Beth Nielsen Chapman has also announced two new singles as well as her summer tour starting next month.
Following last year’s album CrazyTown, which charted at Number One on the Official UK Country Chart, Beth will perform at the family-friendly festival in Cawthorne on August 6.
She will also be at Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis on August 2, Acapela Studio, Cardiff on August 3, Nell’s, London on August 4 and The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, on August 8.
Her first new single ‘Back To This Moment,’ co-written with Michigan singer-songwriter May Erlewine towards the end of the pandemic is a sprightly Americana-bluegrass tune with a kick-ass backbeat, reflecting on and longing for better days gone by. In lines such as ‘waiting for the sun to shine through’, Beth skilfully taps into the collective mindset of those who would love for the good times to return.
She said: “Back to This Moment is a song about resilience in the face of the world coming through chaos and pain. The rhythm helps to offset some of the pain in the song, we wanted it to be entertaining and uplifting musically but also talk about that stuff life puts us through. It’s got to have that depth of field which I think we all need to acknowledge.”
“Boy I can relate to that now in a totally different way than I was relating to it when we were actually writing the song. I went through a big loss this past December when my husband Bob died of cancer. This song came back into my mind and I thought - “I really want to put this song out.”
“It tells the truth but it also carries the feeling that we’re gonna keep going because that’s what we do and I really love that it has that energy of hope in it. We’re all in this together and it’s music that is keeping me going moment to moment.”
‘Back To This Moment’ was quickly followed by another new track, ‘Love’, originally written and performed by US artist Sara Groves. In her interpretation, Beth’s vocals are powerful and heartfelt as the song swells with gorgeous instrumentation. This is an intimate version of the track, as Beth sings each line with a multitude of emotions that reaches deep within.
Last year’s CrazyTown won press support from Record Collector, The Independent, Maverick, AmericanaUK and RnR Magazine among many other titles, while receiving radio coverage from Ken Bruce and Bob Harris on their respective shows on BBC Radio 2, as well as BBC Radio 4 and Radio Scotland. Following the album’s release, Beth embarked on a 22-date tour of the UK, receiving glowing reviews for her performances from Louder Than War, God Is In The TV and The Arts Desk.
Beth Nielsen Chapman is an artist with many accolades to her name: mega-hit ‘This Kiss’, sung by Faith Hill, was ASCAP’s 1999 Song of The Year, garnered a Grammy nomination and Nashville NAMMY’s 1999 Songwriter of the Year. Beth also received a special award by The Alabama Music Hall of Fame and was the recipient of The Distinguished Artist Award from the Alabama State Council on the Arts in 2009 and in October of 2016, Beth was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, one she considers to be the highest honour she’s ever received. In 2019 Beth was invited to become an Ambassador for the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation.
Recently Beth’s collaboration with her friend Olivia Newton John was included on ‘Olivia – Just The Two of Us’ – a special collection released to celebrate Olivia’s career. Their song Stone In My Pocket, which originally appeared on 2016’s ‘Liv On’ - Olivia’s album with Beth and Amy Sky - is part of 17-track album celebrating Olivia’s duets. Other artists featured include Dolly Parton, Mariah Carey, Barry Gibb, John Travolta, Sir Cliff Richard and more.
Her performance at Underneath the Stars will take place on the event’s final day. Running from August 4-6, the event will be headlined by Scouting For Girls (Friday), The Shires (Saturday), and Kate Rusby (Sunday). They will be joined by Newton Faulkner, Skerryvore, The Longest Johns, Elephant Sessions, Lottery Winners, Molotov Jukebox, Honeyfeet, and Angeline Morrison & The Sorrow Songs Band.
There will also be a whole host of family friendly activities and entertainment including craft activities, music and dance workshops, theatre, and puzzles.
For tickets and more information, go to https://underneaththestarsfest.co.uk/