Tim McKay country music superstar from the UK

In just four years on the road, Tim McKay has
already established himself as one of the leading artists on the UK
and Europe Country scene to date. With tremendous sales on his last
album, a wealth of contacts in Europe and Nashville, and an
invitation to appear on the Wembley International Festival of Country
Music, Tim McKay looks set to become the worlds first ever country
music superstar from the UK. Tim’s interest in Country Music grew
out of attending smaller country gigs in Britain, as well as his
training in Arts.

‘’I would attend some of my local country
clubs. I got into it through going along and watching some of the
artists perform, never dreaming that four years down the line it’s
something that I’d be doing myself on this scale.”

After gigging in his local country clubs for a
period of time, Tim released his first album, ‘Anything Goes’.

‘‘Anything Goes’’ was a complete cover
album of country hits that I’d be singing in my live show on a
nightly basis. For my first album, I wanted something that I could
get out there to get myself known. Looking back I also think it’s
important as a new artist to get your voice on a CD so that you can
hear what you sound like. That helped me establish early on where I
wanted to be as an artist. Some artists have a different sound on
record than when they go out to perform live. So my first album was
really just one big learning curve for me. The album actually did
really well in Europe, in places like Denmark, Sweden, and Norway as
well as up and down the UK.”

Tim’s most recent release, ‘Chasing Dreams’
has followed suit in the success of the previous one.

“The new album is entirely made up of
original material. I felt this was the right time to produce and
release a full album of original modern day country music. I had been
singing covers for the last 3years so I was ready to put out an album
made up of songs that the public had never heard before. My
representatives in Europe and Nashville are all really happy with it,
and we’ve sold a huge amount of albums so far.”

Tim was given a massive opportunity to play a
major festival, not in the UK but Nashville in 2010 when he was
picked as the UK representative at the CMA Fest.

‘’In June 2010, I was selected to represent
the UK during the CMA fest in Nashville. I played on the Global party
stage which is the official kick start to the week’s festival. It
was really an honor and a privilege to represent British Country
Music over there, and of course it opened a lot of doors and contacts
over there for me.

Asked who his own influence was in the music
business, Tim replied:

“It’s a difficult question to say who my
influence is as I have so many. I’d listen to a wide variety of
music which includes people like Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson
but I soon figured that no music makes that connection with me like
Country does.

My influences in the country world are people
like Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum and
Garth Brooks. I have an appreciation for the older traditional sound
of Country too, because that’s where it all came from, but it’s
certainly the modern country that I really like and aspire to be a
part of.”

Reflecting on the UK Country scene as an
up-and-coming star, Tim shows optimism in the number of young people
coming through as fans of country music.

“There is definitely a market in the UK for
country music. I have already seen a massive change just in my four
years of touring. For example a few years ago a Nashville star would
come to the UK and they would sell out a 3,000-4,000 seat theatre in
London for one night and then move on. Now they are coming over,
playing other cities in the UK and also selling out 12-15,000 seated
venues like the O2 and Wembley arenas. For that to change in just a
matter of two or three years proves to me that there is a bigger
demand for these artists and country music in general. The average
age of a country music audience member is also rapidly decreasing. I
went to see Lady Antebellum play in

London a short while ago, and the amount of
young people there was amazing. You know my age, 21/22.’’

Another big opportunity came in Tim’s
direction earlier this month when he was added to the Wembley
International Festival of Country Music, as the UK Breakthrough
artist.

“Being a part of the Wembley festival means
the world to me, not only because of the festival but also because
it’s a thrill to play live in such an iconic venue like Wembley. So
many stars have performed on that stage and it’s really humbling
for me to join that list of artists. Also of course not forgetting
the honor it is going to be for me to share the stage with such
legendary performers such as Reba, Lonestar and Ricky Skaggs with
more to be added I believe. It’s going to be one hell of an
experience and a big opportunity for me and one that I will cherish
for life. It’s so great to finally see country music shining
through.”

Winning a cluster of 47 awards so far including
‘Best Male Vocalist, Entertainer of the year and Best International
touring artist in Europe 2010. Tim has an awards case to be proud of.
He has opened up for Marty Stuart on one of his UK tour dates,
represented the UK in Nashville, representing the UK at Wembley and
other high profile shows scheduled in for 2012.


or you can contact Tim McKay via Facebook

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