Brandi Carlile and Elton John Give Advice to New Artists

Francesca Chiari — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 20:22:46 +0000

Elton John and Brandi Carlile are the stars of the latest Rolling Stone UK cover, and in their feature, the music icons offer valuable advice for up-and-coming artists. Alongside discussing their highly anticipated collaborative album, ‘Who Believes In Angels?’, set to drop later this month, they reflect on the experiences that have shaped their careers. With heartfelt reflections and practical wisdom, John and Carlile’s insights offer invaluable guidance for artists hoping to carve their own paths in the music industry.

For John, the key to musical growth lies in live performance. Drawing from his own journey, he emphasized how playing live gave him the resilience needed for long-term success.

“That experience stood me in great stead for when I became Elton John because I had backbone. And backbone is so important,” he said. “The worst thing that can happen to you in the industry are things like X Factor and instant fame on television where you have no experience of playing live. You get put on stage, you go, and you can’t do it. That’s the worst thing. American Idol — just the worst. Take risks. Go and play in a pub.”

Carlile, meanwhile, believes building a supportive network is essential, saying: “Honestly, make friends,” she advised, “Get a community around you.”

Elton also reflected on the transformative power of music in his life: “I can’t live without music. It nearly killed me, but it also kept me alive, and it keeps me alive today. But not the music of the past so much. Although I do listen to jazz and stuff like that, it’s the music of the future that keeps me alive,” he said.

When it comes to his relationship with Carlile, John’s admiration is evident: “I love her so much and not just as a person, but I love what’s inside of her musically and creatively,” he said. “It hasn’t really touched the surface. I think it’s beginning to, but it’s got so much further to go. She’s like an embryo at the moment, and she’s done a hell of a lot to be an embryo, but she’s going to just burst.”

For aspiring musicians, John reiterated the importance of perseverance: “Just keep trying to play live. That’s the way you improve as a musician and songwriter. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing to 40 people. The more experience you get playing to nobody, the better. Because when I played in Musicology, we played to hardly anybody sometimes,” he said.

John and Carlile’s new collaboration album will arrive later this month.

Katie Gregson-MacLeod Teases New Music Online for 2025

Francesca Chiari — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:15:58 +0000

Thanks to social media, many more artists nowadays are able to gain fame quicker than it would have been possible in the past century: viral videos can oftentimes be followed by labels reaching out and fanbases growing daily thanks to the spotlight that these apps can offer. This was the case for Highlands-born Katie Gregson-MacLeod, whose songs have gone viral multiple times and have brought her to popularity with younger generations.

The indie artist first rose to fame in 2022, after a video of Katie singing her song “Complex” on piano went viral on TikTok; currently, the video counts almost ten million views. “Complex” was then released as a demo on streaming platforms, soon followed by an EP titled “Songs Written For Piano” which contained both a studio version of “Complex” as well as a version of the song played live with strings. “Complex” is currently Katie’s most popular song on streaming platform, with almost 50 million streams on Spotify between the demo and the studio version. It is also, so far, the only song by the artist which has made it to the UK’s Official Charts top 100, peaking at 66. In September, the song was used in the British TV shop “Heartstopper“.

@katiegregsonmacleod here’s my saviour complex song #fyp #originalsong #singersongwriter complex (demo) – Katie Gregson-MacLeod

The EP received good critical acclaim and gained Katie some more popularity around the country. In 2023, she released her second EP titled “Big Red” which contained five new songs including “Your Ex“, which counts over a million streams on Spotify. The EP was released with an event for fans in London where the artists played all her new songs, and was followed by a UK tour which culminated in late 2023 with Katie performing in London at Evolutionary Arts Hackney.

This summer, the artist also performed at many UK-based festivals, including Glasgow Green, as well as festivals around Europe, including Berlin’s Lollapalooza; more recently, she has supported artists such as Tommy Lefroy in their UK tour which stopped in Glasgow, Manchester and London.

Earlier this year, the artist has signed with a new label and promised fans to release music in the upcoming year. In a TikTok posted earlier this month, the Scottish singer revealed that despite it had been a tough year she had been working a lot on new music. Previously, in October, Katie went viral again on TikTok playing a song which she has since revealed has been recorded. The artist described the song as “a rant from your journal copy and paste”.

@katiegregsonmacleod This one’s dangerous don’t tell anyone #acoustic #glasgow #singersongwriter #originalsong ♬ original sound – Katie Gregson-MacLeod

Katie Gregson-MacLeod is One to Watch in 2025 as the release of her latest song will likely bring attention on her again and gain her the popularity that her music deserves. The song is bold, and its lyrics are deep and personal while the music is catchy and something that will likely put her in the spotlight.

mxdwn.co.uk » new artists

Brandi Carlile and Elton John Give Advice to New Artists

Katie Gregson-MacLeod Teases New Music Online for 2025