Clare Bowen and Brandon Robert Young who make up the Country/Americana/Folk Duo BOWEN * YOUNG opened up the Great Oak Stage (main stage) at BST Hyde Park for Billy Joel.

After their set, we went to backstage to catch up with Clare and Brandon. In the artist area, Clare and Brandon were outside their Dressing Room/RV and we sat down in the sun for the interview.

Clare and Brandon are so considerate of each other. Making sure each other had enough shade and were comfortable they occasionally stared lovingly at each other. Their love for each other as best friends is just as clear as it is as husband and wife.

There is just something about Clare and Brandon that is magical both on and off stage. Beautiful personalities, they are like a walking fairytale who throw pixie dust on everyone they meet as after you have spent time with them, you can’t help but be in the happiest of moods. After discussing the heat and comparing it to Nashville and Australian heat, we commenced.

I just caught your set, and it was amazing!

Both: Thank you!

I will start off by saying “Move Over Beyoncé” because your cover of Halo, it gave me chills.

Clare to Brandon “I told you, see you’re amazing”

It was just flawless and you know when you can’t find the words? That was exactly what it was like!

Brandon- wow! Thank you!

I have seen you together as part of the Nashville tour and then Clare on your solo tour and now I am loving this set up!

Clare – So much happier this way, it’s wonderful!

Brandon – It’s a dream come true, it’s just amazing to get to do what you love, travel the world, see fun hotels, see fun cities and make music with your person. I have said several times that I used to tour for a really long time before meeting Clare and I would leave town for two or three months at a time without coming home and now I can’t imagine doing that now that I have found my person. The fact that we get to do it together is unbelievable, it’s like a dream come true.

I can relate to a certain point because even just being away today from my family I find it hard as they are my people.

Clare: When you were touring with Hyatt (Clare to Brandon) Brandon was with John Hyatt for about ten years. There was one tour when we first got together when he was in Europe and it was so difficult being away from him because from the moment we met we wanted to be near each other all the time! Once we were brave enough to say “I love you and I want to be with you forever” we were inseparable. Then he (Brandon) went out on this tour and I was in Australia and it was really hard. It was actually the tour that you….. (to Brandon laughing)

Brandon: Yeah I went out and did this round of shows which was a couple of months long and I guess my whole purpose or goal for the tour was to be able afford to buy her a ring.

Clare giggles all happily

Brandon: I was able to go out and do this tour and I was on the phone with the jeweller in Louisiana talking through design ideas and things and so I was able to afford to buy it after that tour.

That’s so sweet!

Clare : Yeah and that was the last one we’ve done apart and now we are always together and it’s so lovely being in a duo with you (to Brandon).

And now you’re here at BST Hyde Park having just played on the Main Stage.

Clare giggles excitedly!

What’s it like up there from that perspective because I turned around but I can’t see that far to see how busy it was?

Clare: a beautiful sea of people. We were really lucky! We have a wonderful team with us. Something happened with the power so our whole rehearsal you have a setting on the sound desk so you can save it. Everything that you hear like certain songs are quieter in our mechanical ears. The power went out here and the whole file got corrupted so we were allowed to do a really quick sound check out there. That can be really scary. Everyone here has just been so lovely and our team has been so wonderful. It was a sea of happy faces and it’s wonderful to see people react to the music because that is why you do it, it’s not about us.

And you began your set with your new single Water to Wine..

Brandon: Yes! Came out today, hard to believe.

Was that the first time that you had played that live?

Clare: In the UK, first time live yeah!

Tell us about that song…

Brandon: Sure! There was kind of a cool thing about the song. We wrote it with Sean McConnell who is the producer of our debut album. We had never met Sean before, we had heard his name around Nashville and knew of him and respected him. A friend of ours Tracey Gershon works with Sean on the publishing side. She said “I think you guys should link up with Sean and try to write something”. It was during the pandemic and everyone was locked at home so we did a zoom write. Writing a song over a screen is kind of weird you know? But we got on that call and immediately hit it off with him and had a wonderful time. We were probably on with him for three hours and we wrote Water to Wine. That was the very first song that we wrote with him. Cut to later on down the road when people could actually start to interact with each other in person, he invited us out to the studio to do sort of a bare bones rough recording of the song just to give it a little bit of new life after that initial day. After spending about 8 hours with him in the studio we left and were in the truck for not even two minutes and Clare said to me “he’s the one, he has to produce our album”. I am more of a slow burn kind of guy. I like to take my time and think about things and ponder and I was like “Ok, let’s do it, he’s the guy”.

She has good instincts clearly as she said the same thing after meeting you for the first time if I remember correctly?

Brandon: Yeah she’s got great instincts really great instincts

Clare: That’s because I‘m pretty impulsive haha!

Brandon: We are thrilled that Sean was such an amazing and massive part of this album!

Clare: and finding that sound, the sound that I had been searching for for such a long time as an artist and had been wanting to be in a duo with Brandon since we began singing together. Sean just like, he understood when we were talking to him and I said, the only way that I can describe it is ‘Cinematic Americana’ that’s my word for it! It’s like when you are watching a western, the desert is it’s own character. It’s difficult to put into words really haha but creating a soundscape and I suppose music is always supposed to illicit feelings from people but we really wanted the album to have that kind of depth of a soundtrack. Brandon has always understood me and to then to have somebody that we just met get it! Sean’s absolutely brilliant! We felt in very very good hands immediately!

So the album’s ready?

Clare: It is!

When is it coming out?

Brandon: They haven’t told us the official date yet but I believe it’s coming out in the fall! I can’t wait till they tell us when the date is.

Clare: I know hahahaha!

Brandon: It’s very exciting!!

Clare: We have just signed with a wonderful record label Snakefarm Records. They are really cool. Lovely lovely people!

So as you said you describe your sound as Cinematic Americana..

Clare: We kind of had to coin our own term because people would ask “what is your sound because it’s a mix of things” and it’s supposed to be because we come from opposite sides of the world and we have very different upbringings but we love each other so much it just works.

I guess calling the Duo BOWEN * YOUNG, you were never going to call yourselves something else?

Clare: We went around the world trying to figure out what to call our duo.

Brandon: Yeah and we started with BOWEN * YOUNG, that was the original name for the duo and then we started thinking maybe it should be a band name and so I feel like we came up with about 75 different band names and then ultimately came back around to “no it needs to be BOWEN * YOUNG”.

And Brandon will you be joining the Nashville Tour?

Brandon: I am yes!

Oh good! That’s going to be a fun show, I have been to all of them so far!

Clare, I have to ask, as a Gelfling…

Clare: Hahahaha.

Have you seen The Dark Crystal Netflix series yet?

Clare: I haven’t seen the series yet but the original film is my favourite. I think that it’s just the most beautiful thing!

The series is just amazing!

Brandon: Didn’t Sean tell us that they did a brilliant job on that series?

Clare: We have been meaning to watch it because Brandon hasn’t seen the original movie. So we want to watch that first. Kira is like my ultimate, I just love her! Actually we were just talking to our tour manager about that. I made this necklace (shows me a Dark Crystal inspired necklace) before we came out here and she said “oh that reminds me of the Dark Crystal” and I was like “That’s what it’s based on haha”.

I have to take Brandon down the Rabbit hole of my crazy, fantasy movie upbringing . I’m a big Terry Pratchett fan as well and Neil Gaiman! We were watching Good Omens and Sandman!

Ah well I hope you enjoy it Brandon! Thanks so much for chatting today, it’s been wonderful!

Both: Thank you so much!