Interview: Beth McCarthy on... new music, touring & the importance of nurturing aspiring artists!

With the recent release of their latest EP ‘IDK How To Talk To Girls’ British singer/songwriter Beth McCarthy combines sweet pop melodies, with edgy rock inflections to tell the stories of a twenty-something trying to understand love, friendship, and the feelings that come with it.

Born in Yorkshire, now based in London, McCarthy’s first began to make their presence felt on the music scene as a young teen, gigging around pubs and clubs, and busking on the city streets of York, before appearing on the third series of The Voice UK back in 2014.

In 2020 the young star enjoyed their first viral moment after sharing a 20-second clip of their version of Joesph Cook’s ‘Be Around Me’ on TikTok.

Praised by fans and critics for their ability to captivate an audience with their cheeky charm, and unapologetic openness, the video amassed over 2.7 million views online, and as a result, introduced McCarthy to a whole new audience, who found themselves drawn to the singers honest, and vulnerable approach to storytelling.

Alongside Ed Sheeran, Jess Glynne and British girl group FLO, Beth is an alumni of Access Creative College – a UK-based independent training provider which specialises in industry-focused popular music and creative education.

The college recently opened its seventh campus in the UK, continuing its ongoing mission to provide “opportunities to young people from all walks to explore their creative passion through education” – something of which McCarthy is a huge supporter of.

Ahead of the opening night of their headline headline tour, we caught up with Beth to talk new music, life on the road, and the importance of championing the arts in education…

Hey Beth! HIUGE congrats on the recent release of ‘IDK How To Talk To Girls’ – how are you feeling now the project is out there for people to listen to and enjoy?

Honestly it feels great to have this project out in the world! I wrote ‘IDK How To Talk To Girls’ (the song) almost 3 years ago and built the rest of the EP around it so finally having it all finished and out in its full form so people can listen to the entire ‘journey’ from start to finish is amazing.

How have your audience responded to these songs? 

I feel like I’ve really found my ‘people’ in releasing this EP. I wrote these tracks to be completely unapologetic in who I am and to represent feelings and experiences that I never had in music while I was figuring it all out, so now having the opportunity to be that for my audience is honestly a dream come true. There’s a real sense of community in the people who are listening to my music and I feel super proud to be a part of that. 

Musically who, or what, inspired you most during the creation of this project?

My inspiration comes from a lot of different spaces and this EP definitely doesn’t have a direct influence – more so little bits and pieces from everywhere! ‘What Do You Call It?’ definitely has a lot of 90’s/early 2000’s nostalgia pumped into it with Avril Lavigne and Michelle Branch in mind! Then ‘She’s Pretty’ and ‘IDK How To Talk To Girls’ we took a lot of influence from P!nk and Carly Rae Jepson. Basically whatever energy the song felt like it needed directed where we found inspiration which is a bit of a round about way of doing it but worked well for this project! 

Beth McCarthy – IDK How To Talk To Girls (Visualiser)

How do you think your sound has evolved since your early releases?

Honestly my sound has been all over the place since I started but weirdly it seems to have come back round to be closer to the music I wanted to make as a teenager when I was in bands! I needed to go through various different ‘fonts’ of my sound to find something that feels really authentic to me. Now, what I write and the way its produced is hugely influenced by my live shows and what I feel the set needs as touring and performing live is where my love for music really comes to life.

What was your proudest moment whilst making this EP?

My proudest moment was probably when the EP released and I had so many people get in touch from all around the world to say how represented they felt by the songs and how much the music had helped them to feel more confident in who they are. It’s moments like these where you realise there are actually people behind the numbers you see on Spotify and social media and the songs that meant so much for me to write also mean something to other people.

How was touring with Caity Baser, and what can fans expect from your own headline tour? 

I had such a BLAST touring with Caity! She is a superstar and being able to open for her, and experience her lovely and welcoming fans was the absolute best! It definitely gave me the bug for touring ahead of my headline tour in May and I’m so excited to get out and perform again! I won’t give too much away of what to expect, but the main thing I want is for people to come to the show and have a really bloody good time! The set will be super high energy with loads of fun and I hope people can come and sing their hearts out and be totally themselves with no judgement! 

What’s your favourite thing about life on the road?

My favourite thing is by far being on stage and just sharing the love with everyone in that room which is the CHEESIEST thing i’ve ever said but it’s THE TRUTH. I love people singing my songs with me and feeling all the emotions with me, it just feels like magic!

As an alumni of Access Creative College, how do you feel the college helped you to gain a better understanding of the music business?

ACC gave me so much support and so much freedom to actively pursue music. Being able to study music and performance, but also go out and gig and network and actually do the thing you want to do is so important, and I don’t think I would’ve had that opportunity had I chosen to study somewhere else.

Aside from the educational benefits, what would you are the positives of enrolling on creative courses such as the one you did? 

There’s only so much you can be taught about being creative in a classroom, and I think ACC and the course I enrolled in gave me not only the obvious educational benefit, but also an insight into the practical side of the job and what it’s actually like to be in the music industry. 

We would imagine it’s a great way to meet other aspiring artists?

Absolutely – I met so many likeminded friends through ACC who I worked with in music for years after leaving! Being around other creatives is such an important thing when you’re trying to pursue a career in the creative industry, because not only do they inspire you to be better and to be motivated, but also end up being really great allies in a really tough industry which makes all the difference. If everyone can help each other climb the ladder then everybody wins!      

The arts have a HUGE impact on all aspects of society – how important is it for schools / colleges / the government to invest in the artists of tomorrow? 

It goes without saying that art changes people’s lives, and we wouldn’t be able to have it if artists were not given the opportunity to nurture their skills at an early stage. The arts should be accessible to everyone and it’s important that schools/colleges/the government are taking these career paths just as seriously as they take more ‘typical’ subjects.

What advice would you give to any aspiring musicians, of any age, looking to break into the music industry? 

I would say… don’t stop trying, the only way to guarantee you won’t make it is if you give up. Don’t give in to the ‘compare and despair’ mindset. There will be times you look at people around you and wonder why they’re doing better or getting opportunities that you’re not, but remember it’s not a competition. We’re all on our own journey at our own pace and it’s easy to get so focused on other peoples that we forget to celebrate and nurture our own! Sometimes stuff just doesn’t happen for a bit, and being comfortable with periods of inactivity is something I’ve found really useful to learn how to do. Just don’t stop during those periods, you can always be doing stuff to move your career forward even if it’s just writing new music, making content for social media, connecting with other creatives etc. Be kind to people and try to support other creatives whenever you can. It’s a tough industry made so much easier by nice people!

‘IDK How To Talk To Girls’ is out now and available to download / stream here

Let us know your thoughts on Beth McCarthy over on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) @CelebMix now!

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