Photography Babiche Martens
Kaylee Bell is one of New Zealand’s finest music exports right now. The country singer, originally from Waimate, has leapt onto the world stage and made a serious impression. She’s opened for Ed Sheeran, appeared on The Voice Australia, won Toyota Star Maker in 2013 and picked up the Global Country Artist Award at the CMA Awards in 2023. With her fourth album, Cowboy Up, hitting shelves, Kaylee chats to us about the careful balance between life and art.
Who lives in our house with you?
My partner Nick, son James and our dog Thunder.
Tell us about your home studio
We set this up in 2017. I wanted to make it feel like a Nashville studio. There are lots of awards from both my career and my partner Nick’s career; he was in Midnight Youth. We’ve acquired several guitars, both acoustic and electric, over the years. It has a little kitchenette too, so you can spend a whole day down there if you need to.
How important is it to have a creative space in your house?
For me, this is really important and I really leaned into this on the new record Cowboy Up. It meant we could record the album at home, as opposed to my usual process of recording in Nashville. This time around, I was 34 weeks pregnant, so my producer Tom Jordan came out from Nashville and we holed up at home for a week of recording. I wouldn’t have had that luxury if I didn’t have a creative space at home.
What’s your favourite thing about it?
The convenience. You can capture moments of inspiration as they hit – and they can hit at any time, day or night. I’m really lucky to have such a great setup at home.
What about the rest of your home – best bits and why?
We have a bath. After weeks on the road, I love nothing more than coming home and having an Epsom salt bath to relax and ease back into routine. I also have a coffee machine and a record player, which are two essentials for me each morning. I get up, make a coffee and put an album on. It’s a great way to start the day.
Do you manage to separate the studio from home life, or are they inextricably linked?
Because the studio is downstairs from our main living areas, it’s easy to separate the two. Upstairs is for home life and downstairs is for work.
How much of your album Cowboy Up happened in this studio?
Pretty much all of it, except for the song Cowboy Up, which was written at APRA Songhubs at Roundhead Studio. All of the musicians who played on the album recorded their parts in Nashville, but my vocals and the production were all done in this studio.
What makes your house a home?
My family. I think you can have a house anywhere really, but it’s the people who make a house a home.
What are some of the treasures in your home?
My vinyl collection means a lot to me, these are albums that have shaped me as an artist. I am lucky enough to have some awards dotted around the place that are nice reminders of career milestones I have achieved. For me, it’s good to have these reminders in place physically, as life can get frantic from time to time and you can sometimes forget that you’ve done some great things. Also, photos of cool moments from my career, either on stage with Keith Urban, backstage with Ed Sheeran, or my billboard in Times Square.
Your upcoming Australia/New Zealand tour kicks off soon. What’s the best part of touring?
The fans. The energy they bring to each show every night is unmatched. I do meet and greets after every show. It’s so nice to be able to hug people and say thank you to the people whose support means I can continue to have a career in music.
What does the rest of 2025 have in store for you?
We’re doing a lot of festivals in Australia, my tour in New Zealand this November, I’ll be getting back in the home studio to record some more music and we’ll top it off with a New Year’s Eve show in Twizel.
How can readers find out more about your music?
My website kayleebellmusic.com has links to everything: my music, tour dates and merch.
