RIANNE DOWNEY
From humble and heartfelt beginnings recording cover versions of her favourite songs and
uploading them to YouTube, to playing the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2024, Rianne
Downey’s story so far is one of quiet determination and self-belief, producing some of the
smartest and most emotive country-tinged pop songs along the way.
Early days at open mic nights in her hometown of Belshill, just outside Glasgow, led to
playing alongside Glaswegian singer Dylan John Thomas, supporting Gerry Cinnamon along
the way. In 2021 she signed to Run On Records, making the subsequent move to Liverpool,
where she set about putting a band together.
Early forays into the studio – first with The Coral’s James Skelly, then Richard Turvey –
produced Fuel To The Flame EP then the country stomp of Devil’s Gonna Get You. Soon
after, she brought out a series of rapid fire singles and EPs, beginning with Home
(2022), Come What May (2023) Method To My Madness (2023), then Beautiful View (2023),
quickly selling out of their physical formats. Live support slots with the likes of The Coral
and Paulo Nutini followed.
In summer 2023, fate came knocking when Paul Heaton’s (The Housemartins, The Beautiful
South) long-time duet partner Jacqui Abbot pulled out of a string of summer tour dates, and
Rianne was asked to step in, quickly becoming a mainstay of Heaton’s band, establishing
herself as a fan favourite, touring across the UK’s stadiums and arenas. This year’s
performance on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage saw an increase of over 30,000 fans across
Rianne’s social media pages in a single week.
The last two months have been spent in America, working on her debut album in Bear Creek
Studio in Seattle, with Ryan Hadlock (The Lumineers, Zach Bryan, Vance Joy) on production
duties. The next twelve months is set to be her busiest yet, with an album campaign
scheduled to begin in November, preceded by a string of festival dates including Rock Oyster
Fest, Cornwall, Carfest and Outwith Festival, plus a Paul Heaton album release and tour in
December, taking in arenas such as Glasgow Hydro, Liverpool M&S Bank Arena and two
sold-out nights at Eventim Apollo, London. With her star in such ascendency, bet on seeing
and hearing a lot more from Rianne Downey in the near future