The Southern Springsteen explains why he can't stay away from Australia as he prepares to bring his Nomad tour on his most ambitious trip Down Under to date.
Kipling Christian Moore might be the busiest man in country music.Speaking from the US via Zoom, dressed in a ballcap and long-sleeved black tee, he's just played four back-to-back shows and is hitting the road again tomorrow, oh, with a quick studio session squeezed in between. "I don't know which way is up right now," he says. "It's been non-stop."
He's used to being busy. Since establishing himself with platinum-selling album 'Up All Night', the most commercially successful male country debut of 2012 and 2013, he's released four more studio albums: 'Wild Ones' (2015), 'Slowheart' (2017, from whence his fandom take their name), 'Wild World' (2020), and last year's 'Damn Love'.
With each new release, his global audience has grown, leading to regular appearances at Queensland's CMC Rocks and Europe's C2C festivals, as well as unexpectedly triumphant concerts in South Africa, where he is credited for opening the door for the genre.
Kip's excited to return this autumn on his fifth visit to Australia, the first to incorporate Perth. "Australia has been incredible for us. Our final show in Sydney last year was euphoric."
Is there a difference between domestic and international audiences? "A lot of times, it depends on the night, but I will say that overseas crowds tend to be a hair more cerebral."
This is the first time a CMC crowd has been labelled 'cerebral'. "They fall in love with you for the music, nothing ulterior. Sometimes if you blow up and become a famous act here [in the USA], everybody's on it, but that doesn't really matter overseas.
"It's like, are you any good, number one? Then, if they're in, they're completely in. I have a much better chance at taking a crowd from a 10 to a 1, where you can hear a pin drop."
Moore describes himself as a student of the great performers, including frequent comparative Springsteen (the similarity lies in their vocal tones and songs of everyman Americana) and Bono, calling the latter's stage presence "effortless".
"There's very few of us left that are giving you a 100 per cent live show anymore, where everything is free-flowing. We're not relying on a computer and [backing] tracks.
"I get bored with shows that play the song just like the record. I try to take you on a journey. I want to leave you with a feeling, to give you something beyond just listening to my songs on the radio."
Despite his zeal for playing live, the Georgia native spent eight years honing his craft as a songwriter in Nashville before stepping onto the stage.
How does he identify primarily: as a writer or a frontman? "I was always first and foremost a songwriter. That's my passion. I didn't know if I'd ever be performing my songs, but the two have become equally weighted.
"I've grown into the performer I am by reading and being present with an audience every night and being like, 'tonight is not the night to play 'Guitar Man''. You have to think on your feet. I've been with the same band besides one change for the last ten years. We have a sixth sense."
The squeezed-in studio session is in support of his sixth, as-yet unnamed album, due out in October. "It's very, very, very likely that we'll play the new songs," at the Australian shows he says.
It's his first record as an independent artist, having parted ways with his record label of over a decade in March. "I had an amazing run with UMG [Universal Music Group Nashville]. I love those people. They were great to me. They let me make the music I wanted, but I had to make a deal that made sense for me at this point in my career.
"So, I decided to go a different way and fund my own record. Now it's about teaming up with a partner that's going to help me get it out to people." Who needs a major label when you've got grit and guitars?
Kip Moore 2024 Tour Dates
Sat 28 Sep – ICC Sydney TheatreSun 29 Sep – Civic Theatre (Newcastle)* sold out
Wed 2 Oct – Hindley Music Hall (Adelaide)
Thu 3 Oct – Rod Laver Arena (Melbourne)
Sat 5 Oct - Deniliquin Ute Muster
Tue 8 Oct – Canberra Theatre Centre* sold out
Thu 10 Oct – Anita's Theatre (Wollongong)* sold out
Sat 12 Oct - Savannah In The Round (Mareeba)
Sun 13 Oct – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Tue 15 Oct – Metro City (Perth)
