Huntington Beach, CA-based classic country singer-songwriter Victoria Bailey is set to hit the road with breakthrough traditional country singer-songwriter Jesse Daniel in October for five tour dates in Arizona and California. The tour dates are as follows:
October 3 – Club Congress | Tucson, AZ
October 4 – The Dirty Drummer | Phoenix, AZ
October 5 – Pappy & Harriet’s | Pioneertown, CA
October 6 – The Siren | Morro Bay, CA
October 8 – Strummer’s | Fresno, CA
She is also set to perform at the California Country Showcase during AmericanaFest in Nashville on September 22nd at Acme Feed and Seed from 12-6 p.m. central time. Sharing the lineup with Bailey for this special event are Abby Posner, Hillary Klug, Kimmi Bitter, LadyCouch, Manda Mosher, Mike Miz, Rachel Brooke, Rosy Nolan, Ryan Hahn & The Believers, Sarah Darling, and The Morning Yells.
At all of these shows, Bailey is sure to perform some songs from her forthcoming sophomore album, A Cowgirl Rides On, which is set for release on October 20, 2023, via Rock Ridge Music with distribution through Warner/ADA. Bailey’s songs are atmospheric, and on A Cowgirl Rides On, she travels alongside Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, and other classics as she delivers a collection of personal, heartfelt songs that resonate universally. Bailey dwells in her songs, drawing out every note of emotion with her vocal phrasing and musical range. Awash in pedal steel, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, and guitar, the songs on A Cowgirl Rides On create an openness into which Bailey enters with her intimate vocals, which ring with an emotional purity that reverberates deeply. “It’s kind of always been on my heart to make a western gospel album that ties into all the things I love,” says Bailey.
The title track, the first single from the album, was released on April 21, 2023, and the song premiered a few days prior at American Songwriter, who called it “a wistful western narrative of resilience and unwavering faith… The heartworn song showcases the artist’s classic country lilt and is the perfect vehicle for her stunning songcraft, skills worthy of the country queens [who] came before her.” “Forever, You & I,” the second single from the album, was released on June 16, 2023, with Wide Open Country premiering the track earlier that week and dubbing it “a tender reflection on the lingering memories and phantom pains that hang around after a breakup.” The third single, “Snake Trails,” is set for release on August 11, 2023, and it will premiere before that at V13.
Bailey is joined on A Cowgirl Rides On by some of LA’s best musicians; Bailey and producer Brian Whelan (Jim Lauderdale, Dwight Yoakam), who also co-wrote some of the songs and played guitar on the record, recorded the songs live. Other players included Ted Russell Kamp (Shooter Jennings, Tanya Tucker) on bass; Philip Glenn (Show Ponies, Jason Hawk Harris) on fiddle, mandolin, and banjo; Jeremy Long (Sam Outlaw) on pedal steel and Dobro; and Leeann Skoda on background vocals.
Bailey grew up surrounded by music. Her father was a drummer in a rock band, and her mother was immersed in the music of Cat Stevens and James Taylor, giving Bailey a musical foundation in folk and rock. She picked up the guitar when she was 12 and eventually began writing songs by the time she was 17. Bailey started performing shows around town in her late teens, discovering country music in the honky tonks she performed in, and she honed her craft in the country bars and on the stages in the LA area. Bailey is committed to educating others about folk, roots, and country music, and in 2016 started Little Folk Club to introduce children and families in her community to her love of traditional folk music and instruments.
Bailey’s passion and dedication to making authentic country music shines through her performances and her songwriting. She preserves a country sound that has been lost but is now making its way back. A Cowgirl Rides On follows the release of a series of singles from Bailey: a cover of the Randy Newman song “Rider in the Rain” (2021); “Queen of the Rodeo” (2021); “Skid Row (Acoustic)” (2021); two versions of a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart” (2020); and a holiday cover of a song from The Band, “Christmas Must Be Tonight” (2020). Her full-length debut, Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline, was released in 2020 to wide acclaim. Produced by Jeremy Long, Jesus, Red Wine & Patsy Cline was a whiskey-smooth concoction of crisp guitars, silky fiddle, and radiant pedal steel that expertly glided beneath Bailey’s magnetic, California sun-kissed soprano. The video for her song from the album, “Spent My Dime on White Wine,” was in rotation on CMT.
In recent times, Bailey has shared stages with Scooter Brown Band and Sister Hazel, she supported Nashville’s Sam Outlaw on two tours, and she has opened for the aforementioned Jesse Daniel at the legendary Pappy & Harriet’s Saloon. She has headlined shows in LA at the Grand Ole Echo, she performed at Docent Fest earlier in 2023 with headliners Jamestown Revival, and she was honored to have an official showcase slot at AmericanaFest in 2021. In addition to the Jesse Daniel dates and the AmericanaFest showcase this fall, Bailey plans additional touring in support of A Cowgirl Rides On, and fans are encouraged to follow her on social media or check her website for tour date announcements.