Interview: Kameron Marlowe on tour life, creativity & new songs like ‘No Need for Leavin’

Kameron Marlowe has quickly established himself as one of the most compelling new voices in modern country music, blending raw emotion with a powerful, gravel-edged vocal that cuts through the noise. Hailing from North Carolina, Marlowe first gained attention through his appearance on The Voice, but it was his independently released music that truly set his career in motion. Breakout tracks like ‘Giving You Up’ showcased his ability to channel heartbreak into arena-ready anthems, earning him a devoted fanbase and marking him out as an artist with both commercial appeal and genuine storytelling depth.

Since then, Marlowe has continued to build momentum with a string of releases that lean into both his rock influences and traditional country roots. His debut album ‘We Were Cowboys’ and the 2024 follow up, ‘Keepin’ the Lights On’ highlighted his knack for balancing high-energy tracks with deeply personal material, while his live shows have gained a reputation for their intensity and emotional connection. As his profile continues to rise on both sides of the Atlantic, his appearance at C2C Festival in London felt like another key step in his journey, bringing his music to an ever-growing international audience.

Welcome back to the UK, Kameron, you’re becoming a regular visitor now!

I am! I love it here. It’s awesome to build a fan base out here and they are such a rabid fan base too! People over here wanna hear some Country music and I’m all for it!

Has that been a surprise to you?

I will say that it was on our first headline tour. When we first came over I had no idea whether anyone would show up to our shows or not! (laughing) We sold the whole thing out, which was incredible.

What’s the coolest part of this trip? Have you ever played with Brooks and Dunn before?

I haven’t! It’s been a blast. They have killed it every night. I think they are absolute legends and some of my biggest heroes so it’s been really cool to be involved in it.

You are right in the middle of your own tour back in the States right now. How’s it going and how’s life on the road?

I’m exhausted!! (laughing) Honestly, this is my favourite part of my job. Just being out on the road and being able to play the songs I’ve written. There’s something about being out on the stage that is very addictive.

What’s the easiest and the worst things about road life?

The worst thing is the lack of sleep! I feel like I haven’t slept in ten days right now! We call it Doctor Gig – he also shows up right before the show. You walk out on stage and, for some reason, that energy just kicks in and you go again!

We spoke on zoom last year around your ‘Sad Songs for the Soul project. Now that the album has been out for a year or so, reflect back on it for me regarding what it did for you creatively and how it resonated with fans.

Oh man. I just needed to do something a little different. I was feeling a little stuck around that project and I felt like I needed to stretch a little bit and take myself to a different place. I’ve always loved sad Country songs so it made sense for me to make a record like that. I was fired up to do.

And how are you feeling right now?

Oh, I’m feeling great, man. I feel like everything is going great right now. We’ve just released a new song, ‘No Need for Leavin’ just last week that I’m very excited about. It’s been doing well and fans seem to already know it at shows, which is pretty cool.

How will making ‘Sad Songs for the Soul’ inform or influence your creativity when it comes time for making your next studio album?

I would say, for this next project, I have a different mindset, for sure. Obviously there’s going to be some heartbreak on it, this is Country music afterall (laughing) but this record will have a lot more tempo on it, which I’m really excited about. It’s always fun to play those kinda songs live. I do think I will do another ‘Sad Songs…’ project one day – you know, a volume two? It would be great to go back into that place one day because it was such a cool, creative spot.

Will the songs you’ve released since ‘Sad Songs….’ like ‘Seventeen’ be on that next project or are they more placeholders until it arrives do you think?

‘Seventeen’ was kinda a place holder, for sure. I love that song but I think it was of its time.

What influences are you carrying from other artists right now? Who are you listening to?

I don’t listen to anybody new, which is terrible and sounds so awful! I listen to a lot of old R&B and old Country and Blues music. Ray Charles is one of my go-to artists that pull me back in time and time again. I’m kinda all over the pace when it comes to influences and stuff like that.

‘Fire on the Hillside’ was a different song altogether……… Did you structure the path from ‘Sad Songs…’ through ‘Seventeen’ and ‘Fire on the Hillside’ to new song ‘No Need for Leavin’ deliberately to show off all these different facets of you?

To be honest with you, I get very bored if I start to sound the same and put the same song out twice. It’s very boring and I don’t like that at all, no disrespect to any other artists. For me, I have so many different influences and love so many different types of music that I like to explore them and try to be creative in that way.

Do you feel like you are in a phase of your career now where you can be more creative and less at the whim of what a label or the industry wants or expects. You’ve earned that freedom, now, I think?

I feel like that, I feel really good where I am at, right now. They’ve definitely let me open up a little and explore my own creativity which I have been very grateful for. I’m enjoying it right now.

‘Fire on the Hillside’ is a darker track, like “Tennessee Don’t Mind.’ I interviewed Charles Kelley just before Christmas (the co-writer on the latter track) and he was telling me what I good job he thought you did on that song. Have you had feedback from him?

We have! We talk a little bit. I think the world of Charles and I think he is an incredible guy and one of the collest songwriters out there.

Another pivot in sound and style with ‘No Need for Leavin’, as you mentioned. It’s a Bluesier song. Tell me about the inspiration behind that song.

To be honest with you, it came from the song ‘Bright Lights’ by an artist called Gary Clark JR. I’d been jamming that song so much and I didn’t want to copy it, obviously, but I wanted a bit of that swing and style in there so we got in there with my producer, Austin Goodloe and started tracking it. We brought in another writer in Jon Decious and it kinda just fell out. It was a very natural song for me to write and I’m very proud of it.

Every artist that comes through has a class of writers come with them. Luke Combs did it, Lainey too. Morgan Wallen. Do you feel like you have your own group or class of writers or are you more open to writing with anybody?

I have my people that I write with pretty regularly but there are thousands of great and incredible writers out there that I haven’t had a chance to write with yet. For now, I’m writing with those guys I trust but I will get to working with more people one day.

Inspiration strikes and you need to get into a room or a studio and write this song that’s lodged in your head. Who is your go to person?

It has to be Austin Goodloe. Either him or Wyatt McCubbin – those two are my favourite writers in town.

Let’s look ahead to your next project then, Kameron. Can you give us any info on how many tracks it’ll be, when we can expect it, that sort of thing or is it still all under wraps?

It’s gonna be 65 tracks…………… (laughing) No, I’m not sure how many yet, we’re writing it currently. I’d say I have about half of it done and we’re getting there. There’s no timeframe on it as yet because I want to make sure it is completely right so I don’t want to rush it – I want to make sure the songs are the best that they can absolutely be.

Check out Kameron Marlowe’s new song ‘No Need for Leavin’ out in all the usual places right now and you can read our review of his set at C2C that night right here too.