Females are on the rise in country music!
Up and coming stars Farewell Angelina have released their newest single “Women and Wine” and JUST dropped an EP with the same name today.
“This project was fully funded by our fans! We co-produced as a band something that truly captured our musical sisterhood while working alongside the best musicians and engineers in the business. We are so thankful and excited to bring this music on The Women & Wine Tour across America and Europe in 2019.”
– Farewell Angelina
Named after the Bob Dylan song, the female country group consists of Nicole Witt, Andrea Young, Lisa Torres, and Ashley Gearing who combine powerful vocals and dynamic songwriting into a blend of beautiful harmonies. Previously opening for Kenny Chesney, Old Dominion, Billy Currington, Trace Atkins, Maroon 5, and more, the girls are embarking on the second leg of their “Women and Wine Tour” beginning this month.
Celeb Secrets Country caught up with the band of longtime friends to discuss new music, upcoming shows, a new video series, and what to expect for the year ahead. Before the interview could begin they were sure to put a glass of wine in my hand and I definitely wasn’t complaining… it truly was “good times with good girlfriends!”
Celeb Secrets: What was the songwriting process for your new single Women and Wine and what inspired it?
Ashley: Two things. Women and wine. Good times with good girlfriends. It was really all encompassing. It’s not just for women or wine lovers. It describes our personalities and the thing that we value most; having those great moments with the people that we love.
Nicole: Our tours are a really great time. We have a lot of fun, and we’re close friends so it was a really organic song. We wrote it with Sarah Davidson who’s also a close friend. It was easy and fun to write, it just explains us.
CS: Can you tell us a little bit about your new EP coming out January 25th?
Ashley: Well you can now pre-order it! It has 6 songs with a bonus track, so 7 total.
Lisa: When we went into pre-production for this record, we took all of our touring and our experiences with our fans and friends that we’ve made over the last few years and thought “Okay we want to create something, we have this great opportunity to create something that they can take home and it will emulate what they just saw on stage. It will really give them our personalities. So we picked all the songs, we co-produced it, we chose every musician and it was just such a fun process. It was first time the four of us were in the studio together and I feel like we got what we were hoping to get. We captured that magic and I’m really excited to hear what the feedback is.
Ashley: There’s an X factor with the four of us together. We all bring something different, we bring different backgrounds. I think that really reflects greatly on the EP because I’m the newest member so I was kind of learning as I was going with these awesome girls and figuring it out. I’ve been in the band for 6 months so it’s something I’ve really enjoyed learning and being a part of. It almost feels like it’s something that’s always been.
Lisa: Something else that has really showcased on this EP is that we have four lead singers. The mix element of the record was so important to us, almost more important than anything else because we wanted to make sure you really heard all the four vocals, individually, at the same time. When you sing those harmonies, it isn’t a lead singer with back ground singers. That’s just not what we do. So we each got to sing lead on a song that we chose and then we have songs like Women and Wine where we’re all sharing the lead. It was a blast to get to do this.
CS: Do you have a personal favorite song off the new EP? What is it and why?
Ashley: I like all of them, I know that sounds so cheesy. But I listen to them in my car and I’m genuinely a fan of the album. It’s a great feeling, knowing all the time we put into it and that it’s fully funded by our fans. The most important thing is that we were able to raise money through people who truly believe in us and who really wanted the album and the music.
Nicole: We co-produced this record. From square one, from picking the songs, to what we wanted to say, the arranging, everything. We worked with some really killer engineers and some really creative musicians.
CS: Since 2018 was such a big year for you and has just come to a close, can you highlight your favorite experience from last year?
Lisa: Ashley jointing the band. Hands down
Ashley: Mine was joining the band.
Nicole: Ashley and I have a very long history. We were both at Curb Records and I met her when she had just signed with them. So I sometimes think “Wow I’m in a band with her.” I’m such a cheeseball, I’ll just start crying.
Ashley: We can’t acknowledge the moment for too long or Nicole will start crying. And then I’ll start crying.
Nicole: I just love these girls. They mean the world to me and it’s so fun to play music every night with them. We do tour a lot, but I can tell there will be a very distinct difference this year, it’s definitely growing. There are venues who are contacting us saying they’re selling out. We’re able to sell out a 200-300 seater. A couple years ago we were calling Uncle Joe to bring all of his neighbors and spread the word. We still do that but it just seems like it’s growing and taking it’s own life on this year.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpUqKMHhqmF/
CS: Your new video series ‘Wednesday Wine Buzz’ is such a fun idea. What inspired this?
Ashley: I joined the band. I know these girls so well and we have such a fun time behind the scenes. There’s a face that Farewell Angelina has that a lot of people don’t get to see when we’re traveling or not on stage so it was really important to me to show the world how fun these girls are. I kind of open my big mouth saying “This is what I wanna do!”
Lisa: So now we just make fun of each other on camera like we do every other day. It’s something we just tested out in 2018 and it was overwhelming positive so we’re definitely going to keep that going and have it evolve. It’s a way for people to get to know us better.
CS: I also saw in the second episode that you all voted Andrea as most likely to be arrested…why is she the most likely to get arrested?
Ashley: She looks so sweet and kind but if someone was messing with us, Andrea would come out of nowhere and be like “Listen buddy!”
Nicole: When you lose your cell phone in New York City, you want Andrea with you. I speak from experience. I lost my phone, and then once we found out where it was, we all got into a taxi and rolled down to where this guy said my phone was. He had a bag full of cell phones and only 2 teeth…all I’m going to say is, yeah, you want Andrea with you.
Andrea: My dad also played football. He’s this big, scary, fast guy. Every year he has some epic story of something that’s not exactly, you know…..legal. But he’s a big ol’ teddy bear. He’ll give you a kiss on the head and a hug. He has four daughters and my mom’s a spitfire, so there’s just a switch that flips in me.
CS: You’re about to head off for tour this week. What are you looking forward to the most?
Andrea: Meeting more people.
Ashley: For me it’s just getting back into that groove. When were playing every night, it just does it’s own thing. You can tell from our shows when we’ve been off for a little bit, and the holidays just kind of throw you off too. So I’m so excited to start the new year and get back into that wheel. I like being at the point where you don’t even need to think about the show and can just enjoy it because you’re not trying to plan.
Lisa: You can really create those moments. We talk about how each night and each show can’t be duplicated because those same exact people will never be there again. So it’s a magical moment to create with these people. That’s what I live for. I remember being in the audience and feeling this overwhelming emotion from the people on stage. To be able to have the opportunity to provide that for some one else is why I’m in this band. The fans give us so much more than we could ever give them. It’s truly is magical.
CS: If you could tour with any artist, who would it be?
FA: KEITH URBAN!
Ashley: Aside from the fact that he’s just so talented and cute, he’s such a nice person and has our similar values. And he’s married to Nicole Kidman.
Nicole: We want to be friends with his wife. She’s the whole package. So we’re just going to put that out into the universe and see what happens.
CS: What is something you want fans to know about you as artists?
Nicole: That we love them.
Ashley: Truly. Beyond that. It’s why we do what we do. It’s an ever evolving band and everything that we do is for the fans. We want to make the music that they want but also it’s up to them to make the show. We want to engage and interact them to give them the best experience. We want to make those life long friends who are fans, our Farewell family.
CS: What else is in store for 2019 and what’s your biggest goal you hope to accomplish this year?
Lisa: Towards the end of last year we were talking about what we really wanted to happen for 2019, and one of the huge goals was for us to go tour in Europe again. And we’ve actually already achieved that. We booked a show in Switzerland and another in Spain this summer. So some other dates are getting added around those. It was amazing that we came into 2019 with that already checked off the list. But also just making every show meaningful is what’s really important to us.
Nicole: And playing the Opry. And a music video. I just want the music out there. I hope it gets wings.
CS: Any fun New Year’s resolutions?
Ashley: I want us to do something fun in every city we go to. I was just saying earlier today that I would love to incorporate songwriting more on the road. We have so many cool stories to tell in each city that were in, so taking a little time to create music while were on tour is something that I want to focus on more. It’s a good band goal.
CS: Since we’re Celeb Secrets can you tell us a behind the scenes secret of your new single “Women and Wine” that fans wouldn’t know just by listening to it?
FA Ashley: We do drink wine, but while we were making this record we actually drank Coronas. Women and Coronas just didn’t flow as well.
For more information on tour dates and all things Farewell Angelina, visit farewellangelinamusic.com and follow along on Facebook and Instagram.
