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Song

Barefoot No Fences

Artist

Ruthie Collins

Ruthie Collins backstory

After growing up on gospel music and learning about classical music from her mother, Ruth Antoinette Collins was captivated by pop and country.

Switching the family grape farm Fredonia, New York for Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music, the singer songwriter swiftly made waves.

And in 2007 Collins formed the country dup Wild Honey with Victoria Gordon.

Signing with Nashville’s Curb Records in 2011, she released her debut self-titled EP in 2014.

Full-length follow-up Get Drunk And Cry followed two years later with 2020’s Cold Comfort proving to be a breakout lockdown hit.

Collins, now a proudly independent artist, is a regular visitor to the UK and first met her new husband Rory Mitchinson during a March 2022 show in Newcastle.

The couple celebrated the birth of daughter Esme earlier this year — the inspiration for heartfelt new single Barefoot No Fences.

In Ruthie Collins’ own words

“Barefoot No Fences is special to me for so many reasons! First of all, it’s a song I wrote while pregnant with my first child. 

“I know no idea what gender this child was and I certainly had no idea what I was doing as a parent.

“But I had always dreamed of being a mother. And I was vividly aware of already loving this tiny little being in my belly so fiercely.

“I grew up on a big farm with space to explore and boundaries to push but with the constant safety of home close by.

“I thought about how that’s what I wanted for my own child, both literally and metaphorically. 

“To always know where home is, to be sacred, seen and safe — that’s really what the song is about to me.

“It’s also really special to me because it’s my first release as an independent artist.

“I’m very proud of this first song being about something that is so important to me.

“Now that my daughter Esme is here in the world and here in my arms, it’s a beautiful thing to have those feelings and that moment in time captured in song forever.”

The verdict on Barefoot No Fences

Ruthie Collins has always boasted a classic country twang rooted in deep authenticity and endearing charm.

There are so many singer songwriters who might have written the compelling narrative at the heart of Barefoot No Fences. 

But Collins really means it. And you can tell.

Her connection to the subject is as deep as that to her music and the combination makes for a truly special song.

There’s no need for over exaggeration, twee rhymes or toe-curling cliché — that Barefoot No Fences leans so heavily on a treasured personal experience elevates Collins’ comeback single (let’s call it that) beyond the norm.

Nobody quite understands why a country artist of this calibre isn’t constantly lifting CMA gongs and fielding GRAMMY nods. It’s one of life’s many mysteries.

But those in the know, know Collins is that most precious of artists — a songwriter who speaks from the heart and makes music birthed in her soul.

If Barefoot No Fences is a snapshot of what’s to come then there really are no boundaries for this newly independent artist.

What’s next for Ruthie Collins

Collins hosts popular weekly StageIt shows online several times a week where fans can keep up to date with new music, in-person shows and more.

Tickets are still available for today’s Make A Record Monday.