Nearly four years ago, country star Madeline Edwards joined Brittney Spencer and Mickey Guyton for an unforgettable performance of Guyton’s song “Love My Hair” at the 2021 CMA Awards. It’s only been up from there for the “Mama, Dolly, Jesus” singer as she prepares to hit the road next month with some of music’s A-listers. Edwards will join Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, and Waxahatchee for a handful of stops along the Outlaw Music Music Festival tour.
Videos by American Songwriter
Personally, we can’t think of a single artist who wouldn’t give their right arm to share a stage with Bob Dylan or Willie Nelson, let alone both. However, Edwards recently took to TikTok to vent her frustration with “a recent phenomenon” among music industry professionals.
In a video filmed sitting in her car, Madeline Edwards described the lukewarm reaction she receives from people in the music industry when she lists off the artists she’s opening for in September.
“And these industry professionals give me the same reaction to those names as if I had just told them, ‘By the way, I’m throwing a little party at the local pub in downtown Nashville,” the California-born artist said.
“I don’t know when it became not impressive or not cool to open for some of the greatest songwriters of our time,” she continued. “But this is the kind of industry that we work for now where you compare those kinds of names and that big of a tour with a question like, ‘But what are your TikTok numbers like?’”
Madeline Edwards: “Please Stay Indie”
Madeline Edwards then offered three words of advice for up-and-coming musicians.
“I promise you will make a lot more money and you will get a lot more say over your career and you get to do really cool s— like open for really big people,” Edwards urged. “And apparently that’s not impressive anymore, so please stay indie.
Holding nothing back, she concluded, “These people don’t know what they’re talking about and if opening for Bob Dylan isn’t cool enough for you, then you can go f— yourself.”
Posted Aug. 4, the “Crashlanded” singer’s video had generated nearly 1,000 comments two days later. Everyone, it seems, has something to say about the social media platform’s increasing encroachment into the music industry.
“They want you to go mega viral on TT so they can make a quick cash grab outta you,” remarked one user. “It’s like fast fashion but for music.”
Featured image by Erika Goldring/Getty Images
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