‘California’ is the new single from rising Country star Florence Sommerville, set for release on April 11th and taken from her forthcoming debut album due later this year. Following her well-received single ‘(I’ll Be Your) Best Broken Heart’ released in Jan, this Country ballad showcases Florence's signature vocals and captures the essence of the perfect daydream, delivered with the ease of a Nashville veteran.

Florence Sommerville, a singer-songwriter from the small village of Orsett in Essex, thrives on modern Country music. She’s been playing guitar since she was eight years old, writing songs since she was 12, and performing at open mics for most of her teenage years. When she was 14, she reached the final of the Open Mic UK competition held at the O2 Indigo Arena in London. She’s also played at several major festivals, including Latitude, Moseley Folk and Arts Festival, Maverick Festival, AMA Music Week (Nashville) and many listening venues around southern England.  

“To me, California is a song about the perfect daydream - the thing you fantasise about while you’re at the day job you hate, or the dream of a future you clutch on to after a bad break-up.”

‘California’ is the product of a co-write with Sally Barris and Francesca de Valence, done over Zoom across three continents. Speaking about the writing process, Florence says:

“‘California’ was written with two of my favourite people to write with; Sally Barris and Francesca de Valence. At the time of writing, we were actually in three different continents, but thanks to zoom (and plenty of coffee due to the time zones), we were able to write a song I was so excited about. I’d come up with the general idea for what the chorus of the song is now a while before the session, but ended up putting it to the back of my mind.” … So many thousands of miles away from each other, across oceans, the three of us are singing together. That certainly seems like a dream to me!”

A huge lover of Country music, Florence is currently on her fourth trip to Nashville, where she is excited to perform at the iconic Bluebird Cafe. On previous visits, she has co-written songs with acclaimed songwriters Gary Burr, Jan Buckingham and Sally Barris, alongside appearing at the famed Commodore Grille, Hutton Hotel, Love & Exile and Tennessee Brew Works. Back home in Britain, Florence has opened for renowned stars such as Diana Jones, Tom Robinson, Annie Keating, Hannah Aldridge, Dan Owen, and the Hanging Stars. Last October she sold out her debut headline show at the Camden Chapel in London, and earlier this year, she celebrated the launch of her single at London's Green Note.

There’s a raw, rootsy quality to Florence’s music that belies her youthfulness. She doesn’t arrive as the next ready-made Country star beauty figure Barbie doll; there is an unquestionable realness in the way Florence makes sense of life through her music. 

UK TOUR DATES 

https://florencesommerville.com/#Tour 
Saturday May 2 – Anchor Arts, Wingham, Full Band + Henry Webb-Jenkins

Saturday May 3 – Blue Bean Coffee Co. - Castle Hill, Ebbsfleet, DA10 1AD 

Thursday May 8 – Camberley, Login Lounge (with band) plus Buckle’n’Boots support 

Friday May 9 – Brentwood Theatre (with band)

Tuesday May 20 – London. Libra Underground Theatre, Camden

Monday June 9 – The Greys, Brighton - with Cindy Kalmenson

Thursday June 12 – The A Canteen, Chelmsford with full band plus Cindy Kalmenson 

Wednesday June 18 – Ashford, The Dog House with Cindy Kalmenson

Wednesday July 23 – Holborn, Pizza Express (London Meets Nashville) with Laura Oakes

Thursday July 31 – Ram Jam Records, Kingston-upon-Thames with Talia Simone & the Wild Thorns

Saturday August 16 – Country Calling Festival, Chelmsford – with full band