Out British singer-songwriter Lucy Spraggan will trek across the pond to support her new studio album, “Today Was A Good Day.”
Spraggan rose to national attention in the U.K. after competing on “The X Factor” in 2012 and performing afterward as an independent artist. For her new album, Spraggan signed with label Cooking Vinyl Records.
Previously, she organized her own tours and performed at high-profile music festivals like Glastonbury. She said that being on a label gives her more time to focus on being an artist.
“I just feel like I was doing a lot of work [as an indie artist],” she said. “For the last seven years, I’ve been pushing and pushing and pushing. I feel that sometimes can drag you away from the writing and the creative side of things. I felt like I got to a glass ceiling and have done everything I could as an independent artist. It was a natural time to progress onto a label.”
Given the current political climate for the LGBT population in the USA, Spraggan was asked what made her want to pack her guitar and visit these shores.
“I’m trying to bloody escape my own country,” she replied. “It’s not exclusive to America at this moment. We’ve stumbled into some disturbing times, and I want to just be branching out. I want to understand all the different countries I go to better. I don’t meet anybody in the States who reflects the political movement that is happening at the moment. So it’s very interesting.”
As far as the influence of identity politics in the U.K., Spraggan said she’s optimistic.
“Speaking as a lesbian, I don’t know any young British lesbians who are in a ‘successful’ music situation. I don’t know any out older ones either. But I think things are changing.”
Spraggan spent the beginning of the year on the road in Europe and Scandinavia as the opener for Melissa Etheridge. She said that getting to work with a rock icon was a dream come true.
“It was incredible. She’s taken me under her wing and given me a lot of advice. It’s very surreal to work with someone and listen to advice from someone like that.”
Ironically, Spraggan is making the jump to record with a label at a time when established artists like Etheridge are dispensing with labels and putting out new music independently.
“Everybody’s journey in this strange industry is different,” she said. “There’s a lot of advice that I can take from [Etheridge] because there’s a lot of similarities in the path. It’s nice to hear somebody who’s 30 years older that can really spell out things.”
When she isn’t on the road, Spraggan and her wife are foster mothers for children in need. She said her busy schedule has limited their efforts in recent years.
“We haven’t been able to do that as much as I would like. We actually just moved houses as well. Time, this year, has been absolutely insane. I haven’t stopped touring since September. So it’s hard to maintain a home life on its own. It’s quite difficult.”
Lucy Spraggan performs 8 p.m. June 14 at The Locks at Sona, 4417 Main St. For more information, visit lucyspraggan.com.