27. April 2025
Home » Music & Media » Spotlight - Flyctory.com Interviews » Spotlight – Flyctory.com meets Kenny Foster (April 2025)
Spotlight - Flyctory.com Interviews

Spotlight – Flyctory.com meets Kenny Foster (April 2025)

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

What would be a Country To Country Festival in Germany without Kenny Foster? He is already part of the “inventory” of the country music festival in Berlin. In the 2025 edition, he had solo sets as well as being part of the Sad Song Society, alongside Tyler Sjöström and Jason Nix. In my interview, which we had at Sunday morning in Berlin, we chatted about his experience in 2025 and about his future plans.

 

Flyctory.com meets Kenny Foster

FLYC: How do you feel about this year’s C2C in Berlin?

Kenny: It’s great to be back. I love being here, I love the German fans. They are such great listeners and I am grateful to be a part of this festival every year that it happened. Last year, you know, it was the first year back since COVID. And, maybe there were some, I don’t know if it was, re-growing pains. It just felt a bit timid – it was only a two-day festival also, but like, this feels like it’s back again, which feels really cool to me. Like, it feels just like the old times, like I remember it, which has been great for me personally, and it’s just nice to be here.

FLYC: You’re more or less a constant of this festival.

Kenny: Yeah, I’m part of the furniture now.

FLYC: So when you compare it to the first one in 2019, how do you feel did it develop over these years?

Kenny: I feel like they’ve added more daytime stages, which is where I’ve been hanging out mostly. It’s been good. I mean, I think everyone’s catching wise. I mean, there’s, I feel like even the daytime, I mean, I don’t know what the numbers are, but like, I feel like the daytime stage Attendees number is growing. My shows are getting bigger and more people are coming in. Maybe that’s just part of being here so often, but you know, maybe the other one is that. Yeah, it feels like everybody’s back and they’re so excited and leaning in to listen. And it’s just so, it’s nice.

Like the Rooftop Stage yesterday, you know, it was first thing on. And as soon as, as soon as the doors opened, the elevator just kept flooding out and it was the early show, you know, 10 a.m. and everyone’s ready to go. And it felt, yeah, it felt really good. It feels really good. And I know my way around now too, so it helps a ton.

FLYC: You mentioned the people already. How is it for you to connect to the people here in Berlin, also maybe to reconnect? It’s like a community meeting, ain’t it?

Kenny: Yes, 100%. It’s funny, I have this Meet And Greet. We’ll see how many people come because I end up talking to everybody after my shows. I feel like, at least in the moment, I try to take my time after each show and before show and between shows. Everyone’s so friendly and they’re very conscientious. I don’t know if that’s the German in them or if it’s just this particular niche of fans that have become friends. There’s no pretense and they give me a hard time and I love it. It feels like a big family. To connect with everybody here, yeah, it’s been awesome.

God bless your guys’ English because my German’s terrible. I don’t know what I would do otherwise. Just walk around and nod a lot, do a bunch of fake sign language is about the only thing I can think of. But yeah, it’s been awesome. I love it.

FLYC: You have three solo sets here, you had two so far, and you have three sets with the Sad Song Society. How did this one come up? How did you come to the idea to form that?

Kenny: It’s cool, because the international launch was here in Berlin last year, but I’ve been doing this style of round in Nashville at the Listening Room. It’s was where we had our first residency. And so Sina, who books the festival, had seen me in a round capacity. I mean, when I did the Sound of Nashville tour with Sarah Darling and Robert Counts back in 2019, I think. Yeah, it seemed to go over well, because I know that rounds aren’t super prevalent in the booking situation, but I think what we do with keeping it light and funny and keeping it very bantery, but then also going really, really deep on the songs. It’s a nice switch up, I think.

At least in the States, a lot of writer’s rounds become very self-congratulatory. And we were trying to do the opposite of that. Like, it shouldn’t be about the writer getting to tell you how cool they are. It should be about a writer getting to set the scene for a song that is going to impact you whether or not you’ve heard it before. And I think, and I have a ton of friends that have written hits, like Jason Nix, for instance. That feels an obligation every time he plays to play that hit. And when he does a Sad Song Society, like, we prefer that you don’t. Like, no, you need to do the hard work. You need to win the audience over through the song, not the story. And I’ve had different lineups and we bring in lots of different like-minded artists that just want that opportunity and so I do that.

In Nashville, last year I got to bring Liz Longley as part of Sad Song Society. This year I got to bring Jason as part of that. And Tyler, of course. Tyler’s part of the furniture now, too. Everyone loves him. He’s great. And it’s great to have him, also. So I think, long may it continue, man. It’s some of my favorite shows, because I get a front row seat to everybody else, too.

FLYC: You mentioned Jason already, it was his first time appearing in Germany as far as I know, so what did you tell him about Germany and the festival?

Kenny: I told him that it was going to be great and he was never going to want to play in the States again. And so far, I’ll let him tell you, but yeah, that seems pretty true. He’s been having a great time. His manic comedy and heartbreak, it’s just a great combination. There are a few names when I think about Sad Song Society that sort of like embody all of that, and he’s one of those.

FLYC: In country music, you have this traditional thing about three chords and the truth, and I think the Sad Songs Society is very close to that, and it’s about transporting the message. How do you feel, could events like Sad Song Society get an even bigger audience than it actually already has?

Kenny: I appreciate that, man. I know there’s a hunger for it because in Nashville, at The Listening Room, I get to see it. Because The Listening Room is a mix of people coming in and people just coming because it is the Listening Room, right? But we see people that know nothing of what’s happening on stage. They just came because they knew they were supposed to. And we watch them sort of just turn. Within the first round, the first three songs, everybody’s had a go. And you see everybody kind of go, oh, this is a different thing. And whenever I introduce it in Nashville, I go, hey, if you guys were here for the hottest hits from yesterday and today, you missed Broadway by about eight blocks.

This is a different thing. We are pulling back the veil of this thing. Do younger audiences want honesty of that way? I think so. If you listen to any of the pop or folk or any of the leading genres with Gen Alpha, Gen Z, I think there’s this real. And it’s moving into every genre, this sort of confessional lyric, which country’s been doing forever. And so do I think there’s a larger audience for this? Yes, but I don’t think people know to want it. And that’s the interesting thing about having something called Sad Song Society because people are like, well, I don’t want to be sad. And you’re like, no, bro, you have no idea that you need to be sad.

Like, how do I get you to understand that this experience you’re about to have is going to feel different because we’re not here to entertain you. This, it’s not escapism. This is, this is inviting you into a deeper understanding of a song or a person or a writer or yourself in the process. So, I am content if that only ever stays this niche, ‘if you know, you know’ thing. Because there is an intimacy that is necessary, not just in venue, but in communication. Would that work in an arena? It feels a little less person to person, because we’re sharing space together. But I would love to think that as people catch on and recognize what it is, it actually is trying to reconnect to the old tradition, to the tradition that it was like all you needed was to hear an honest song from the person who felt it or wrote it or was there.

And I think that’s the heart of country music. I know that country is cool now, and I know that there is the potential for growth in a lot of different areas I would love to think that there’s an umbrella we can all live under. Moving forward in the future, maybe the fans are going to want a schism. I don’t know. I have no idea what the future holds.

FLYC: That leads well to my next question. You’re part of the German country scene in a certain way now for seven, eight years already. What do you feel is the current state or the development of country music in Germany?

Kenny: In Germany specifically, it’s hard for me to know because my only inquest is C2C for the last two years. And like I said, I’m just grateful to be a part. I really am glad that it is holding, I think, both. Both the move towards pop is happening. I think a lot happened during COVID, you know, without getting too much in the weeds, where I think just industry-wide, there was more of a push to grab artists off of social platforms, people that have built a following. And for knowing that you have to sell tickets to keep everything afloat. I recognize that, and I think it’s a strategy that is probably a lot of work for the promoters, because I don’t know, we don’t know, nobody knows what the staying power of some of these artists built on viral fame will be.

I think the proof is in the pudding, but I imagine like, there’s just so many ways in and I think the audience ultimately decides who gets to stay and who doesn’t. And I think that the industry at large has proven, even with this new strategy, that they’re having to listen to their audience because they need them to survive.

FLYC: And how did you use the festival days? Did you also rather like exploring the city or watching other artists?

Kenny: Both. I was not very familiar with a lot of people on the daytime stages this year. Got to meet some on the plane on the way over. Have, you know, through the awesome artist hospitality backstage here, have gotten to like run into and then go and see each other’s shows. That’s been really special. But then also with Jason being here and never being here, I wanted to show him the city and so we made some walks and saw some of the landmarks that you have to see when you come. And eating some of the food that you have to eat when you come here. So it’s been a mixture of both, which is what I love about it, especially over the three days now, because I have more time here. You really get to settle in and do everything.

FLYC: I think before the interview you mentioned your son. So, you are now a daddy, family guy. How did that impact your music? You presented a new song also as part of your set.

Kenny: Yeah, man. Well, Sad Song is sort of me trying new things, too. It’s a way for me to just kind of slip something in, because there’s no expectation with Sad Song. It’s just kind of whatever I feel like presenting. The new record – becoming a parent really cuts you to the core. You have to relive everything you were as a kid. You have to question how you’re going to continue to survive as an individual and how you’re going to morph yourself into becoming a parent. I mean, it’s a tall order. I think if you do it right, it’s really hard. And so it’s been a difficult transition for me to grab a hold of. I haven’t even written about being a parent very much yet because I think I’m still, I don’t want to say mourning.

But I’m still dealing with the loss of the person that I will not be anymore. My responsibility as a father has now become a part of me and probably like the main driving force. So, I’m excited. The song that I sang, Save Us All, I hope to put on the new record, which probably isn’t going to be until first quarter next year. But it will be on there. If I wasn’t going deep enough before, I’m trying to go even, even, even deeper. I’m trying to, you know, inspired by some of the new confessional pop situation. I mean, I grew up loving Dashboard Confessional, it’s in the name, but this sort of like honest, raw… There’s an authenticity that I feel like is missing in a lot of music, art, pop culture right now.

I think I’ve always been a little wary of consumption anyway. But now as a dad, I want to write stuff that he would be proud to hear sometime and that might teach him something. I think I’ve been leaning into that sort of ancient wisdom. I think that’s always what I’ve been trying to get at. Can I listen to a song for the first time and be changed? And I know that’s a tall order, but that’s why we work so hard. I said before one of my sets: “A song can change the world if we do it right. And I think it doesn’t really matter about its virility. Maybe the world we change is only one person’s, and maybe that one person is me.” I don’t know, but it’s that important to me to want to dig to those places and do that. Not just for myself anymore, but for him, because I feel like there’s more skin in the game. There’s more riding on it.

FLYC: You mentioned your record. Do you have any other plans for 2025 yet?

Kenny: To be honest, it’s all just sort of hitting me. So I have this spring. I’ve got my writer’s retreat, I’ve got a couple of dates in London. I’ve got a date in Birmingham. And then the year is just happening as it comes. I have a lot of travel coming up with my family. My son’s not in school yet. So we’re trying to balance. Once he gets into school, then travel with him becomes more difficult. And so we’re trying to figure out what does that look like.

I think after May, I will know a little bit more of how much freedom there is in my schedule to get out and do a thing. Like, I’d love to be back here in the fall. That would be cool. But as of right now, no, man. Literally, it’s this section, six weeks, and then we’ll figure out what’s next.

FLYC: Last short one, because otherwise you’ll miss your Meet & Greet. Will we see you at C2C26 in Berlin?

Kenny: Dude, fingers crossed, man. I mean, if it were up to me, then the answer is always yes. Yeah, definitely yes.

 

Follow Kenny Foster Online

      

 

Follow Sad Song Society Online

 

 

Sound of Nashville on Flyctory.com

Here are all postings related to the Sound of Nashville concert series in Germany and the Netherlands:

 

Kenny Foster on Flyctory.com

Here are postings related to the US-American musician Kenny Foster:

You might also like

Spotlight – Flyctory.com meets Nik Wallner (November 2022)

Spotlight – Flyctory.com meets Kimi Most (6th June 2020)

Spotlight – Sylvia Aimee about her new single, “Identity” (19th May 2020)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *