Fiona Lennon: A Conversation with the artist bringing country-pop to the Liverpool Music Scene

Liverpool-based singer-songwriter Fiona Lennon, recently released her new single, ‘Please Don’t Say My Name.’ The track breathes new life into Liverpool’s vibrant and diverse music scene with its romantic flair and incorporation of Country and Americana style. On speaking with Fiona about her musical journey and the writing process of her new single, we touched on: her musical family background, musical taste, aesthetic influences, and where she draws inspiration from as a songwriter.

Appearing as a guest on the Red Shutter Club podcast, Fiona mentioned how music has always been a big part of her life, coming from a family of music-lovers instilled that passion into her. She testaments her open-minded approach to music to the abundance of styles she was exposed to first by her family that was conducive to her coming into her own as an artist, “Being open-minded and having a variety of tastes has kind of helped me develop my own style”.

Fiona’s broad range of influences and variety of tastes is certainly apparent in the multi-genre fusion of her latest single. When asked about her musical influences, artists such as Dolly Parton and Fleetwood Mac came up as well as contemporary Irish country-rock artist CMAT. Fiona mentioned a nostalgia for the pop artists she grew up with, the likes of Beyonce, and how they come to influence her music to this day, “when I write my songs they have that kind of 70’s/country feel as well as elements of pop”.

On creating her new single, Fiona detailed the progression from a couple of chords and some initial lyrics, to a slow acoustic song which she brought to her band. Upon bringing the stripped back version to her band, the single transformed into the more upbeat pop song it is now. Fiona attributed her open and honest songwriting to her growth as an artist and credited her band for helping with that growth by encouraging experimentation, saying “working with my band has definitely evolved the music because we try different things”.

Fiona characterised her relationship with song-writing as a form of storytelling drawing inspiration from her own life as well as romance movies. Tapping into real emotion from her personal experience in “Please Don’t Say My Name” as well as the infinitely relatable trope of “holding onto someone who is no good for you” in romance books and films. Making the single both deeply personal and universal at the same time.

Lastly, Fiona thanked all the local music community who have supported her in the release of her new single saying “I really appreciate everyone who has liked or shared the song or even messaged me over it. It means so much.”

Be sure to tune in 28th of April for our interview with Fiona on our YouTube channel!

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