic) via email about her successful second album, songwriting process, streaming strategy, putting together an international tour, staying her secret to staying sane on tour, and much more.
Congratulations on a phenomenal 2019 and the success of your second album, Road I Call Home! Not only did it reach No. 1 on the Amazon Blues Bestseller chart and No. 2 on iTunes, but since its release, it has racked up over 2 million streams. What did you learn from the experience of getting that many streams?
Thank you very much, I’m very chuffed with this album and totally blown away by the streaming numbers and totally grateful for the support. I’ve learnt it’s important to consistently release music, and in the online streaming world, it’s all about the single song and actually not the album (however it’s still important to make records IMO). However, by releasing singles every couple of months I have seen my streaming figures and audience grow significantly!
Take me through the strategy for achieving that many streams for the album. If you didn’t have a strategy, how were you able to accomplish this?
So we released a couple of singles before the record dropped that got some editorial playlist love which was amazing but actually in hindsight I think we should have released four singles before the album dropped. I’ve had a lot of success releasing bonus material from the album – like acoustic tracks and live tracks. The digital world moves quickly and I’ve learnt a lot about streaming over the last year that I shall definitely apply to my next record release
Explain your production process
For me, it’s really important to track live so I get the band in a room to record all at once, and then if needs be, we overdub extra guitars, BVs post tracking. I love recording, it’s exciting creating something new.
Your song ‘Little Piece of Heaven’ on the album has been awarded Song of the Year at the 2020 UK Americana Awards. You co-wrote it Nashville giant Bobby Ward, and Dan Auerback of the Black Keys. How did you get the opportunities to write with them? What was the experience like?
When I first touched down in Nashville in 2016 Brad Nowell and Bobby Wood took me under their wings and introduced me to loads of incredibly talented writers. Bobby had been working with Dan for a while and so he introduced us and we sat down and wrote Little Piece of Heaven. I really enjoy writing with lots of different writers, you can learn so much from people’s different writing techniques.
It’s also incredibly special to sit in a room with someone that you may have only met that day, and a few hours later you have a song that tells your story perfectly. That’s magic!
Tell us about your songwriting process.
Honestly – there isn’t one, although I must admit, nowadays I have to actively put time aside to write, or I just get lost in the day to day of being an artist and ignore writing. For the last three weeks, all I have done is write – and I’m not gonna lie, it’s tough and exhausting but I’m really liking what’s being produced and look forward to sharing it soon!
Explain how you put together your headlining international tours throughout the UK and Europe.
Now I have wonderful agents who do it for me but before I got agents I used to do it all myself. I would look at where my peers were touring and reach out to the promoters. One in a hundred would get back to you but slowly but surely I would book these tours.
How did you move your way up to become a featured artist at key festivals?
Hard work, getting out there and just touring!
What was it like to be special guest support for Grammy Award winner Mike Farris, Martin Harley, The Kris Barras Band and King King? How did that come about?
Supporting other artists is a real privilege and a great way of building your fan base.
I think I just reached out to the artists or their management team and ask to open the shows, however for the King King Christmas party I think their fans voted for me on a Facebook group… I think?!
How did you get hooked up with Joe Bonamassa and his “Keeping Blues Alive at Sea” cruise? What does this opportunity mean to you?
I’ve wanted to play the “Keeping Blues Alive at Sea” cruise for a while and this one came out of the blue, they reached out to my management team. I seriously can’t wait, although I do get seasick so I hope it’s only the music that rocks and not the boat!
Why did you relentlessly tour the past two years? What are some tips for staying sane while on the road?
I’m not really sure how I’ve ended up touring so much but I’m averaging over 100 shows a year. Tips for staying sane ….. noise-canceling headphones – they are essential!
As a self-confessed DIY artist, what do you attribute to your success?
Hard work and getting to learn about the industry. It’s ever-changing and I believe it’s important to keep up to date with it all.
What has been your biggest challenge so far in your music career? How did you overcome it?
I’m not sure what my biggest challenge has been, however, the busier I get the harder it is to keep on top of it all and focus on my music. Every day is a learning curve!
What is your favorite microphone or instrument for performances and why?
I haven’t found one yet …. however I am in the process of looking and enjoy trying different ones. I used a D.Facto the other day and that was insane however so is the price tag!
How do you think women artists can be better supported in the indie music industry?
I think firstly it’s important to speak out about the fact that the industry is still massively male-centric. I’m not sure what the answer is, but having an open dialogue about the disparity is exceedingly important. It’s also important to celebrate communities that are making a difference as well.
The Americana association U.K. has implemented the 50:50 gender split that was put forward by the PRS key change pledge, on their yearly festival and that’s so important. It was also amazing to see that all the awards that were voted for by the members of the AMA U.K. community were won by women! I think more niche genres should look to The Americana Association Uk to see how they support female artists and try and implement that into their own scenes.
What projects do you have planned for this year?
Finishing album number 3 is top of the list!!
What are your tour plans for 2020?
I’m touring at the moment through the U.K. all through March, in April I shall be touring Germany and then it’s festival season all summer long. I’ll also be touring Europe in October and the U.K. in November again.
Thank you, Elles, for taking time out of your busy schedule to do this interview.
Connect with Elles Bailey on her Website | Spotify| Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube