Highways 2025: Katie Pruitt
Baylen Leonard talks to Katie Pruitt backstage at the Highways Festival at the Royal Albert Hall.
May 17, 2025•7 min•Season 1Ep. 225
Country Music Talk
Absolute Radio Country leads the way in championing country music, playing the latest releases and classic tracks from the most iconic artists of all time - and talking to them about their influences and the stories behind the songs.
With any album, there's a usually a Deluxe edition with bonus material or exclusive content and that's what you can expect right here on Country Music Talks. Every episode will feature every special moment from our guest interviews.
And don’t forget, you'll hear them all first on Absolute Radio Country along with the best country music 24/7 if you live in the UK. Re-tune / scan your digital radio, download the Absolute Radio app for your mobile or tablet, and ask your smart speaker to “play Absolute Radio Country". It's where Real Music Matters!
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Episodes
Highways 2025: Bella White
Join Baylen Leonard backstage at the Royal Albert Hall as he catches up with Bella White just before she makes her Highways Festival debut.
May 17, 2025•7 min•Season 1Ep. 224
Highways 2025: Molly Tuttle
Baylen Leonard talks to Molly Tuttle backstage at the Highways Festival at the Royal Albert Hall. They discuss what bluegrass music really is, Molly shares how it felt to win a Grammy Award for her last album, and talks about collaborating with Hailey Whitters.
May 16, 2025•10 min•Season 1Ep. 223
Highways 2025: Caylee Hammack
Caylee Hammack talks to Baylen Leonard about how it feels to be performing at the iconic Royal Albert Hall for Highways Festival 2025. She talks about escaping to the highlands of Scotland to find inspiration for her music, her recent album 'Bed of Roses' and how it feels to play shows at some of country music's most prestigious venues.
May 16, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 222
Highways 2025: Eric Church
Eric Church talks to Baylen about how it feels to be headlining 2 x nights at the iconic Royal Albert Hall at Highways Festival, and what fans can expect from these very special, unique shows...
May 16, 2025•6 min•Season 1Ep. 221
Mickey Guyton - May 2025
Mickey Guyton talks to Baylen Leonard about her incredible cover of Ringo Starr's 'You Don't Know Me At All'. She also talks about writing with Tyler Hubbard, reflects on her Grand Ole Opry debut and discusses her favourite British snack - the humble pork scratching.
May 13, 2025•14 min•Season 1Ep. 218
Kassi Ashton - May 2025
Kassi Ashton stops by the Absolute Radio Country studio to tell Baylen Leonard all about her duet with Parker McCollum, how performing music has been in her blood since she was a baby, and she reflects on the highs and lows of making it in country music.
May 02, 2025•14 min•Season 1Ep. 217
Jackson Dean - April 2025
Jackson Dean stops by the Absolute Radio Country during his UK tour to talk to Baylen about his new songs 'Real Real' and 'Be Your Man'. He talks about why UK country audiences will always be special to him, and reflects on the UK show that was possibly 'the best 30 minutes of his life'...
Apr 30, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 216
Tucker Wetmore - April 2025
Tucker Wetmore joins Baylen to talk about his new album What Not To… He shares how personal his song writing is, how his exes must know which songs are about them and reflects on the success he's experienced over the last year…
Apr 25, 2025•14 min•Season 1Ep. 215
Maggie Antone
Maggie Antone tells Baylen Leonard how a Tyler Childers cover she posted on TikTok helped to launch her career in country music. She also talks about her album 'Rhinestoned' and how growing up in Virginia means country has always been in her blood...
Apr 20, 2025•15 min•Season 1Ep. 214
Drew Baldridge
Baylen Leonard sits down with Drew Baldridge to hear the fascinating story behind his number 1 songs 'She's Somebody's Daughter' and 'Tough People'. He also reflects on his C2C Spotlight Stage performance and looks ahead to new music that's coming before the end of 2025.
Apr 17, 2025•33 min•Season 1Ep. 213
Avery Anna - April 2025
Lou Nash talks to Avery Anna about her recent main stage performance at C2C and how it compared to her UK debut on the spotlight stage just 3 years ago. Avery also shares details of her exciting new album 'Let Go Letters' which comes out in May.
Apr 15, 2025•8 min•Season 1Ep. 212
49 Winchester - April 2025
Chase and Isaac from 49 Winchester join Baylen Leonard in the studio to talk about their UK tour that's been announced for October. They share how it feels watching their UK fan base grow, and how important it is to support up-and-coming artists.
Apr 13, 2025•9 min•Season 1Ep. 211
Wyatt Flores - April 2025
Wyatt Flores joins Baylen in the studio to talk about what's special about bringing his music to the UK. They also talk about his move from Nashville back home to Oklahoma, Wyatt shares his favourite meal to cook for friends and family and he teases some very special new music that's coming soon...
Apr 06, 2025•13 min•Season 1Ep. 210
Tanner Adell
Baylen Leonard catches up with Tanner Adell to talk about her latest single 'Going Blonde'. As well as sharing the deeply personal story behind her new music, Tanner talks about her love of London and her UK fans, and what it's like working with Beyonce...
Apr 04, 2025•23 min•Season 1Ep. 209
Kashus Culpepper
Kashus Culpepper catches up with Baylen Leonard and shares the story of how picking up a guitar for the first time while on deployment with the US Navy changed his life... He reflects on how he's built an unexpected career in country music, and talks about what it's like travelling to the UK for the first time.
Mar 30, 2025•14 min•Season 1Ep. 208
Warren Zeiders - March 2025
Warren Zeiders sits down with Baylen Leonard to talk about his new album 'Relapse, Lies and Betrayal'. He also discusses how a Lacrosse injury led to him to pursue a path in country music and shares his healthy-living approach to ordering fast food...
Mar 26, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 207
Ryan Hurd
Ryan Hurd sits down with Baylen Leonard to talk about his new album 'Midwest Rock & Roll'. He tells the amazing story behind his song 'Paul' and shares the inspiration behind the rest of the album.
Mar 21, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 206
Shaboozey
Baylen Leonard sits down with Shaboozey just after his main-stage performance at C2C 2025. He talks about how his life has been a whirlwind since 'A Bar Song', looks ahead to his performance at Glastonbury this summer, and reflects on bringing a wide range of influences to his music.
Mar 19, 2025•18 min•Season 1Ep. 205
Dierks Bentley
Baylen Leonard sits down with Dierks Bentley backstage just before his headline performance at C2C. They talk about his latest song with Stephen Wilson Jr., how the country music scene has changed since his last visit to the UK, and how he's been making the most of his time in London...
Mar 16, 2025•12 min•Season 1Ep. 204
Tyler Hubbard - March 2025
Tyler Hubbard stops by the Absolute Radio Country studio to say hi to Baylen Leonard before hitting the main stage at C2C 2025. They talk about how it feels to be back in the UK as a solo artist, his album 'Strong' and the latest single 'Turn'. He also shares what it's like writing songs with Ed Sheeran.
Mar 14, 2025•12 min•Season 1Ep. 203
Willow Avalon
Ben Earle catches up with Willow Avalon ahead of her C2C debut. They talk about her new album, who she is LOVING in country music right now, and she shares the story of how she went from living in her car in Los Angeles to landing a record deal....
Mar 09, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 202
Corey Kent - February 2025
Corey Kent chats to Baylen about his latest live EP, how it felt to do his first UK headline tour, and how he plans to make his UK fans a priority in his country music career.
Feb 28, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 201
Nate Smith - February 2025
Baylen catches up with his buddy Nate Smith who is on the line-up for the main stage at C2C 2025. He talks about his whirlwind career over the last 2 years, how excited he is to be returning to the UK, and shares the story behind his new collaboration with Hardy - 'Nobody Likes Your Girlfriend'.
Feb 26, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 200
Kane Brown - February 2025
Ben Earle sits down with country music superstar Kane Brown to talk about his latest album 'The High Road'. They discuss fatherhood and songwriting, what Jelly Roll brought to the song 'Haunted' and how it feels sharing the stage with his wife Katelyn...Kane also looks ahead to his HUGE UK tour later on this year.
Feb 23, 2025•13 min•Season 1Ep. 197
Carly Pearce - February 2025
Carly Pearce sits down with Baylen Leonard during her UK tour. They talk about the inspiration behind her hit song 'Truck On Fire,' how she loves being a member of the Grand Ole Opry in its 100th year, and what she gets up in the UK when she's not on stage performing...
Feb 21, 2025•15 min•Season 1Ep. 199
Midland - February 2025
Baylen Leonard catches up with Mark Wystrach from Midland to talk about the announcement that they'll be headlining The Long Road Festival this summer. Mark also shares what he loves about UK country fans and looks ahead to new music that's coming soon...
Feb 19, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 198
Darius Rucker - February 2025
Darius Rucker stops by to tell Baylen Leonard all about his recent move to London, how he's loving life in the UK and writing with some of our homegrown songwriters... He also shares what it was like performing with Morgan Wallen in front of 70,000 fans, and looks ahead to his brand new series of shows on Absolute Radio Country.
Feb 14, 2025•20 min•Season 1Ep. 194
Max McNown
Baylen catches up with Max McNown to talk about his viral hit 'A Lot More Free,' his brand-new album 'Night Diving' and his trip to the UK to play the C2C Festival in March.
Feb 12, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 195
Ashley Cooke - February 2025
Ben Earle catches up with Ashley Cooke to find out how it felt when her song 'Your Place' when to Number 1 last year, and what it's like travelling in her fancy new tour bus. They also talk about the Grand Ole Opry, her love for her UK fans and her brand new single 'I Almost Do'.
Feb 09, 2025•15 min•Season 1Ep. 193
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