On Broadway - Sasha McVeigh and English Trifle
On Broadway is a bi-monthly web series that delves into the food memories of the talented musicians of Broadway in downtown Nashville. Every other week, we’ll pair those memories with a relevant recipe and information on how to listen to each musician’s material. Our aim is to connect the passion of food to the passion of music—two mediums that evoke instant reactions and memories, and remind us of the incredible people that pour their heart out every day to make their living in our backyard.
“Don’t ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can’t be exactly who you are.” – Lady Gaga
If you have spent a decent amount of time on Broadway in the last year or two, chances are you could swear that Lady Gaga has been popping up all over the place. Instead, it’s Sasha McVeigh- a near doppelganger for Miss Gaga herself, touting just about equal amounts of gumption and talent. Her style is effortlessly cool, she’s quite funny, and she’s so easy to talk to, you’ll want to drop whatever you’re doing to hang out with her. On top of it all, she is impossibly genuine in absolutely everything she says and does and expresses on her face.
Though if I had to describe her in one word, it would be: unexpected. This woman sings country (and rock and roll) with all her heart in the country music capital of the world and yet, as soon as she speaks, you can’t help but notice one glaringly unique thing: she’s British. Not exactly something you come across every day.
Even across the pond, country music became a large part of Sasha’s life early on. “It’s super cliché, but I’ve been playing music for as long as I can remember, and my dad was always a huge country music fan. A story my parents always tell is that when CMT used to be broadcast in the UK, [my dad] used to have it on and dance with me around the living room. I was indoctrinated at a very young age. So, when I started writing music at the age of 12, the songs were coming out with sort of a country twang to them. It definitely wasn’t pop or any other genre.” Since country music was clearly the path within music for Sasha to pursue, her mother suggested (where else?) Nashville. “[My mom said] if you want to be a country singer then we’ll go to Nashville and if they like you there then we know we’re on the right track.” The old if I can make it there, I can make it anywhere adage does seem ridiculously appropriate in this case. Though, understandably, this was a daunting task for Sasha. “It was very nerve-wracking because I was British and country music is such a huge part of American culture. It’s not just a genre- it’s very much tied to patriotism and it’s very valued. I thought I could go over there, and they might not understand why someone British is singing country and maybe that won’t work.” But Sasha is just so damn authentic it was only a matter of (short) time before America embraced her in the same manner it has embraced other delights from Britain such as the scone or baskets of flaky fish and fries. “I was always very honest in my approach,” she says. “It was never contrived, and I never pursued country for any reason other than that was the music I loved and that was the music I was writing.” As refreshing a statement as a giant swig of earl grey in the afternoon.
And she more than paid her dues. In 2012, after completing the equivalent of American high school in the UK, Sasha came to Nashville for a two-week stint to sort of “test the waters”. Like many before her, she lined up a gig at Tootsies and was hooked. “I would come back for 3 months at a time, which was as long as I could stay on my visa, and I would do as much as I could- writers rounds, record if I had the spare money… as much as I could possibly pack in three months.” She couldn’t get paid on a tourist visa- so all of this hard work? It was done for free. “My parents sold everything except for their house to help me fund this going back and forth. They like to joke that they used their funeral funds to help. They’d say, “well we can’t die ‘cuz there’s no money to bury us.’” It only added to her persistence- a key trait in this industry. “There was this sense of we can’t waste any time,” she muses. After finding out that she had to prove she was an asset to the country to procure a green card, Sasha set out to tour the US in 2013, playing 17 states, driving over 16,000 miles, and offering up her name (again, for free!) to large music festivals like Country Jam, just to get her name out there, before ultimately landing her face on a huge billboard in Vegas when she opened at the ACM awards.
At this point in our conversation my awe for the amount she accomplished in such a short period of time was stunted by a bunch of facts I did not know about attaining a green card. Sasha applied for hers at the end of 2015, having returned to the UK and more than proven, surely, that she was an asset to America. This meant, however, that she had to remain in the UK for the entirety of 2016, since whatever country you apply for your green card in, that is the country in which you must stay until you’re approved. Add to that the bit of unfortune of her paperwork getting lost and the process took even longer. A devastated Sasha had to cancel a tour she had planned for the states. In hindsight, and true to her personality, she is grateful for the little set back. “It’s so weird how everything happens for a reason. Because of that, I ended up releasing a song called When I’m Over You.” This song (besides being something you should look up immediately because it’s STUNNING) was picked up at Spotify and put on one of their playlists, ultimately garnering over a half a million streams. I listened to it on repeat while writing this article, so I think I just upped that by about a hundred (thank me later, Sasha). It was then nabbed by BBC Radio 2 and launched her a tour of the UK and Europe. Such incredible things that quite possibly would have never happened, had it not been for that little “set back”. In 2017, a green card was finally hers and she made the official move to Music City.
Coming here wasn’t just a good idea for Sasha because of music. She also happens to be passionate about food (don’t get her started on avocados) and, in case you haven’t noticed, Nashville has quite the scene for that as well. But much like her musical backstory which shows a deep affection for her family, talking about food also highlights family for her. “My mom makes an English trifle and its one of those things that only gets made for special occasions. It gets made for birthdays, but mainly Christmas, so you’re really only going to eat it once a year. Whenever I eat it or whenever we have it or whenever anyone talks about trifle, I just think about all of those great Christmas’ we had as a kid and growing up.” The trifle is certainly layered with many cozy memories for Sasha, but heaven help you if you mess with how it’s supposed to be made (I’m talking to you, Rachel Green). “My mom has always known that I’ve never been a huge fan of alcohol. I just can’t get my head around the taste. But one year, she put Sherry in the trifle, because traditionally it’s supposed to have a little bit of sherry in it. When I was 15, I was so excited because it’s my favorite thing at Christmas time – I was more excited about that than anything else. I tasted it and I said, ‘what is in this trifle?’ She said, ‘nothing, it’s the same,’ and then admitted there was a little bit of sherry in it. I said, ‘you ruined it!’ Now every time she makes it, she brings up that story, because of course, now I can eat it with the sherry in it and it doesn’t make a difference.”
I told her I was going to need a proper break down of how a trifle should REALLY be made, to which she happily obliged. “The first layer is a swiss roll- which is basically cake with jam and buttercream rolled up to look like a swirl. Then you pour on a can of mixed fruits, which can be anything but there’s a fruit you can’t use because the next layer is a flavored jelly and it won’t set- I think it’s pineapple you can’t use. The layer of mixed fruit soaks into the cake and that’s where you’re supposed to put the sherry so that it soaks into everything. Then a layer of the gelatin (I like it to be strawberry or raspberry). You leave it in the refrigerator overnight so that it sets. Then you put a layer of custard on the top of that and put it back in the refrigerator. The day that you’re going to eat it, you put homemade whipped cream all over the top.” All I know is I want to come to her house around Christmas. This past year, Sasha spent her first Christmas in Nashville and her dad visited. “We made the trifle and it tasted just like it always does. I was so excited about it!”
Given that it’s not exactly Christmastime (hello, 90 degrees) we recommend this more summer-appropriate layered dessert utilizing beautiful in-season strawberries and a light, yet luxurious cream. But no matter what multi-level deliciousness you decide to whip up for your family, friends, or solo Friday night, remember that it’s probably best to stick to the recipe. As our beautiful Brit can assure you- “There’s no beef in it. It’s not like that Friends episode- I can assure you there’s not supposed to be beef in the trifle.” It will not taste good.
Sasha’s sets are mostly at Redneck Riviera, Tootsies, and Honky Tonk Central. Follow her @sashamcveighmusic for all the updates
