As it’s the Fabulous Finale for Cornbury Festival, does it feel extra special to be performing this year? It feels very special to be part of the very last Cornbury Festival and to be playing alongside some of my favourite artists. This is the first time I’ve played the festival so I’m thrilled I could be part of it. I’m definitely going to be taking some time to walk around and soak up all the music while I’m there. How is your “Year of New Music” going so far? We’ve seen there are plans in place for THREE new EP’s?! I decided to do things a little differently this year and release 3 EPs rather than a full album in one go. I’m also doing it through Pledgemusic and so far the response has been incredible. There are about 350 people who have got involved already in helping fund the recording of my EPs and it’s a really exciting way to involve my fans in the whole process of writing and recording an album. I get to share a lot more with them than I would do normally - from behind the scenes in the studio, the stories behind the songs, updates from the road and lots of other special experiences. We’re at 117% of the target that I set to record the EPs which is fantastic, and anything over the 100% helps towards the budget to help promote the EPs and get the music out to as many people as possible. It’s incredible seeing the support from so many fans who want to help create the new music and become part of the team. As an independent artist, it really gives me hope for the future of music seeing artists and fans get together and create projects. And longer term; any plans for another full album? Or a bigger UK tour? For me as an independent artist, who’s on the road a lot, finding a chunk of time, and money, to write and record a whole album can be challenging. I found with my previous 2 albums that so much time is put into writing, recording and promoting one record, but once it’s released it’s so quickly consumed and people begin asking when the next one is coming out. Meanwhile as an artist you’re so busy promoting and touring your album that you don’t get an opportunity to record any new material for a year or two. I think the way that people consume music these days has changed and EPs seem to fit with people’s appetite to get new music little and often. I’ve got some great UK dates coming up this Summer. As well as Cornbury I’ll be playing in Cambridge, Milton Keyes, Canterbury and Gateshead in July. Then I’m heading back to LA to focus on recording the next 2 EPs which will keep me pretty busy, but I’m sure I’ll be back in the UK in 2018. How do the UK Festivals like Cornbury compare to your extensive US experiences? All festivals have their own individual vibe going on, and especially now that we’re getting such great weather here in the UK, it’s hard to beat sitting outside on the grass in the sunshine listening to music. I did a festival recently in Florida in the US where I was walking along the sea front near the main stage, listening to the music and watching a family of manatees come up to the shore. That was pretty magical! What has been your favourite festival experience/story to tell? What I love most about British festivals is the determination of the crowds to have a fantastic time no matter what the British weather throws at them. A couple of years ago I was playing the acoustic stage at The Secret Garden Party festival. It was on the Sunday and the sun was shining and people were having a great time but everyone was absolutely covered in mud. I later heard that on the previous day it had rained so hard that they had had to turn the acoustic tent into a refuge center because so many people’s tents had flooded! Thankfully the sun came out again on Sunday and everyone was in great spirits…there was no keeping them down and it was a wonderful festival!