Flying in from Nashville for Brighton dates and UK Christmas

Sarah Darling flies in from Nashville to offer a Christmas special at The Folklore Rooms, Brighton on December 22.
Sarah Darling - Sara-Kauss-photographySarah Darling - Sara-Kauss-photography
Sarah Darling - Sara-Kauss-photography

Tickets are available on bit.ly/3n95Mjy

“I'm doing two different venues but doing a matinee at each as well, and then I'm going to spend Christmas in the UK. My husband is British.

“We met whilst I was visiting and just ended up doing the long-distance thing and the rest is history. We are one of the long-distance couples that actually managed to get through!”

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Collaborating with writers and producers in Nashville, Los Angeles and in the UK, Iowa native Sarah has developed a distinct and contemporary country sound. Her most recent album Wonderland, which includes the radio single Call Me, reached number one on the official UK country album charts.

Earlier releases include the album Dream Country and her EP Home to Me, the title track of which was featured on Sirius XM’s The Highway and became the top-selling digital single from a new female artist that year.

The UK has always been important to her.

“I was last in the UK in December 2019 just before everything went really crazy. For me it was really interesting because 2019 was one of the busiest years in my life and it was just such a crazy time and I was spending so much time in England. England has always been special to me and I think one of the cool things that I feel has happened is that my time over there in 2019 and also in 2018 has really shaped the music that I am making now. I really do feel that. I grew up in Iowa and I have lived in Nashville all my life but there is something that has shaped me in a very positive way in my music from my time in the UK.

“There is a depth to the music. I think it was hard being away from home at times and that really pulled into the music. I think it is a bit more angsty and has got a bit more of a vibe to it. These are the new songs that are coming out now. I'm releasing one every six weeks or so. I will be releasing them one by one and then the album. I think one of the subjects is just really talking about life really, discovering people in the music business and what it has felt like over the years. I've always tended to be very trusting and I think you also get a lot of nostalgia in the music and missing home. I think it's also about the lessons that I have learned from people in the music business. There is some darkness to that and then there is a lot of light. What we have to decide at the moment is whether it will be an EP or an album because there are a lot of songs I've just loved so much there's a whole string of songs, and I'd like to release one every month for the next year really.”

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Her most recent album Wonderland came out in 2019: “And that really does feel like a lifetime ago. What we have all gone through I think has changed us all whether we like it or not. I have coped in different ways but I think having the music has been very therapeutic. It has also been about re-evaluating and rethinking where you put your energies and what you do. The pandemic has definitely tended to make me put my energies into things in a very positive way, just trying to bring joy and music to make people happy on socials and so on. I do think we appreciate music more because of all this. I really don't know how you can get through a pandemic without music and without the arts, and I do think that has become more and more clear especially during the hard times. Music gets you through those hard times. It's a very powerful medium.”

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