GLEN Mitchell, one half of Nashville-based country outfit Royal South who are currently touring the UK, is the perfect person to ask about the difference between British and American audiences.
Having grown up in Essex, Glen has spent the past 23 in America where he has been in demand as a musician and songwriter. For the past 10 years he has worked with singer SaraBeth and with whom he formed Royal South.
“The biggest difference between the two audiences,” said Glen, “is that Americans have already decided that they are going to have a great time even before they have gone out and that nothing is going to get in the way of that. With the Brits, they will come into the show and wait for you to impress them. In America the band can suck but the audience will still have a good time. That won’t be the case in the UK.
“Having said that the UK audiences hang on every word, if you’re singing a ballad you can hear your breath on the microphone which is amazing.”
Royal South have a date at Gulliver’s in Manchester lined up next month followed by a show at Barnoldswick Music and Arts Centre.
“We can’t wait to see what Barnoldswick is like,” said SaraBeth. “Friends recommended that we should do a show there and from the photos we have seen it looks really quirky.”
Both successful solo artists in their own right, Glen and SaraBeth came to realise that they both preferred being part of a duo.
“We realised that it wasn’t the same on stage if one of us wasn’t there.” said SaraBeth. “Even though we had played a lot of shows as solo artists we came to realise that it wasn’t a solo thing that worked, it’s the two of us together that makes it really special.”
They first came to the UK in 2013 and had just one gig in Basildon which sold out. Since then, every visit to these shores has seen the number of shows increasing and the size of audiences growing and their last five single releases have all topped the iTunes country charts.
“Coming to the UK is something we look forward to every year and this time round we have 17 or 18 shows,” said SaraBeth. “What wasn’t fun was arranging this tour three times - we were supposed to come over in 2020 and 2021 but with Covid that wasn’t possible.
“But our UK fans are incredibly loyal. We have people come to multiple shows - we know there will be some who will go to both Manchester and Barnoldswick and others who will go to every show in Scotland.”
As well as being a musical partnership, Glen and SaraBeth recently got engaged.
“I guess we’re just good together,” laughed SaraBeth. “We work together, we live together, we tour together. Sure we have the odd little tiff like most couples do but it’s usually about dumb stuff which is quickly forgotten.
“But we both feel that what we have together is really special.”
The pair clearly complement each other perfectly.
“We definitely have different strengths,” said Glen, “which really helps us.”
“I love music,” said SaraBeth, “but Glen’s the more creative one. There ‘s no way I could go into a studio and know where to begin with all the equipment and instrumentation. He’s also a natural songwriter too.
“As for me I love performing and singing and I do love the business side of it all
“That’s definitely not for me,” added Glen.
The partnership transfers perfectly to the live environment.
“For me a show always had to be polished and professional,” said SaraBeth, “but I’ve discovered that audiences love the banter we have on the stage. It’s not scripted at all, it just happens.
“It’s not like we ever talk about it but it just feels natural and you know when it’s your turn to speak. If he’s tuning his guitar it’s my turn to tell some random story which comes out of thin air.”
Having had a string of successful singles, Royal South have collected some of their recordings on to a CD which will be available at the shows.
“It’s not an album,” said Glen, “There are seven songs which were recorded on three separate occasions in the studio.
“We’d love to do an album at some stage but for the kind of music we make where you would need instrumentation and time in the studio, that is pretty expensive.”
“As an independent artist it’s better to have something coming out regularly,” said SaraBeth. “You can do a single, get it on the playlists and then when the hype has died down about it you can go and release another.”
Their most recent single Perfect on Paper was produced by Paul Worley who has worked with some of the biggest names in Nashville including the Chicks, Lady A and Martina McBride.
“We love coming over to the UK,” said SaraBeth. “It’s taken a while to get back but we can’t wait.”
Royal South play Gulliver’s in Manchester on Wednesday, April 12 and Barnoldswick Music and Arts Centre on Thursday, April 13
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