From Glasgow to Nashville… and back!
Gill Sherry
Lisa McHugh may have been born in Glasgow, but with Irish parents it’s perhaps no surprise she spent much of her childhood Irish dancing.
“I was an Irish dancer for ten years, but I had to give up because I had a lot of problems with my feet. Irish dancing took up a lot of my time so once I stopped, I was trying to fill the gaps… and I turned to music and singing.”
As a teenager she sang modern pop songs by the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Celine Dion, but she recalls her parents being huge fans of country music.
“They had country music on all the time. Of course, when you’re a teenager you’re rebellious and you want to do the complete opposite of anything your parents are telling you or asking you to do. So we would always ask them to turn it off and pretend we didn’t like country music, but I did really enjoy it, and I loved to sing it.”
Lisa was just 12 years old when she first started singing country music. And it was the American country stars who influenced her the most.
“Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Shania Twain. I just fell in love with it and began singing it all the time, and I’m so glad I did.”
It was when she entered a singing competition in Ireland that she decided to give up her full-time job, move to Ireland, and pursue a career in country music.
“My love for country music just went to a whole other level. It was all I listened to, and all I sang. Thankfully, I’ve been getting away with it since!”
I think “smashing it” would be a more appropriate term. Since making that life-changing decision, she’s recorded eight studio albums, two live albums and an EP. Her album, Watch Me, consists entirely of her own original songs, some of which she will be performing during her upcoming Scottish tour.
“It’s a few years since I’ve done a Scottish tour. I always love going back to Scotland, Glasgow in particular, because I get the chance to see all my family and friends, and to show them what it is that we’re over here doing all the time, and to have a great big party with them. This one will be no different. It will be very fun, very upbeat. I’m just there to have a great time with everyone. My job is to entertain an audience that want to come along and forget all their worries, to leave all of that at the door and come in and have a great time. That is definitely the aim for this one as well.”
In addition to her Glasgow gig at Òran Mór on 5th June, she’s also performing at Stewarton Area Centre on Friday 6th June. It’s a great opportunity to see this outstanding artist who has won ‘Female Vocalist of the Year’ five times as well as ‘Outstanding Achievement on the World Stage’ in 2012, an accolade which followed her appearance at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
“It’s the pinnacle of country music. It’s the biggest thing. It’s where every country artist wants to get the chance to perform. To get that opportunity at such an early stage in my career was huge for me, it was a dream come true. I was so grateful to Gene Watson for asking me to sing with him, and then to sing a song on my own for the Grand Ole Opry stage. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to do it again, fingers crossed.”
Understandably, this remains the highlight of her career so far, but she now has her sights set on other goals.
“I would like to try and break into the European market and do some of the festivals over there, and travel with my music. We’ve been very lucky here in Ireland and in the UK and of course I’ve been to Nashville a few times, but I would love the opportunity to take that to European markets and venues and festivals. Obviously, as well as that, if we had the opportunity to go even further afield to the likes of America or Australia… it would just be amazing. Hopefully one day we’ll get the chance to do that do.”
In the meantime, the country music scene seems to be going from strength to strength. Has Lisa noticed the increase in its popularity?
“Here in Ireland, it’s always been huge, particularly in more rural areas. The C2C Festival obviously happens every year now, and we have definitely seen an increase in the amount of American country artists coming over in the last four or five years, which is great.”
Lisa did perform at the C2C Country to Country Festival back in 2017 and hopes to repeat the experience in the not-too-distant future. Now, though, it’s all about her upcoming tour.
“There’ll be a real mix of material. There’ll be old stuff, newer stuff, and definitely brand-new stuff as well. I’m hoping there’ll be a lot in there that the audience will know and love and sing along to.”
The brand-new stuff will no doubt include her latest single ‘Tennessee’, which she wrote last year in Nashville. And I’m sure everyone’s favourite, ‘Hillbilly Girl’ will also be on the set list.
In addition to her new single, her brand-new album, Live from the Ulster Hall, is also now available. You won’t be surprised to learn that this was recorded during her live show in Belfast in March this year.
And for those lucky enough to have tickets to see Lisa in Glasgow or Stewarton, she has this message: “It’s been a long time coming! I’m so grateful that they’ve all stuck around. They’re supportive through thick and thin and I cannot wait to get back and see them all and give them big hugs after the show!”
For tickets, visit www.lisamchughmusic.com
