Hastings date for Chantel McGregor on back of new album

Her third studio album The Healing comes out on May 23 ahead of dates at Hastings Carlisle on Sunday, June 1, Portsmouth, Guildhall on Tuesday, June 3 and Worthing’s Factory Live on Wednesday, June 11.

“I did a couple of albums in the lockdowns but they were kind of halfway houses. They were from the live streams I did throughout the lockdowns so they were not really new albums. They were a kind of midway. So the last original album so I did was back in 2015 which is quite a long time ago now! I suppose life just gets in the way. I've done a lot of touring but other life events happen. My mum was quite ill and I had to spend time looking after her and just other things happening.

“And then suddenly it's ten years ago! I decided I needed to force myself. My mum is a bit healthier now so I decided I had to get on and do it. Inspiration does not just fall out of the sky for me, unfortunately. I have to plan it. I have to say I'm going into the studio on Wednesday and Thursday and I'm going to come out on with a new song by Thursday night. I need to allocate time because I get distracted really easily! If I'm just at home I will think I need to do this on Facebook or do this interview or sort out the band. But I just had to focus.

“The new album is called The Healing. It was not written as a concept album but it ended up as one in a way. The concept is that as we go through life and all go through really difficult things and harrowing things, we all grieve and we love and we lose people and we go through awful times but we've just got to try and come out the other side. But the thing is that everyone goes through things like this, and the healing is just somehow to find a way to carry on, just to emerge the other side. And maybe just to think that everything happens for a reason and to hang on to the fact that things can change and can get better. But as I say the point is that everybody goes through exactly the same things. And that is something I hope the audiences and fans will connect with when they hear the album.

“The song The Healing is about nearly losing mum and just processing those thoughts, the grieving which isn't grieving but then becoming completely neurotic about it maybe happening again. But as you get older you start to perceive things in a different way anyway, you start to look at things in different ways. That's just natural.”

Chantel started playing in 2011 and can see that things have changed considerably since then, particularly post-pandemic: “How people consume music was changing anyway with the digital stuff but I think it has changed all the more since the pandemic. I think maybe people got used to just staying at home and watching YouTube. It is more difficult to get people out now. It's really double edged. Some people were just so grateful to be able to come out after the pandemic but other people were still quite scared. I think it's settled now in a way but also now we've got the cost of living, with just going out being so expensive. And I think it just makes me think that I've got to make my gigs all the better and all the more enjoyable. People are spending their money and I want them to really enjoy the concerts as much as they can and for me to give them the best experience I possibly can.”