According to New Zealand-born country-pop star Kaylee Bell, her new album, Cowboy Up, is her most personal to date.
The fourth record from the Canterbury songwriter, who now splits her time between New Zealand, Sydney, and the home of country, Nashville, is all the more special because she found out she was pregnant ahead of getting back into the studio, something that was not originally in her plans.
In an exclusive chat with Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Bell discusses the journey to Cowboy Up, globetrotting as a country artist, the genre’s growth in Australia and New Zealand over recent years, and what’s still to come.
Kaylee Bell’s Cowboy Up is out now.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ: The album has been out for a few days now. How has the reaction been on your end?
Kaylee Bell: An album sits with you for such a long time. We produced it in December last year. You live with these songs and you start playing them live, and I just love the day that it’s time to hand it over to the fans. It becomes exciting again, you know?
You’ve described this album as your most personal to date. Now that it’s out in the world, is there a sense of relief?
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I think the fear is gone. I think a lot of the fear came from just even writing some of the songs. There’s some personal stuff on there. I didn’t know that I could have children and then ended up finding out that I was pregnant in Nashville last year. And then I just kind of was trying to navigate that from a point of view of like, what does it look like to be a woman in music and also be a mother in music?
There’s songs that kind of talk about that that were very scary when I was writing and deciding — you know, is this something you want to put out? I feel like I trust the fans, you know? I have always felt like the more vulnerable I’ve been with them, the better they’ve responded. So it’s actually quite liberating, I would say, putting that out, and hopefully these songs mean something to people in different ways, even if that’s something that inspires someone else in music to know that they can have a family and continue to do this, or whatever that looks like.
You were born and raised in New Zealand, moved to Sydney for seven years, and are now based in Nashville. Can you talk about that journey literally globetrotting as a country artist, particularly as the genre has exploded here in recent years?
I started singing when I was four. So, I came through the industry [in New Zealand], like the talent quest circuit, but there was no country music in mainstream. Like, zero. So for 20 years, it was kind of missing in the mainstream, which essentially pushed me to move out of New Zealand and move to Australia.
When I came over here, there was obviously its own thing, but it still wasn’t anywhere near the mainstream, you know? It was still just getting ignored in a lot of ways. And so I started going to Nashville and had my mind blown. It’s the biggest thing in America. There’s been such a shift, I would say in the last probably five years… I’ve really felt it since COVID, there’s country music back to back on mainstream radio in New Zealand now. There’s country music on mainstream radio here, the festivals that we play, the fans are showing up like they’ve never showed up before.
I think it’s been a combination of a lot of beautiful things having to happen at the same time. There’s been TV shows inspiring it, there’s been the radio thing inspiring it. I think country music was really late to streaming just because radio was always king… it just blows my mind now to think where it came from to where it is now. Hopefully we never go back.
There’s obviously been very contentious conversations around country music as the genre continues to grow. We’ve seen mainstream acts like Post Malone and Beyoncé release country albums that has irked some artists and fans. What’s your take?
It’s always interesting when a pop artist or someone from a different genre has a take on country. It’s like, how do they see it? I find a lot of artists in America have actually grown up on country music, and there’s actually always been a lot of undertone of country [in] what a lot of different artists do, you know? You could look at Ed Sheeran and I would say a lot of his songwriting is very country stylistically.
Post Malone’s another one. When someone like Posty comes and does a full country record, and to me that was one of the best country records I’d heard last year, it’s exciting. I don’t see how you can see it in a bad light because I think it’s music at the end of the day, and the fans are gonna decide if they love it or not. And, [in] the industry, I just think we should be welcoming in people. I think that’s a big part of how we grow as an industry.
You’ve got a bunch of tour dates coming up, including playing the debut Strummingbird festival. Do you have any immediate plans or goals once that’s done or will you get to take a breath?
I wasn’t expecting to have children. I’ve always been very career-focused, and then obviously that was a beautiful surprise and gift and it’s been amazing. It’s been a real mental thing though. I want to be the best mum I can be, but to be the best mum I can be, I actually also need to be doing what I love. That’s been a really big thing to not feel guilt around that.
For example, I was back up on stage after six weeks of having James. We played CMC Rocks, and to me that was way more the mental thing than anything, you know? Physically, I was not in a place of feeling ready to be back on stage, but more so mentally, I had to go and meet a movement coach that I see every week. We just would sit and talk through what that looked like, what that felt like to switch back into artist mode. I think that’s something that I’m really big on talking about because I think that, for me, that was probably the scariest thing — how do I do both and still feel like I want to chase a career? I’ve got a beautiful child that I want to give all my time to. It’s a constant push and pull, but I feel like I must be doing a good blend because I’m just really enjoying both parts.
I love being a mum, and I feel like we try and take him out on the road anytime we can. And if not, he’s got family around… that’s been a big thing. I’m also still getting to put music out and make records. Maybe the last year hasn’t looked what it was meant to [be] in my big year plan. But I think there’s been some really cool ones that have happened, by just staying true to who I am and doing what I can do.
