NASCAR fans, some 80,000, who traveled to World Wide Technology Raceway for the Enjoy Illinois 300 were treated to a lot of live music over the weekend, which included an impressive, varied lineup of national artists (Dierks Bentley, Flo Rida, Brothers Osborne) and local acts (the Mighty Pines, Dr. Zhivegas, Funky Butt Brass Band). The stages for the three-day Confluence Music Festival were spread throughout the facility with music starting in the morning and continuing into the evening after the roar of stock cars had died down. Those with infield tickets could access the main stage, which on Saturday included a 10:30 a.m. set by rising country star Brittney Spencer, who seems to be everywhere these days — touring with Willie Nelson, singing at major sporting events and being the musical guest on the Late Show with Steven Colbert.
On Saturday, Spencer had just 30 minutes on stage, but she packed it with her rousing approach to country music, belting out tough kiss-off songs like “Damn Right, You’re Wrong,” from her 2020 EP, Compassion, and “Better as Friends,” a 2022 single on which she strummed an acoustic guitar and showed off her scatting skills. Dressed in camo-solidarity with NASCAR fans, she also wore a new pair of combat boots for the set, driving that fact home with a show-closing cover of “These Boots Were Made for Walkin’.” Later in the day, Spencer made a surprise cameo during Brothers Osborne’s set — T.J. Osborne introduced her as an “icon in the making” — tearing through a crowd-pleasing cover of Lizzo’s “About Damn Time.”
I caught up with Spencer before her set at Confluence, and we talked about writing, drinking, Willie Nelson, being a Black artist in country music, her upcoming album and more.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
So you’re playing at a big NASCAR race tomorrow.
Yeah! I’ve been doing a lot of sports events for the last year now, which is pretty cool and honestly shocking because I’ve never been athletic a day in my life. [Laughs]
Speaking of sporting events, your recent performance of the national anthem at the NFL draft was well-received.
Yeah, I wanted to do the national anthem more like a song, something that you would want to replay, so my guitarist, Gabe Burdulis, and I worked on that arrangement. I had sung it a cappella a lot — I did the anthem at the Kentucky Derby last year — so I wanted to do something different. Also, I have a lot of women that like my music, but this is a very male-dominated thing, and guys would come up to me and know who I was. I’m not used to that. It was really cool. Of everything I’ve done, that performance is probably the thing I’ve gotten the most feedback about when I’m out and about grabbing a latte or an oil change or something.
Did you always have your sights on country music as your genre or did it sort of happen by accident?
A little bit of both. I was brought up in the church in Baltimore, I sang opera for years, and I listened to Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Mariah, Whitney. I started listening to country music as a kid when I had no concept of genre at all. I started really listening to the Chicks. In hindsight, I really didn’t know it was changing my life, but I loved their harmonies and their stories, and I just became a serious fan. I have a lot of different musical influences. But with country music, it was the songwriting that made me gravitate toward the genre. I finally found a place where I felt like I could tell stories that I wanted to tell. I could put my thoughts into words, and it would make sense in country music.
How would you describe your place in country music sonically?
I’m a country artist. Sonically, I’m always going to want to have fun and stick to tradition, but I’m also going to want to bend and break a few rules. That’s just the creative in me wanting to explore. But I want to tell stories, and I’m going to continue to do that in this space because it feels like home to me.
You are one of several Black artists who are currently finding success in country music. What is your perspective from inside the industry?
I want to see more of us. I know things take time, but I can’t wait until we don’t have to have this conversation anymore because it’s so normalized to see so many different cultures in country music. Right now, we’re sprinkled in and still in the beginning stages of seeing the genre diversity, and there’s a lot of people putting in a lot of effort to make that happen. But we need to keep going. What would make me happy is to look back in 10 years and you won’t be able to name the Black country artists if you tried because there’s so many.
Your songs sound autobiographical. Are they?
I do tend to write in first person, but I’m not always the person in the song. Like “Sober & Skinny” is not about me. I’ve never actually experienced that. “Whiskey Rose” is not about me at all. Writing about other people makes me feel more empathetic, when I'm able to find a human way to connect with people in a story I wrote but didn't actually experience. It’s actually really hard for me to write about me. I feel exposed. But every artist that I love does that, and I decided I don’t want to be a mystery, so I think the bravest thing is to put my actual self in songs, and I’m doing it a lot more these days.
A lot of your fans probably already assume your songs are about you. When I listen to “A Hundred Years Old” which begins, “Lately, I’ve been drinking way too much,” for instance, I’m thinking, “Brittney thinks she drinks too much.”
Yeah. The funny thing is I don’t drink enough! I’m not a big drinker. I smoke weed — that’s my thing. But that song is a perfect example. It’s not a unique subject matter. Heartbreak is just a universal feeling. It sucks that something is over, and you don’t want to get out of bed. Everybody has been there. I like when people find themselves in songs. That’s what we're looking for as fans of music. We’re looking for someone to say the thing that’s on our brains that we haven’t been able to articulate. It makes us feel a little more connected to our own selves and stories and pain and decisions.
Who are some of your favorite songwriters?
Oh, gosh. I’ve got a bunch. Natalie Hemby is one of my all-time favorites. I love John Mayer. Stevie Wonder — I love the way he is able to craft a song. Of course, I love Taylor Swift. I love Jazmine Sullivan — the way she can tell a story is phenomenal. And Loretta Lynn. She makes me feel like I can be brave and actually be vulnerable.
The last time you played in St. Louis was at last year’s Outlaw Fest at Hollywood Casino Amphitheater with Willie Nelson. What’s it like being around Willie?
Willie is the sweetest person in the whole world. I haven't had a long one-on-one conversation with him, but he stopped his golf cart and called me over and gave me the biggest hug. He blew me a kiss when we all came out on stage to sing the last song with him. The way he looks at you on stage and smiles — he’s genuinely happy that you’re there, which is a crazy feeling because I am jumping out of my body that I’m there. I have a note that I wrote to him and had in my pocket, but I was too enamored to give it to him. I keep that note in my backpack. So I’m excited that I get to be back [on this year’s Outlaw tour] because I just want Willie to know that I love him.
You have your first full-length album coming out. Will some of the songs you’ve already released be on there?
No, none of those songs are on there. We are almost finished mixing. I’m so excited to share it with everybody. I wanted something for everybody — songs that make you feel good, songs that make you think, songs that you want to share with people, songs that feel like they are really just for you. I want this album to feel like an invitation. Some of it was recorded right after being on tour, and I felt like I had no voice, and I thought I would go back and re-record the vocals later, but some of those [original] vocals are still on the album because it’s raw, and it sounds honest, and it feels like me.
You said you don’t drink enough. If I see you at the track, I’ll buy you a drink.
I’m going to hold you to it. I drink tequila and soda with lime.
