Shelly Fairchild returns to the UK next month with new music, a fresh sense of purpose and what she describes as the album she has been waiting a decade to make. Ahead of her August tour, the Arkansas-born singer-songwriter spoke to CountryMusic.co.uk about Sacred Southern Daughter, rediscovering her musical identity, and why UK audiences continue to hold a special place in her heart.
The long-awaited fifth studio album arrives after a ten-year gap since Buffalo, but Fairchild insists the timing was driven not by the calendar but by the songs themselves.
“The songs finally showed up and demanded that they be shared.”
Rather than rushing into another release, Fairchild waited until she felt she had assembled a collection that genuinely represented who she is as an artist today. A successful Kickstarter campaign, enthusiastically backed by her fans, gave her both the confidence and the accountability to finish the record.
“It’s been such a labour of love,” she explains. “I gathered the songs I wanted. They finally showed up and demanded that they be shared.”
Finding home in her music
For Fairchild, Sacred Southern Daughter represents more than simply another album. It marks the point where years of musical exploration have finally settled into a sound that feels completely authentic.
Describing the record as “a lil’ Country, a lil’ Soul, and a lil’ Rock N’ Roll”, she embraces influences that have shaped her throughout her life rather than trying to fit neatly into one genre.
Recording at the legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, proved to be the perfect environment.
“The musicians and producers all brought different experiences and styles,” she says. “When you know it’s right, you know it’s right. There’s nothing quite like that feeling.”
Looking back, she believes this record reconnects directly with the roots of her debut album Ride.
“This feels like a grown-up version of my very first record.”
“I’ve always wanted to belong in a genre, to have a home,” she says. “This record feels like a solid picture of who I am and the kind of music I’ll continue to make forever. It feels like I found myself.”
A love song years in the making
The latest single, For The First Time, released on 10 July, captures a deeply personal moment in Fairchild’s life.
Built around the lyric, “I found all I was after… no more rambling around,” the song reflects finding lasting love after years of searching.
“It really has knocked me into a whole other stratosphere,” she says. “It’s beautiful and difficult and precious and wildly fascinating to love another human as much as I love my person.”
Musically, she wanted to capture the spirit of classic soul records, particularly Dusty Springfield’s Son Of A Preacher Man, complete with memorable guitar hooks and standout backing vocals.
Inviting The Shoals Sisters to join the recording was, she says, an easy decision.
“I wanted iconic and I got iconic.”
Ironically, the vocal that listeners now hear almost never made it onto the album.
“I actually couldn’t stand the way I was singing it,” Fairchild admits with a laugh. “I almost threw it out.”
Everything changed once The Shoals Sisters and the horn section added their contributions.
“The Shoals Sisters and the horns made the whole song for me.”
Songs that tell the truth
Although the album contains uplifting tracks designed simply to make people smile — including Little Darlin’ and On The Highway — Fairchild says some songs were non-negotiable because they tell her own story.
“All I Feel Is Everything and Missin Mississippi had to be on this record,” she explains.
“They tell the truth, and they’re my story.”
That honesty lies at the centre of everything she writes.
“I love sharing my story and hearing other people share theirs. It makes us all feel like we aren’t so alone.”
Shelly Fairchild’s UK Visit at a Glance
🎸 New album: Sacred Southern Daughter (out August)
🎵 Latest single: For The First Time featuring The Shoals Sisters
✍️ Special event: UK-CMA Songwriting Workshop, FortyFive Vinyl Café (8 August), where Fairchild will lead a hands-on session in writing for TV and film sync placements.
🎤 Live highlights: Acoustic dates across the UK plus a full-band appearance at Country Calling Festival.
💬 One quote that sums up the album:
“It feels like I found myself.”
Back to Britain
UK fans won’t have long to wait before hearing those songs live.
Fairchild returns for a series of August performances, most of them intimate acoustic shows, before stepping onto the full-band stage at Country Calling.
“I’ve been so looking forward to these shows and the UK audience,” she says.
While the acoustic performances differ from her energetic festival appearances, she hopes both formats leave audiences equally entertained.
“My live show with a full band is energetic, but my acoustic shows are too — just in a totally different way.”
She is particularly excited to return after several years away and is hoping for one unforgettable moment.
“I’ve been very, very excited about watching the crowd sing my songs.”
“I’ve witnessed the passion and commitment UK fans have for some of my favourite artists, and I’m blown away by the response. I hope to experience that myself.”
Passing on experience
Before many fans see her on stage, Fairchild will also share her songwriting experience at the UK-CMA Songwriting Workshop at FortyFive Vinyl Café on 8 August.
Rather than focusing on traditional songwriting, she’ll guide participants through the increasingly important world of sync writing for television and film.
Starting with a partially completed backing track, the group will develop melody and lyrics together before recording vocals and sending the song to be professionally completed.
“We’ll walk away with a fully produced song,” she says. “I don’t usually write in such a large group, but this should be fun.”
A new beginning
After ten years between albums, Fairchild hopes Sacred Southern Daughter marks the beginning of a lasting new chapter rather than a one-off comeback.
More than chart success or streaming numbers, she wants listeners to connect with the honesty at the heart of the record.
“I hope they hear my heart and my desire to be authentic and honest,” she says. “I hope it inspires them to be authentic and honest.”
Her ultimate goal is refreshingly simple.
“I want people to feel loved and seen.”
Judging by the warmth, vulnerability and confidence that shine through Sacred Southern Daughter, UK audiences may well discover that Shelly Fairchild has finally arrived exactly where she was always meant to be.
