Rising country star Caylee Hammack is back in the UK with her intimate “Bed of Roses’ acoustic tour, hitting London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester this month. Her first time back in the UK as an independent artist, after leaving record her Capitol Nashville to become an independent artist for more creative freedom.
She has previously appeared on the main stage at the UK’s annual Country To Country festival at London’s 02 arena, and at the Highways festival at the Royal Albert Hall.
Originally from Georgia and now Nashville-based, the flame-haired singer and songwriter came onto the scene back in 2019 with her first single “Family Tree”, which became the ‘most added’ debut song by a female artist at country radio in the three years prior. She originally wrote this song for Carrie Underwood, but ended up loving it enough to keep it for herself.
She cut her teeth as a staff writer at Universal Publishing Group before signing with Capitol Nashville records in 2018 as an artist. Her debut album “If It Wasn’t For You” was released in August 2020 and included high profile collaborations, including “Redhead” with Reba McEntire. Fan favourite “Small Town Hypocrite” also received the star treatment, with Chris Stapleton adding his vocals to the track that was re-released as a single in 2021.
Her second album “Bed of Roses”, was released in March 2025. She featured on the hit “Fooled Around And Fell In Love” with Miranda Lambert and Ashley McBride.
Just before heading out for the UK tour, Caylee released the super fun single and video “Must Be Nice” on 17th July. She penned the track with Britt Taylor and MegMcRee and, after releasing a snippet of the demo online to rave reviews, 32-year-old Caylee produced the track with her partner Kurt Ozan who accompanies her on guitar on this tour. [Kurt is guitarist for country star Luke Combs],
The week before the London show, she appealed to her Instagram followers to let her know what songs they wanted to hear. The setlist for each show is tailored to include those fan requests, including new songs she has put snippets of online, before official release.
The Lower Third on Denmark Street is packed with country fans. The venue is part of the Outernet development, with two performance spaces and a cocktail bar. The main room holds around 250 people, with loft-style exposed brick and soft lighting, making it the ideal room for this intimate evening for an artist, who in June was singing to thousands at the massive Nissan stadium in Nashville as part of the CMA festival, and who appears at the legendary Grand Ole Opry in Music City.
Support act Riley takes to the stage looking ethereal in a floaty black dress and some fabulous boots. An independent artist from Glasgow, the young singer, songwriter and producer played solo with an acoustic guitar; original tracks including “Married in Vegas” from her EP of the same name released this month, and a rousing cover of Darius Rucker’s “Wagon Wheel”. Her angelic vocals and Scottish charm captivated the audience who sang along with glee. She is definitely one to watch.
Then it’s Caylee’s turn. The room is swelled to capacity, with fans spilling onto the steps and almost onto the stage. As promised, the setlist is full of requests. “Redhead” goes down a storm, as does “Appreciate You”, that even Caylee herself was surprised to make the cut. “I didn’t think anyone liked it when I put it out” she laughs.
There’s plenty of back and forth with the crowd as Caylee gives a shout out to each fan who sent in a song request, as well as sharing anecdotes and little jokes in between songs. There’s a warm atmosphere and energy that you will only get when everyone feels at home with an artist. A vibe like they are singing just for you.
Caylee’s vocals are absolutely stunning. She has that infectious and adorable vibrato of Dolly Parton and the power of Reba McEntire, plus her own Georgian charm. She can vocally shift into fifth gear and really belt it out, with a fiery back of the throat growl to match the hair colour! The next minute she is graceful and vulnerable on the quieter ballads and you can hear a pin drop. Miss Caylee is a born story teller.
Her partner Kurt Ozan joins her on guitar for a few songs, including “Breaking Dishes”, while Caylee plays banjo. She also plays the harmonica in the set. Caylee is a formidable musician as well as possessing that beautiful vocal instrument of hers.
There’s not a dry eye in the house when she plays the unreleased “Caterpillars” – some of us asking her to PLEASE release it soon – and “Forged in the Fire”. She closes with her breakout hit “Small Town Hypocrite”, with an emotional Caylee left to soak it all in as the crowd show their appreciation for a gifted and very likeable young talent, who needs to be seen and heard to really appreciate just how good she is. Well, you do not notch up in excess of 275 million streams if you ain’t something special, do you?
- She has UK shows in Birmingham tonight (Tuesday 28th July), Glasgow (30th) and Manchester (31st). Then US shows on the Brooks and Dunn tour.
Words & Photos by Fran Parry
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