Boots and Hearts was in full swing on Saturday, the sun was out and the music was loud. Devoting Destiny got to sit down with Elyse Saunders and talk about small-town rumours, the difference between Canadian and American country music, and big plans coming this fall and into the new year.

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Can I ask, how do you decide on outfits, makeup, and everything when you're

performing?

Well, I usually will just go online, and look up a whole bunch of outfits. And I'm kinda like, what colour am I vibing with? It all comes down to the colour, and how I was feeling. Red, I do enjoy a good red. My colours are kinda like red, white, and blue, funny enough. It’s like if I could do a combo of that. I try to keep it fresh and switch it up a little bit. If I have, like, a nice boot, a pop of colour, that's that's perfect.

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I saw on socials you were super excited about boots and hearts.

Oh my gosh. So excited. It's definitely a bucket list dream stage. I was here a couple of years ago as a showcase artist. It was a whole other experience and it was during Covid times. So it was very different, very unique. This time I was like, okay. I need my full-on Boots and Hearts experience. I finally got that today, and to officially be on the lineup was really cool too. So many incredible artists are here. I've been telling everybody, I have this kind of neat story, a full circle moment. I was here for my very first Boots and Hearts. I don't remember which year it was. It was several years ago and Thomas Rhett was here. He was the headliner, and I was like, this guy is fantastic, but I was also manifesting. I'm like, you know what? In a couple of years, I can't wait to hopefully play my own show. So full circle moment. My very first show is on the lineup is with Thomas Rhett and Matchbox 20. So really cool.

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I guess it's safe to say those are the ones you're most excited about.

Oh my gosh. Yes. Well, I mean, everybody. Like, Carly Pearce would be so cool to see, but, you know, on the same night as me. I think it'd be cool to tell Thomas Rhett this story. It would be awesome to meet him. I just love his music and everything that he's done, plus Matchbox 20 is just a classic band.

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I was surprised, but happily surprised, to see them [Matchbox 20] on the list having

grown up on that sort of music.

I love that Boots and Hearts will bring in some outside acts that you don't expect. I think it keeps it fresh especially now with country music being so trendy, and it's kinda crossing to other genres, and “country music is cool again” as Lainie Wilson has said. I'm quoting Lainie Wilson. It seems like all the genres are kind of vibing off each other. So it makes a lot of sense.

 

What would you say your favourite song to perform today was?

My favourite song that I performed was my song, Never Have I Ever. It was the very first radio

hit that I've ever had, and, it was just so cool to see Boots and Hearts singing it back to me. It's a magical moment to see that. I was listening to Dirt on my way up here and I know a lot of people draw inspiration for music from real-life situations. Is that more fictional, real life?

I think with all my music, I try to put my own life experiences into it and I always try to put my

kind of life lessons into them. So with Dirt, what I love about it as well is that I come from a small town, so it's kinda like it's relatable to the small-town rumours kind of thing. Like, the broken telephone when once one person hears the news, it gets around, and you you kind of expect that. The small-town heroes, the small-town stars, all those things. So I wanna make it kinda funny and just make light of that. But also, deep down, it's like, you know, keeping up with the Joneses in a way, no matter how pretty your grass looks and the white picket fences, we all got crap and we've all got dirt that we're dealing with in our lives. I just wanted to make that a thing that we all relate to, and it's funny that everybody talks about each other, but we're all going through the same stuff.

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So with creating new music, like, how do you find, like, a song is finished? Does it ever

really stop at the end of it?

Well, I would say so, there are songs that I'll write where I'm like, I love this song, but it's

probably better suited for somebody else. And then there are other times I'll write a song. I'm

like, this is electrical. There is something about it that hits my heart or my soul. And I'm like, I

have to record that song. And, so it speaks to me, and it's kinda like in that moment, I'm like, it's pretty much finished, for me to feel like that. Sometimes you might go back and tweak a couple here and there. And then when you're in the recording studio, there'll be some, like, magical moments that happen creatively. But for the most part, the bones of the song are there.

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You do a lot of songwriting, both for yourself and for other people as well. Do you feel

like that expands your writing skills to be able to write potentially outside of your genre

as well?

Yes. That's been a lot of fun. I grew up being influenced by all types of music and it was just like whatever my parents were playing in the house. It could be Mariah Carey to the Eagles to ACDC. I loved Avril Lavigne growing up and Alanis Morissette. So for me, it's like when music speaks to you, it just speaks to you. A good song is a good song. But country music was always my home. That's where my heart is. What I love about country music is that it's real stories. And you can still be a down-to-earth person. But, it is fun to be able to tap into those influences and then bring them out in some writing sessions. It allows my writing chops to be a little more flexible and have fun with it, be a little more loose. In country music, there's a definite kind of structure that you follow, but I've been writing in pop punk which has been a lot of fun, and I can say things that I would never say elsewhere. So I love that.

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You’ve got 2 successful singles out. Is it safe to say that an album is coming soon?

The album is coming together with these new songs. I always like to say it's like my music goes through chapters and eras. So, with each song, there's a little bit of a different era, but people will notice there's a thread that connects at all. So at the end of it all it feels connected. I'm gonna release another song this fall. Probably, that's when we'll release the EP and add a couple more songs on there.

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Okay. So you got some big things planned then coming in the fall.

Yeah! We have a tour that's going to be announced soon as well, which is super exciting. I love being an entertainer, but I also love writing and recording. So I keep thinking, if I can just keep moving on that I’m sure amazing opportunities will come from that..

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What would you say your dream venue is to play?

Well, I can now say that I've ticked off one of my dream venues, Boots and Hearts.

I would love to play the Grand Ole Opry one day in Nashville. Nashville's been a huge part of

my career and growing into the artist I am today. I started going there as a teenager, just young and starting out in the industry and being influenced by it. My producer had taken me under his wing and he’s collaboratedwith some of the greatest players in Nashville, and it set the bar high for where I wanted to go. So I'm thinking the next move is gonna be making a move to Nashville to be able to go back and forth a lot more, which will be great. I wanna be able to make more of my name there because I've always gone as a creator, but it'd be nice to be seen as an artist, and as a singer as well. So the Grand Ole Opry would be awesome.

 

Do you find there's a big difference or a notable difference between Canadian country

and American country?

I would say that there is a slight difference, but I would say that the gap is slowly closing. I've

noticed a lot more, especially with Canadians going across the border to the states a lot more. I feel like that's happening a lot more than when I was just starting as a teenager. It's great to see. I feel like the Nashville scene, they're respecting what we're doing in Canada as well and I think that they like that we bring a bit of a fresh perspective that maybe they wouldn't have because as writers, we're always looking for another angle, another story to tell. It's like, we can only tell so many stories and you gotta get a little more creative and kinda work off of each other. So, I would say that there are some differences here if you were to go around the scene. There are sounds and things that you can hear that are influenced by our culture, which in Canada, it's a little more multicultural and there are a lot of different sounds of music, whereas in Nashville, it's very southern. The culture and southern-born and raised mentality is a big deal. So there's an ingrained sound, but that's where these two worlds coming together is pretty magical.

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Last question, what's something that's currently replaying on your your playlist that's got

your attention right now?

I love country music. Like, there's just so much freaking good country music out there.

I love Hardy’s stuff. I think it's so fun. It's not your traditional country, but I love that he's pushing the envelope and bringing new listeners in. Lainie Wilson. Oh my gosh. She has my heart. Like my gosh. She seems like one of the most genuine people that we have in the industry right now and just such a powerhouse entertainer, and she encompasses everything that I wanna be able to accomplish in my career as I keep growing too. Love her music. I've always been a huge fan of Megan Patrick for one of our Canadians. I think that she's also made a lot of waves for us females in the same Jess Moskaluke. There's so much good music coming out. Oh my gosh. Like, we have Lauren Walkins who's playing on my stage today. I could go on. There's so much good stuff. I'm looking forward to seeing more women in country. That's fantastic. It's been amazing to see that there's a bit of the surge happening and it's kinda I've always said, I think that the females have to work harder for it. It's frustrating, but at the same time, it pushes us to be incredible too. I think it creates a lot more passion in what we do too. If it came easy that passion would be missing, and our female voices have something to say.

 

Check out Elyse Saunder's new music, and her most recent single Dirt.