Billy Warren and Justine Wilson make up the Scottish Duo Jubillee. They have recently released their single Party which is bound to be a spring/summer anthem on many playlists this year.

Jubilee have had a roaring success in their career which includes a No 1 country album and two No 1 singles in the country chart. An independent duo, the pair have met this success by hard work and determination and word of mouth from fans who discovered their music over the years. That word of mouth increased massively during lockdown when the duo hosted various Facebook Live shows. These shows, from their living room started off with just hundreds of viewers which quickly grew to over 100,000 views.

Jubilee have been championed by Dolly Parton’s MD and this was a result of those Facebook Live shows, as Wells was introduced to Jubilee by sax great Joe McGlohon, a veteran of playing with Reba McEntire and Etta James, who’d been tipped off that Jubilee’s home concerts were something special.

JuBillee are currently writing tracks for their forthcoming album in the studio in Ireland with writer/producer Billy Farrell of The Corrs fame, they’ll be heading back to Nashville in May for a week of major label showcases, having already impressed on their first trip in 2021 under Kent Wells’ patronage.

Jubilee’s debut album, You and I and its single “Don’t Make Me Look into Your Eyes” reached No 1 in the country chart upon its release which actually knocked Dolly from the top spot.

We caught up with Billy and Justine to discuss their new single, the video, those lockdown shows and much more!

Enjoy!

Hi guys- How are you?

Hi Hannah. We are good!

How has your week been? What have you been up to?

We have been fairly busy with Live shows and trying to work on new songs for the up coming album.

Congratulations on the release of Party, tell us a bit about that song please. Who wrote it and so on?

The song Party was previously written by Gary Miller/Lauren Green/Gary Stevenson.

Let’s talk about the video – where was that filmed and what was the idea behind the video location etc?

The video was filmed in a place called Cala Mayor in Mallorca.

We as a team wanted to give the video a different vibe. A member of the team had contacts in the location and we decided to go for it. We wanted the ranch idea and nice scenery for daytime footage along with some nice ambient evening venues for the evening shoots.

Tell us a bit about your facebook live videos during lockdown..: What were the biggest surprises/takeaways from those shows?

So we decided at first to go live solely for our purpose as we weren’t able to work. We weren’t expecting a lot of people to tune in. The first week we were blown away that 500/600 people were tuning in and staying. The comments we were getting were all so positive.

The second week we went on we were getting shared all over Facebook and the numbers were rising week to week. By the 6 week mark we were hitting 2000 people and holding them for 2 hours. It’s was insane and we started to get so popular.

It wasn’t until after lockdown when we were out and about we seen how popular and in the spy light we were.

So many people were approaching us saying we had really saved them and kept them from going under and it was a lovely thing to hear. If we can provide even one single person with belief then that’s a step in the right direction and we are delighted that we could be there for so many people. They were also there for us too so it swung both ways.

Apart from that, how were the lockdowns for you? Did you keep yourself sane doing anything else you wouldn’t usually do? Learned a new skill perhaps?

Lockdown was so difficult for everyone and people really struggled.. mentally and financially. Yes it was hard for us but we really stuck together as a family and with us having our weekly social media Live’s, and with seeing how much of a difference we were making in people’s lives kept us going.

We wrote songs, we decorated the house and garden and we played games and quizzes over zoom with other family members. It was a strange time that hopefully no one will have to go though again but we made the best of it.

What can you tell us about the album you are working on?

Well…. It’s going to be amazing. We have been working with very talented writers and producers. The songs are so good and they will fit ideally into the pop/country scene. Loaded with catchy melodies, great instrumentation and vocals will let everyone hear that Jubilee are going to progress even further in the industry.

Who have you been working with?

We work as a team and our own Gary Miller is heavily involved in our writin and we have been working with Billy Farrell who produced for The Corrs. We are also working alongside Kent Wells. With Kent being Dolly Parton’s MD he is working so hard to open doors for us and the future looks bright.

You are off to Nashville in May for some showcases, where are you headed/playing?

Yes we are so excited about going over again. We were over in December 2021 and had an absolutely fantastic time and experience. Getting to see how they work over there. Attending writing classes with really talented musicians/writers was a great way for us to extend our abilities as well.

We aren’t sure exactly where the showcases are just yet but I’m sure we will have it all outlined pretty soon.

How do you prepare for these type of shows?

We will work as a team and decide together the approach we will go for and the songs we will choose for the showcases. Again referring to Kent Wells, we have every faith in him and trust his understanding of the music industry over in Nashville and know he can guide us and help us make the correct choices.

Apart from work, what do you like to do in Nashville? Any favourite spots? Restaurants? Bars? Food? Drink? Shops? Anything and all please haha

Well when we were over in 2021 our days were really spent in studios recording and working with people writing. We went out one evening to get a feel for the place. We had dinner which was stunning. Then we hit a few different bars to watch bands. We just adored the music and atmosphere, it was electric. We don’t really remember the names of all the venues but one in particular was called “Kid Rocks”. It was so atmospheric and the band on that night was simply incredible. They had a fiddle player who came down and danced on the bar and played rock/country songs. We were blown away. We definitely want to visit these bars again on our return (if we can)

We also went to visit some landmarks, one being the Grand Ole Opry and other locations too. It was so nice to be able to see everything that people speak of.

How do you find US audiences differ from back home?

Well we performed a few songs with a band and the audience loved us. In Nashville, everyone is there because they love music, therefore the atmosphere really is electric. We received an amazing reception from everyone in attendance. It felt amazing performing to them and can’t wait to do it again

The Scottish country scene is also quite different from what we have here in England. Tell us about the Scottish scene!

Well being honest we can’t quite yet give an accurate answer to that in a music sense as we haven’t really seen a lot of the English music scene. However, going by what we did see when going on mini breaks to Newcastle and Liverpool we would say that there seems to be a lot more of a Pop/country sound going on here, along with a Folk vibe. Glasgow as apposed to our Capital city Edinburgh is more Live music orientated. Edinburgh tends to be littered with DJ’s where as Glasgow seems to have all the Live bands, Duos and solo artists of all Genres. Glasgow is a real good day/evening out and the people are so nice.

What artists are you listening to at the moment?

We listen to a lot of different styles of music. We like music right across the board. We have to say though, Carrie Underwood is a big influence for us at the moment. Her new album is fantastic and really hits that same drive we try to go for with the country sound but comprising of the rock/pop commercial edge. That’s what’s winning over people these days.

Who are you dream collaborations? Singing, touring or writing with?

Having mentioned Carrie Underwood already.. she would certainly be one. Dolly Parton is certainly in our sights and that would be an absolute dream. Although, We would work with anyone who was there to help us and take time out of their lives to give us any sort of input.

Where can we keep up to date with what you are doing?

At the moment we are just using socials…. Facebook and insta. A jubilee Fab club media should be set up pretty soon so that all news Jubilee can be sent out via email.

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this

Thank you Hannah for taking the time to ask us we appreciate it.