Vic Allen is a rising British country artist who’s been stirring regular interest with her stunning vocals and songwriting talent. From catching the attention of the BBC’s Bob Harris whilst part of the “Write Like a Girl” tour, to reaching top positions on the iTunes UK Country Chart, plus supporting Sarah Darling - Vic is becoming an interesting artist on the UK country scene.

Her latest song ‘I Can’ has just been released and is already gathering momentum, so we decided to catch up with Vic to ask some further questions.

Your latest single ‘I Can’ was released last week, and you explained it was written minutes after a breakup. Is this your normal kind of songwriting process? Also, do you usually start with lyric ideas or a guitar chord sequence?

Usually I start with a subject or a title, and maybe a few lyrical ideas too, so I know at least roughly what I'm writing about. I then sit down with my guitar and play around with a few chords and start to form a melody and slot words and ideas into place. This was my process with I Can, but it was just much quicker than usual for some reason! Occasionally it'll be a little different and I'll have a melody idea as my starting point instead, or I'll write most of the song before figuring out the guitar part. And almost always I write the chorus first, particularly if I'm writing alone - writing with someone else is a whole different story though as they will bring new ideas and a different approach into the room!

How have you been spending time during this crazy lockdown period?

I've been staying at my family home so I've been spending time with my parents and my little brother (and all our animals!!). I've also tried to stay as productive as possible, so have done some cowrites via Skype, made lots of videos for social media and started to learn piano.

I believe you were over in Nashville earlier this year. Do you plan on doing any gigs or writing etc in the future there?

Yes definitely! I plan on going back but obviously will have to wait until the world is back to normal and it's safe to travel again. I have a lot of friends out there and so I try not to leave it too long in between visits!

If you could choose one person to collaborate with, who would this be?

Tough question!!!! At the moment I'm really loving Maddie and Tae and think they would be a lot of fun to work with (they're a duo but I think can count as one!)

Who are your main influences? 

Like a lot of people I am hugely influenced by Taylor Swift, especially her older music. John Mayer is another huge influence for me as it was his music that first made me want to start playing guitar.

What’s your best gig or performance to date?

In October I played my first ever headline show at the Green Note to launch my EP, and way more people turned up than I expected!! So that one is pretty memorable for me. Performing at The Listening Room for Song Suffragettes earlier this year was also incredible, as was the London show of the Write Like a Girl tour I was part of last November.

As the lockdown eases, is there any talk of upcoming shows in the UK yet?

I was actually meant to be touring the UK with Song Suffragettes this April, but obviously that couldn't go ahead. I'm really hoping it will be rescheduled, so fingers crossed that will happen at some point in the not too distant future!!! I'll also be opening up the UK Country Music Spotlight Awards in February next year.

Are there any specific festivals you would like to play at?

I'd LOVE to play at Glastonbury, mainly because I've never actually been!!!!! I'd also love to perform at C2C and any of the other country festivals in the UK, as I think my music would be most appreciated at those events! I was actually booked to play Buckle and Boots this year but sadly that couldn't go ahead either.

Who is your favorite UK country artist?

I have a lot of friends on the UK scene whose music I love, including artists like Emily Faye and Poppy Fardell. I love how much of a community it is over here. I also think Remember Monday are awesome live, and I like Catherine McGrath's music too.

Have you got a message you would like to share with your fans and followers?

I just want to say thank you so much to everyone who listens to my music, follows me on social media, shares my songs with other people etc - it's so difficult being an independent artist and I'm SO grateful for every single person that supports me. So if you're reading this, thank you!!!!!

Thanks Vic - all the best for the future!

 country 

Author: Andrew Braithwaite

Andrew is the founder and Managing Director of Music Talkers. He's also a keen music enthusiast and plays the guitar.