Raised in South Australia and now on the Central Coast, country singer-songwriter Abbie Ferris kicks of a new era with the release of her incendiary new single “Shut Up and Kiss Me”, a sultry country-rock missile of jealousy and lust, inspired by real life relationship turmoil and written on her first ever visit to Nashville late last year with Aussie ex-pat Troy Kemp of McAlister Kemp.
“I wrote Shut Up and Kiss Me with Troy Kemp on my first ever trip to Nashville late last year. I was in a relationship that felt like it was at breaking point, and this song reflects that volatile energy we had together, how an argument could turn one from one kind of passion to another. It’s about jealousy, and taking the power back from someone and I wanted it to feel like an old-school Shania song, with loud guitars and lots of energy”.
The new single, out through Potts Entertainment/MGM Distribution , kicks off a new era for the rising star, who recently wowed crowds at the sold-out CMC Rocks QLD festival. The first taste of an upcoming Nashville-penned EP, her songwriting is fueled by a tumultuous period of rebirth and reinvention for the country girl determined to make her mark on the world.
Growing up idolising generations of hard-working, glamorous yet down to earth country queens from Shania to Taylor to Lainey , Abbie took a handful of music lessons and built her chops as a songwriter, guitarist, piano player and singer. Performances at school concerts led to open mics to pub gigs in her South Australian small town, winning over crowds with cheeky charisma and the soulful sincerity of her vocals, enroute to the biggest festival stages in Australia.
A proudly independent artist, Abbie has released a succession of acclaimed singles, developing her own distinctive sound – fusing country and pop, flavored with ear-worm instrumental hooks and infectious basslines. With every release she pushes herself to a further evolution of her sound and songwriting, more than ever on “Shut Up and Kiss Me”.
“Every song I write I learn a lesson about who I am” she says. “I find a strength I didn’t know I had, or I realise what is holding me back in life or what I’m really looking for out there. I hope it unlocks that in people listening – whether it’s giving yourself the confidence to strut your stuff or break away from someone taking you for granted; or the courage confront what scares and hurts you the most”.
Abbie is set to return to Nashville next month to finish writing her new EP, set for release later this year via Potts Entertainment/MGM. A small-town girl whose dreams seem set to take her around the world, Abbie is fiercely proud of her country roots and her childhood doting on horses, but is determined to prove that being from a small town doesn’t mean you have to have small dreams.
“I want to take my music everywhere, and show the world that a small-town South Australian girl can grow up to be a woman who makes a big impact on people’s hearts in places I couldn’t have imagined when I was a kid. My parents raised me to trust my heart and do what feels right, and when I connect with people through a song – whether it’s in a co-write, in the studio, on a festival stage – it’s like I’m back riding a horse in a paddock where all you see is horizon, and everything else in life melts away. That’s what I’m always chasing with my music”.