British born country singer, Twinnie, lives in Nashville and is tackling the industry as an independent artist. Her gypsy roots and northern upbringing lace Twinnie with an emotive honesty that is transforming her music.
A couple of days post-Stagecoach, back in her cute little Nashville home, Twinnie sat down for a video call with Tea with G to talk about her new single, her Grand Ole Opry debut and the concept behind her new EP, Blue Hour (Before the Dawn).
I ask her how she’s feeling after a hectic weekend at the festival in the desert. “How do I look?” she responds, tongue in cheek. She points out bags and crow’s feet, but she still looks great.
You only need spend a couple of minutes on Twinnie’s social media to see that she is doing everything she can to promote her new music, taking any opportunity to let people know she’s here and she’s proud of what she’s releasing – we’re talking standing outside Buckingham Palace in a wedding outfit, holding her phone showing people a message to stream her latest single. That takes another level of confidence. “I just have this mentality,” she says about where her confidence comes from, “I’ve come close to death a few times in my lifetime, so I have this mentality that we’re all going to die one day and in 150 years, no one is going to remember any of us. None of the shit that we do really matters”.
Twinnie prides herself on not being a cool girl – she’s not afraid to be ‘cringe’ or be herself. “Cool people suck. They’re not warm, they’re not welcoming. They make you feel less than,” she says as we talk more about being part of a community that accept you for you – something that she is echoing through her music. A quote that she comes back to is ‘when you shine your own light, it gives others permission to shine theirs’ and that’s what she’s holding space for, being the un-cool girl that shows the lowlights along with the highlights.
Her latest single, ‘Greatest Love Story’, is about her mum and stepdad who met when they were younger but only got together later in life. It explores the impacts of chance and serendipity in relationships – something that Twinnie is passionate about. “I do think there’s something other worldly going on in all our lives that plays a massive part in who you meet, why they’re in your life and when they leave.” Twinnie’s most recent breakup – the fuel behind her latest music – coincided with being dropped by her label, “I think the faith for me has been the only way I could get through that because I just thought, there has to be something better, there has to be.”
Twinnie’s EP, ‘Blue Hour (After Dark)’, was the first half in her exploration of mourning a breakup. ‘Blue Hour (Before the Dawn)’ is the second and final instalment, closing this chapter for Twinnie. “The whole thing has been very therapeutic,” she says about these two pieces of work, “but at the same time, it sends me back to a place … like ten years is a long time…I feel like I’ve lost a piece of myself, you know, a piece of my heart.” We talk about the grief that goes alongside a breakup, particularly one of so long, and how, overnight, you walk away from an entire life together and everything that went with it.
Blue Hour happens twice a day and the two EPs are Twinnie’s interpretation of representing a breakup over 24 hours. “I think Before the Dawn is, I mean, you’ve got Greatest Love Story and Take a Break,” she pauses to consider the rest of the EP, “one of the last tracks sums it up – I’m done, you know?” There’s been a lot of sad songs in her repertoire as of late but she’s excited to release this EP into the world and draw a line under this difficult chapter of her life. I ask her what she’s done lately that’s scared her, “putting out this EP,” she laughs, “I just feel like a lot of my heart is in it and I’m scared about how people are going to react to it – some songs I’ve written solely by myself so I can’t blame it on anyone if people think it’s crap”.
Earlier this year, Twinnie made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry – the most poignant of venues for any country artist to perform in. I asked what it was like to step into that circle for the first time: “it felt like I fucking belonged”. She shows me a framed photo of her on that night, dressed in her glamorous gown, the pride glowing across her face. “I wanted it to look like I was getting married to country music,” she laughs, “I was proud to be there and everyone was so nice – it’s the community I want to be part of. It gives me more ammunition to keep being grateful and thank my blessings.”
She picks up her phone that she’s video calling me off and walks outside into the sun showing me her garden with little chicks and geese. “Why do I feel like I’m just chatting with one of my friends just having a cup of tea,” she says as she sits on her rocking chair on the porch – the epitome of country living. She’s yawning now and talks of grabbing a coffee before her next meeting – there is no rest for an artist putting in the graft (and enjoying the party), so I ask about what she does to check in and look after herself. “It’s been a hectic trip because I haven’t had my dog and he normally chills me out,” she begins as she rocks on her chair, “I sit in my chair a lot – I’m like a grandma, honestly. I guess I go for walks, check in with friends and spend a lot of time by myself.” She talks about the need to conserve her energy because she gives a lot out to others, including today where she’s in back-to-back interviews, has a vocal session later plus a show in the evening. “I like yoga and I love reading a book in peace – I’m such a geek for science. I love quantum entanglement and neuroscience and knowing about people’s brains – I love knowing about my own brain even though I’m not disciplined to get the best out of myself sometimes...and just looking up at the stars and star gazing at night here really makes me feel so small and my problems feel so small, so I like to gain that perspective.”
Twinnie was also named as one of CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2024 – a program that last year saw the likes of Megan Moroney and Ashley Cooke who are both now blowing up the country music charts. “Being part of that class is a nod to being in the right direction,” Twinnie says about being part of this year’s roster, “it also makes me feel like I belong in this community because half the time I don’t feel like I belong anywhere.”
“I want to be the first British female country singer to have an American number 1. I just want to do it for Britain and the gypsys and anyone who’s got a dream and the underdogs.”
Twinnie’s EP will be released later this year and her next single, 'Girl In Your Songs' is out on the 17th May. Keep up to date with her music and tours here.
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