Toria Richings, the British singer/songwriter, is gearing up to kick off her first solo tour in the UK next June. The singer, currently based in Australia, will bring her full band and entertain fans with her biggest hits, such as “Devil on the Run” (125,000 streams) and “Without a Trace” (100,000 streams) from her EP “The Nashville Sessions,” as well as unreleased songs from her upcoming EP, “Bend and Break,” which will be released this summer. In this project, she delves into stories of love and loss, but she is keen to point out that they’re not her “broken-hearted stories.” For this EP, the Americana singer has been heavily inspired by the stories of her closest friends and has penned lyrics around their experiences. For Toria, storytelling is the most important part of her music. Through her melodies, she aims to connect with listeners on a deeper level, helping them find a peaceful place while listening to her songs.

Ahead of her UK tour, set to commence on June 7th in Brightlingsea, Toria chatted with InMusic to share her feelings about the tour and provided some insights into her new EP.

Your about to embark on your first solo tour in the UK, how are you feeling about this milestone?

I’m really excited and nervous in equal measures, It’s a dream to be able to go home and play my songs, but it’s also terrifying!!!

Are there any particular venues your excited to play at?

I’m really looking forward to playing in my home town at The Subrooms, growing up there I’ve watched several bands come through and play, I never thought I would be playing there!! I’m really looking forward to all the venues to be honest, there is no better feeling than being on stage performing, and to be in the UK is just great!!

How do you prepare yourself mentally and physically before a performance?

I am usually fairly nervous before I go on, I have a bunch of songs I have to listen to, I can’t eat either!! It’s a strange thing really, as soon as I am on stage I love every second, when I finish the set I’m usually starving!! It’s certainly a roller coaster!!!!

Can you share any memorable experiences from your past performances?

A few years back I played my first Country Music Festival in Tamworth, Australia, this festival is very iconic to the Aussies, they have buskers lining the streets playing day and night, it’s quite an experience, My fist time playing and busking there, I made it to the final 10 buskers in the competition they hold, this meant playing solo on the main stage! That feeling of standing on such a big stage and seeing a sea of faces has always stuck with me, it was just great and probably kick started my desire to do it over and over!!

In the upcoming shows you will be performing songs from your forthcoming EP “Bend and Break.” What can fans expect from this record?

This is a collection of songs I wrote over a few months. They tell stories of love and loss, I’m a sucker for sad songs! I always try and put at least one up beat tune in the mix! I have to point out these are not my broken hearted stories!! But friends or people I have met on the way, that have told me about their lives, I can help but feel peoples pain when I hear sad things and usually a song will appear, I really loved making this EP I always enjoy the process when we get to the studio and I hear my music come to life, and recording this in Nashville was certainly special.

Is there a particular song from the EP that holds a special place in your heart?

I would say the ballad “For you love” I wrote this abut a friend of mine who was very much in love, sadly this love wasn’t quite reciprocated in the way it should have been, but my friend was so in love she would go back over and over always hoping this time would be different. I had a late call with her one night, she was so sad, when I finished the call I picked my guitar up and For You Love fell out, I wrote it in around 2 minutes!! When it came to recording this in the studio, we all felt it, I can’t explain what it was, but we all felt that song deeply, So I would say this one really stands out for that reason.

Storytelling is a big part of your music, what do you hope listeners take away from your songs?

Just to hear someone has connected to my songs is the greatest feeling, I hope my music finds people peace if sad and smile if they are happy, Just to hear people listening is the greatest feeling!

Write here something you want to let people know.

I had one of the biggest operations you can have and it was performed by the Queens surgeon!! I had a rare condition called Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction, after a lot of years of stents etc I ended up have a Whipple operation, you basically get replumbed inside, I lost the head of my pancreas, duodenum, some of my stomach, and bile duct, it was pretty big and took over 18 months to recover, I decided after this to chase my dreams!!