Kevin McGuire is the Scottish singer/songwriter currently taking the British country music scene by storm. With a major performance at the prestigious C2C (Country to Country) Festival taking place this weekend, and his latest single ‘3am‘ taking the country charts by storm the Brit rising star is well on his way to becoming a standout talent of the genre.
Here we chat exclusively to the rising star about his C2C performance, musical inspirations, future plans, dream collaborations and more.
How excited are you to be playing C2C this year?
I’m very excited. For any aspiring Country artist, particularly from the UK, this is the festival to play at! There’s been such a huge build up over the last couple of months, and I now just can’t wait to
get on stage and do my thing!
Is this your first time playing the festival?
Yes! I know so much about the festival, I’ve been following it for years. This makes it even more special for me.
What other artists on the C2C line-up are you most excited about seeing live?
I’m really liking Maren Morris at the moment. I’m a huge fan of the Pop-Country fusion going on at the moment. Depending on the schedule I’d love to catch some of Darius Rucker and Zac Brown too, but we’ll see what happens!
What can fans expect from your C2C set?
Well, I’m taking the band with me, and we wanna have a party for sure! I’m including a good variety of songs in the set, so I hope people get the chance to hear the different sides to my songwriting. I want to bring a new side to Country-Pop that’s fresh to the UK. Come along!
Growing up in Scotland how did you get into country music?
I get asked this question a lot, and to be honest there’s just always been a part of me that’s felt connected to it. I didn’t grow up around anybody who listened to it, I just sort of… found it myself. In my early years of high school I’d be checking out the latest Country charts from America and downloading as many of the songs as I could. Artists like Tim McGraw, Josh Turner, Rascal Flatts. It felt like my own little world!
How do you think the UK are now embracing the country genre?
I think it’s building, slowly but surely. It’s becoming more and more popular by the week. There’s been huge strides made over the last year or 2 with artists like The Shires really paving the way onto mainstream radio. It’s great. Hopefully artists like myself can follow in their footsteps and make the genre even bigger over here!
Who would be your dream collaboration?
Rascal Flatts. Easy! They’re without a doubt my favourite artists. Gary’s voice is special. It’d be a dream come true!
When can fans expect a new album from you?
I’ve just finished recording my debut EP, ‘Foreign Country’, which will be a 5-track release out very, very soon. I’m really excited about this as it will hopefully introduce ‘Kevin McGuire’ to the world. I’ve
tried my best to put a real mix of songs on it, but still making sure I stay true to my own style. I’m already thinking about the next release after this, so I don’t think a full album will be too far
away!
Will you be heading out on tour this year?
That’s the plan! We’re working on a few things at the moment, but my aim is to be playing as much as possible up and down the country. I’ve already got some festivals confirmed for the summer too, so stay tuned for those announcements!
What do you hope to achieve in the next ten years?
Wow. That’s a thinker! To be honest, I hope to be as successful as I possibly can be. My
ambition is to be selling out shows across the globe, and be recognised for my music. If I can keep working hard and retain a great team, group of friends, and family around me, I’ll be very thankful!
Make sure you keep up to date with everything Kevin McGuire is up to by following him on Twitter @kevmcguiremusic.
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