Anglo-American country stars Royal South set for return to Hampshire for first show since Country on the Coast in 2019

For many years the British guitarist was Texan-born SaraBeth’s right-hand man while she performed as a solo country act.

​However, in 2019, they decided to become a band, and Royal South were born. For a time they were a trio, but in-demand bassist Vickie Vaughn was unable to commit to the band full-time and after an amicable parting, they became a duo.Now the pair are returning to play in the UK for the first time since 2019.

Although Glen has lived in Nashville for 23 years – that’s where Royal South is based, the Essex-born musician is often back here – and on their last visit at Christmas, Glen popped the question to SaraBeth and they are now engaged.

‘It happened in London at The Shard,’ says SaraBeth. ‘It was our first trip back to see Glen's family since the pandemic. We celebrated new year’s eve in London going into 2020, and we hadn't been back since.

‘So we finally got back there – we went to sing carols at the Royal Albert Hall, had an afternoon tea and got engaged that night!’

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They have yet to pick a date for the big day, though.

‘We're very fortunate that life has picked up and shows have picked up too,’ says SaraBeth, ‘but now we keep saying “yes” to shows, and we forgot that we need to actually carve out a time to get married! And when your job is on weekends for the most part, now I’m getting asked: “so, when's the bachelorette party” “Where are we going?” I need to reserve a weekend for that!’

With Glen now a more visible part of what they do, SaraBeth has insisted he does the interviews too. Over a Zoom call with the pair, he says: ‘I spent a lot of years just playing the guitar and being in the background with SaraBeth, but I was very happy to have her be the incredible artist that she is and taking that spotlight – I was totally fine with that!’

Aside from getting out and playing live (and getting married at some point), laying down some new material is also a priority. Their last release was the single Perfect on Paper in 2021.

‘We've got a lot of songs waiting on the budget!’ says SarahBeth. ‘We were ready to go back in the studio and then Covid hit, so where you're choosing to spend your money has to change when you're not working. We're almost there though...

‘Glen is amazing in his home studio, but we want to get back into a studio where you've got that live recording with all of the musicians together.’

‘I have done some stuff in my home studio that sounds good, but it takes me a long, long time,’ adds Glen. ‘I'm not a professional engineer, so I'll be hunched over my computer forever trying to get the pockets or the tones – there's so much involved.'

Due to the pandemic, that most recent single was done entirely at home, but as SaraBeth says: ‘The last one we put out was done totally in the home studio. When I say there were like 112 mixes, I think the mix we put out was... 112.’

‘We did put out mix 112, but there were actually 168!’ Glen corrects her.

‘He is a perfectionist,’ laughs SaraBeth, ‘he'll be going, “Do you hear that one note in that solo?” And I'll be like: “No! I don't hear that”. He'll be there: “It’s really bothering me...” And really focus on that. This is why we need to get in the studio with a producer!’

In the past they’ve worked with country super-producer Paul Worley who’s worked with chart-topping acts like The Chicks, Lady A and Martina McBride.

‘He's an absolute hero of mine,’ says Glen, ‘and the biggest thing I learned from him is that I'm too much of a perfectionist and never satisfied. I still listen to those Paul Worley recordings and I hear all kinds of stuff that I pointed out to him, and Paul said, “Yeah, I hear that, but it doesn't mess with the feel of the song, it still feels great. No one is listening as meticulously as you are".

‘When someone's sold hundreds of millions of albums like him, and he's telling you not to be picky, you probably need to listen...’

SaraBeth is the opposite end of the spectrum, it seems.

‘I come in and I sing the song and I'm done. When you look at what we do, Glen is much more the “musical” person, and I have an entrepreneurial degree. I love performing and writing songs, but I love the business side of things too, which works well for us because we each have strengths in different areas.’

As Glenn explains: ‘During Covid, I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours on Perfect on Paper, and she came in to do the vocals, sang it three times straight through, and that was it. She might have been there for 20 minutes,’ he laughs.

With the way the music business is today, the duo are planning to drip-feed singles every few weeks, rather than as an album.

SaraBeth explains their rationale: ‘We're independent artists, so it does cost a lot to record. To release a new song every couple of months is kind of the business model we want, and I think we're close to having that recording budget. We've picked the songs, it's just a case of getting into the studio.

‘And again, like with the wedding, it's the timing! We're very fortunate to have booked a lot of shows, but when are we even home to go into the studio?

They are however, now looking forward to play again for their fans here. SarahBeth played here annually pre-pandemic – including at the first Country on The Coast Festival on South Parade Pier in Southsea.

Like many others, they had a tour booked in for 2020 that never happened.

‘We have the most amazing fans. The shows we had started selling tickets for, people held on to their tickets which was amazing – we had already booked flights, done some Facebook ads, and paid for things like that, so we were very fortunate. So many people suffered with that.’

Glen adds: ‘Out of all of those tickets, maybe five people asked for their money back, which is incredible. People have been so understanding.’

They rebooked again for 2021, which also had to be postponed, and now it’s third time lucky.

SaraBeth adds: ‘We can’t wait to play there again, we love playing in the UK.’

They play at The Chapel Sessions in Netley on Wednesday, April 5. Tickets £15. Go to eventbrite.com.