Sue Bonzell:
Welcome to Cow Chair Sessions, where I highlight new up and coming Country artists. Today, we welcome Maddie Rean. She has shared the stage with Parmalee, Jimmy Allen and Bucky Covington, and has over 700,000 views on her TikTok of her new song. And she’s kind of a badass. Please welcome, Maddie Rean. Hey, Maddie.
Maddie Rean:
What’s up?
Sue Bonzell:
How are you?
Maddie Rean:
Hey, I’m doing good. How are you doing?
Sue Bonzell:
I am doing great. Now, you’re in South Carolina, right?
Maddie Rean:
Yes, ma’am. I’m out here in Lexington, South Carolina. I’m out here at my house. We’re actually working on a yard sale for Saturday. So, I’m in here cleaning up.
Sue Bonzell:
There’s always work to be done, isn’t there?
Maddie Rean:
That’s right. I’m not home very often, so when I’m home, I’m working on stuff in the house. But thank you for having me today. This is an honor.
Sue Bonzell:
Absolutely. Absolutely. I’m really excited to meet you virtually. I found you on TikTok. I found your song, Whiskey & Women, and I was like, “I got to meet this girl. She’s pretty amazing.” So, tell me about starting your music career. I read about you and you were doing some karaoke as a child.
Maddie Rean:
Yes, ma’am. My mom bought me a karaoke machine, me and my cousins when I was little and I loved it. I just fell in love with it and that’s where I started playing or singing and I never did anything really with it until about five years ago. I started doing it again, but yeah, that’s where it started. She always was like, “You better sing something.” And she passed away in 2012. So I do it in her honor too, because I know she always wanted me to do that. And I finally did.
Sue Bonzell:
And here you are and you are, you’re doing it. So, you won a couple of contests, right?
Maddie Rean:
Yes. We’ve won a couple of Battle of the Bands, me and my band. I have a full band and we’re all from right here in South Carolina and it’s pretty cool. There’s not a lot of female artists around here in Country music. There’s a couple and they’re all amazing. So, when we all go out and we play, it’s pretty cool to be a female playing. A lot of people aren’t used to that, I think too, but-
Sue Bonzell:
The women are like taking Country by storm, which I absolutely love.
Maddie Rean:
Oh, yeah. Girl power.
Sue Bonzell:
Now, your fan base, your fans, the MADDAWGS.
Maddie Rean:
Yes.
Sue Bonzell:
That’s awesome.
Maddie Rean:
One of my friends is over here and he’s like, “Yeah”.
Sue Bonzell:
Yeah. The MADDAWGS is so cool.
Maddie Rean:
Yeah. I don’t know where that came from. My friend called me maddawg in college, on my softball team, on my college team. And I just, one day was like, I need a fan group, like a name for my fans because they’re really just a bunch of my friends and family and their wild is all get out. And so I was like, “Maddawgs.” It fits them perfectly because they’re wild.
Sue Bonzell:
Well, you can count me in. I mean, can I be in the maddawg-
Maddie Rean:
Are you a MADDAWG?
Sue Bonzell:
Can I be a MADDAWG? Am I good?
Maddie Rean:
Of course. With the little kids, we call them Mad Pups.
Sue Bonzell:
Oh, that’s so cute. So this song Whiskey & Women that I found on TikTok. I found it and I’m like, “This is a great song. I’m loving this gal.” That’s why I wanted to meet you. So tell me about writing this song.
Maddie Rean:
Oh boy, that’s a fun story.
Sue Bonzell:
Oh, good. I want to hear it.
Maddie Rean:
Like I said, being a gay Country singer in the South, you go and play in bars sometimes and sometimes you get hit on by men and I think that’s awesome. It’s a great compliment.
Sue Bonzell:
Right.
Maddie Rean:
And 99.9% of the time they’re gentlemen and they’re cool. And we ended up becoming friends, I saw one guy do it in my TikTok and he was like, “You’re the perfect wing woman.” And that’s what happens in those situations. But there was just this one, Tom, it was me and my fiance we’re at a show and this guy was just full of himself. And he just got to the point where he was being really disrespectful. And I don’t know why, I’ve been playing now for five years. And this was about six months ago to a year, I think like six months.
And I don’t know why, but it got to me more than it usually does. And I just had this thing in my head. I was like, “Dude, the only thing we’ve got in common is beer, whiskey and women.” And I took beer out. And I just remember like thinking in my head, you’re barking up the wrong tree, bud, and that’s where it came from. And I got with my guitarist, Bo Jack, and a good friend of mine, Brian Martin. And we just wrote it, which is funny because it’s two straight guys, but they say they’re lesbians. So we just all wrote it together.
Sue Bonzell:
Hey, it works. It’s a good collaboration. Good collaboration.
Maddie Rean:
Yeah. They’re all so new. I’ve been wanting to write a song like that since I started playing music and it’s very special to me. And it’s mind blowing how it blew up like it did on TikTok.
Sue Bonzell:
I was going to ask you. Okay. So TikTok is like this phenomenon thing, especially with new Country artists, which is where I’m finding a lot of people. What was your experience? Because like you said, it kind of blew up.
Maddie Rean:
It is crazy. I was sitting at Rush’s, which is a local fast food joint here, just ordered me a hot dog basket. Because you can’t go inside it’s closed, like it’s COVID and stuff. So I went to the drive thru and got my food and I parked and I made that video, the first one, the one that didn’t go as big as the 700,000 views. I have another one I put up that got like 200,000 something that was the first video, I forgot, that got more than like a thousand views. I was like, “What is this?” And I posted it while I was sitting there eating and it didn’t blow up until two days later. And I’d never seen anything like that.
My good friend, Shelby Kay, she’s been aggravating me about getting a TikTok. She’s like, “Dude. Maddie. You have to get a TikTok. You have to do it.” And it’s pretty cool. Because when I got on there, I ended up on the gay side of TikTok, which is awesome. Because it’s like, “Wow, there’s people like me.” It’s cool. And country people. And it was pretty neat. It’s a whole different world and you can express yourself. And so many people accept you for who you are. And that was something hard for me growing up. So it’s really cool to be able to be yourself on a platform and people accept you for who you are a hundred percent.
Sue Bonzell:
That’s awesome. I mean, of course, no matter what you put on TikTok or social media or whatever, there’s always going to be the haters.
Maddie Rean:
Oh, yeah.
Sue Bonzell:
Have you encountered some haters?
Maddie Rean:
Not too bad. I think I got like a couple of thumbs down on my music video for Whiskey & Women. And I was like, “Yes.” Because if you get haters that means you’re doing something right, I guess.
Sue Bonzell:
I can say the same thing. I’m like, “Oh my God, bring on the haters, please.”
Maddie Rean:
Yeah. I’ve been getting picked on and bullied since I was like 14. So, hey, come on. Let’s do it.
Sue Bonzell:
Made you who you are today. Right?
Maddie Rean:
Exactly.
Sue Bonzell:
Like I said, kind of a badass.
Maddie Rean:
Thank you. I appreciate it.
Sue Bonzell:
So I’m out here in wine country in California. I have to ask, do you drink any wine?
Maddie Rean:
I don’t drink much wine. My fiance does. She likes it. And do you know the song Hide The Wine by Carly Pearce?
Sue Bonzell:
Yes.
Maddie Rean:
Yeah, we do that song and I always dedicate it to her because she can get a little wild, that one. Do you like wine?
Sue Bonzell:
Girl. Yeah. It’s-
Maddie Rean:
I like the sweet wines. My mom likes wine too though.
Sue Bonzell:
We might have to-
Maddie Rean:
It’s not bad.
Sue Bonzell:
Get you some Sonoma County wine.
Maddie Rean:
Okay. I’m down. Yeah. I love to have some.
Sue Bonzell:
That’s awesome. So with you writing your songs and playing, who are your favorite musical influences? The people that you love the best?
Maddie Rean:
It’s a wide range. I love Miranda Lambert. That is my idol since I can remember. Dolly, Reba, Gretchen, Pink. I like Machine Gun Kelly, which people think that’s funny because I play Country, like I have fans that didn’t know I liked him and they were like, “Dude, I love Machine Gun Kelly.” I’m like, “I love him too.”
There’s all kinds. That’s pretty much. Oh, Ashley McBryde, yeah. They’re like, “Come on. You’re not going to say Ashley.” I love Ashley McBryde. Yeah. I got to meet her about three years ago before she signed or right before she signed in Myrtle Beach. It’s about three hours from here at The Boathouse and she was awesome. She was down to earth and just a cool person. So it was really nice to meet her. I haven’t got to meet any of those other people I listed. Maybe one day.
Sue Bonzell:
They’re on the list. You’re just manifesting it right now.
Maddie Rean:
They’re on my list. Yes.
Sue Bonzell:
On the list. So now you mentioned Miranda Lambert. So if you could open for anyone, who would it be?
Maddie Rean:
It would be Miranda. I had a dream when I first started playing music. I had a dream that I got to open for her and it felt so real. And I woke up, it was like, not real. And I was like, “No.”
Sue Bonzell:
Okay. I just got chills. I just got chills. Okay. We’re manifesting that for you right now. That’s what we do out here in California. We do all that woo stuff and manifest stuff for you.
Maddie Rean:
Speak it into existence. That’s the way it works.
Sue Bonzell:
Yes. That is exactly the way it works.
Maddie Rean:
Positivity.
Sue Bonzell:
So the next time I see you, I’m going to say, “She just opened for Miranda Lambert.” Right?
Maddie Rean:
I like this. I like these things.
Sue Bonzell:
Well, I would love it if you’d be willing to sing your song Whiskey & Women for us. You’re willing to do it?
Maddie Rean:
Okay. All right. Yeah. And I’ll get Bo Jack up here with me, who helped write it. Come on, Bo.
Sue Bonzell:
Okay, great.
Maddie Rean:
I’m going to take a sip of water. We’re just hanging out in the living room, we’re going to do some jamming.
Sue Bonzell:
I love it. This is perfect.
Maddie Rean:
This is Bo.
Bo:
Hi.
Maddie Rean:
All right. This one’s called Whiskey & Women.
(singing)
Sue Bonzell:
Yes. Thank you, Bo Jack. Nice.
Maddie Rean:
Thanks, Bo.
Bo:
Thank you.
Sue Bonzell:
Awesome. That was amazing. I love that song. You saw me mouthing the words, like… I know the words to the song.
Maddie Rean:
That’s awesome.
Sue Bonzell:
I love it.
Maddie Rean:
That means a lot. Thank you. It’s so cool when people know the words to a song you wrote. It’s really cool.
Sue Bonzell:
DO you like it when the crowd sings along with you?
Maddie Rean:
Oh, man. I don’t know a musician that doesn’t like that. I mean, that’s why we play gigs. You know what I mean?
Sue Bonzell:
Totally. So where are you playing next? Can we find you playing somewhere?
Maddie Rean:
We are playing in Myrtle Beach, Friday night at Captain Archie’s. Hey Gibson. Hey Bud.
Sue Bonzell:
Is that your dogs?
Maddie Rean:
The dogs are right here. His nose, it’s like the [inaudible 00:15:10], but yeah, we’re playing at Myrtle Beach, Captain Archie’s, Friday night and then doing a yard sale Saturday. So, I’m not playing.
Sue Bonzell:
All right.
Maddie Rean:
And next Friday night we’ll be at House of Blues in Myrtle Beach. That’s our debut at House of Blues. I’m really looking forward to that. I’ve been wanting to play in there for a very long time. My bass player and DB Bryant Band and my fiance who manages us, got us in there. So shout out to Chelsea, DB and Willie for that.
Sue Bonzell:
Awesome. That’s exciting. Congratulations.
Maddie Rean:
Thank you.
Sue Bonzell:
So where can we find your music?
Maddie Rean:
All social or all music outlets. You can go on Spotify. You can go to YouTube. Apple Music, Amazon, TikTok. Where else can we go, Bo? Is that it?
Bo:
Everywhere.
Maddie Rean:
Everywhere. It’s all over the place. Except for OnlyFans. It’s not on there, I don’t think. I’m just kidding.
Sue Bonzell:
Oh, my gosh. I almost choked.
Maddie Rean:
No, we say that on our live shows and people like die laughing. So I don’t know if it’s on there. I don’t know. I haven’t checked.
Sue Bonzell:
I think you might know if it was on there.
Maddie Rean:
That’s funny.
Sue Bonzell:
Oh, my gosh. Maddie. Thank you so much. I hope that someday I get to meet you in person.
Maddie Rean:
I hope so too. Hopefully we’re going to be doing a tour soon. We’re working on an album. Might do a little album of these remakes of these Country songs I’ve been doing and releasing those and might be going on a tour. That’s my goal. That’s what I’m working on. And that’s what the fans are asking for. So I want to do what they want.
Sue Bonzell:
Yeah, give them what they want.
Maddie Rean:
Maybe I’ll get to meet you then. Maybe I can come over there and do a show with you all.
Sue Bonzell:
I’m in. Can I get in the MADDAWG VIP section?
Maddie Rean:
Yes, of course. I’ll get you a t-shirt, I have some MADDAWG t-shirts.
Sue Bonzell:
Sweet. Okay. I’ll trade you for wine.
Maddie Rean:
Deal.
Sue Bonzell:
Okay. Awesome. Thank you so much.
Maddie Rean:
Thank you. We had a great time on here. Thank you for having us.
Sue Bonzell:
Thanks for watching Cow Chair Country. I’m Sue Bonzell make sure you follow me on TikTok and like, and subscribe. And of course, if you have an up and coming Country artist that you would love for me to interview, please let me know in the comments.
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