This month, Hollywood royalty Kiefer Sutherland is returning to the O2 Academy on Oxford’s Cowley Road with Love Will Bring You Home, his first full tour since 2024. Ahead of the release of a fourth studio album, Grey (out 29 May), critics have consistently praised Kiefer’s performances for their warmth, authenticity and emotional depth. Fans are promised “a powerful evening of music and storytelling – a great night out filled with personal reflections from Sutherland’s remarkable life and career, and the real-world experiences that shape the narratives of his songs”.
When OX was offered the chance to put our own questions to Kiefer, we had to pinch ourselves. What an honour, and one which we were happy to accept on behalf of Oxford, when Kiefer told us that Oxford audiences were “really supportive and livelier than some. It’s always been a really energetic place for us to play.”. We love to hear it, and I dived straight in with the questions…
Do you have a rider for Oxford’s O2 Academy?
I think I do. Our rider is really simple; it consists of water, paper towels, gummy bears, and that’s it for me.
Just a side note, the rider that I was the most impressed with is Tom Petty’s and he was smart enough to get underwear and socks. Laundry ends up being one of the most interesting challenges when you’re on tour, so I thought he was incredibly smart for doing that. I’m not big enough to get underwear and socks.
You have said that you found it easier to write about your emotions with your latest album, Grey. Why do you think this is?
I think as a songwriter, I’m learning. You know, every year I pick up a thing for myself that helps me get to a moment quicker, that helps me realise melody in a different way.
I think over the years I have learned a couple things that have allowed me to access [what] I need to write a song quicker than I would have ten years, fifteen years ago. Also, I think as you get older, it becomes a much more natural way to look back on one’s life and, at the end of the day, be more honest about one’s life – for better and for worse. Honesty is really important for the songs, and I will never be that person that says I have no regrets. I have plenty of regrets and I have an equal number of hopes to match it and it’s the complication of how all of those emotions that live together that I find so fascinating.
If you have the courage to be honest about those moments in your life, the person who’s listening to whatever you are putting forward tends to be quite grateful that someone is sharing something that makes them feel less alone. I think we have all have struggles trying to get through this life. I’m the luckiest person I know, and there have been moments that have been very tough, [and] I can only imagine for someone in a really difficult position – financially or socially or physically – how much harder their lives are, so the more we can share honestly about life, the good parts and the harder parts, the better off we all are.
Your first single from Grey, Simpler Time, is insanely catchy with its positive upbeat energy. Does this reflect your attitude to how we should all move through our lives?
It is a combination of that, but it’s also a reflection of my perception of technology. I don’t think that technology is an evil, but I also don’t think that it’s made anything that much easier, quicker, or faster.
I think it has isolated a lot of people – I certainly know older people than myself feel left behind because they don’t use computers and they don’t know how to become part of that society now. I can personally say I’m one of those people as well. But, I was also looking back fondly on a time when people didn’t call you at dinner and there was a respect for personal space and time. At the risk of sounding like one of those two Muppets on the balcony, I was writing about that from a very nostalgic point of view.
What music did you listen to growing up, and what current music acts are on your playlist?
I listen to everything from The Jackson 5, to Elton John, to Marvin Gaye, to Stevie Wonder, to AC/DC, to Aerosmith, to Led Zeppelin.
When I was growing up there was an amazing cross section of music that was available to everybody. Radio stations were not monolithic in the way that they played music. My older brother was a very big music fan and was up to date on all of the musicians and bands. By the time I was seven he was telling me all of this information, and I found it fascinating. Take a look a Robert Plant and Jimmy Page: to a little boy they looked just like warriors, like knights – you know? – and then the sound that they made was so big and so kind of ferocious that it was really exciting.
I think as I got older, and by that I mean in my teen years, I was kind of torn between a lot of the new wave music coming over from the UK, combined with some punk like The Clash. I was also really moved by Cat Stevens, James Taylor, Jim Croce – real singer-songwriters that were telling stories that had a message that made sense from A to B with regards to the storyline. That’s obviously had a huge impact on me, and then later as I got a little older, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Wayland Jennings, Kris Kristoferson; all of those people made a real impact on me as well.
I know you were born in London. Are there British influences to be found in your music?
I don’t know if there are British influences – except how they have moved me over the years. There are so many British artists that have mattered to me as a listener that I have to believe that has an impact on me as a writer.
I read you started off by learning the violin and then moved onto guitar as soon as you could. When did you discover your singing voice?
That’s a great question. I was very shy and nervous about my singing voice. I did Saturday Night Live in the 90s and we had an idea that I would do a monologue where I would sing How to Handle a Woman from Camelot. We thought it would be very funny given the situation in my personal life at that time. I wasn’t really confident about singing, but I did get the humour of the moment. So, I worked with their musical coach for an afternoon, and I sang the song with her to find the key. She told me I had a lovely voice – I think I blushed, and she was just really steadfast about that. It made me feel that my voice was not as awful as I thought all those years ago, and I slowly started to sing from that point forward.
Are ‘music Kiefer’ and ‘actor Kiefer’ separate personas?
Well, I certainly am the same person. How I approach working on a character for a film or play is invariably different to how I approach trying to convey a personal story or observation to another person, so that is very different: how one prepares a character versus how I would approach writing a song. One is one-step-removed and the other is very personal.
When I find myself on stage performing music, I find myself trying to explain a song in a way that maybe you and I, or the audience and I, have in common. The most rewarding thing I have experienced as a performer is those moments between an audience and myself when we realise we probably have much more in common than we don’t.
If you were coming to Oxford as ‘actor Kiefer’ you would have the same experience?
Well yes, because ‘actor Kiefer’ isn’t a completely removed person – it’s me, and so I would enjoy the town as I have. I find a favourite restaurant, and I would, you know, be impressed and moved by the University and all its had to offer. So I would take in all of those different sights and sounds as Kiefer and not be affected or impacted by whatever job I’m taking on.
You have become famous for music and acting, of course. Do you have other creative outlets?
Well, there are things that I do but I don’t know if I would necessarily call them creative. But they are certainly out of whatever someone would normally think my lane might be.
I spent a decade running cattle in Montana and California. I have spent extensive time working with horses, training myself, training horses, and working on the USTRC Rodeo Circuit, which I enjoyed immensely. I have been very open to seizing opportunities that might not come to every person but have come to me through my work in film and then trying to dive deeper into learning aspects of that.
I think you can be creative in anything from gardening to rodeoing down the line. So I have been very fortunate in that I’ve been able to pursue things that interest me.
Making great films and TV is a naturally collaborative process in that you work alongside other legendary actors. Are there any musical legends you would like to collaborate with?
I think I would probably be too shy to do that. The list would be so long. Yes, there are so many musicians that I would be honoured to play something for and to have them be interested in collaborating with me. I think, probably, I would be way too shy and way too self-conscious. The songs I write, I write in a way that I know how. They work within the strengths that I have as a player, and I know what those are because I also know what my limitations are.
When I wrote with Jude Cole, he was a very trusted friend, I felt safe in that environment. Anyone else I write with [would be] someone I know through my band or people that I have known very well. I think the idea of trying to write a song with someone I idolise would be pretty embarrassing.
In terms of your music, what would be the ultimate accolade?
Well, I think I have to work from my place. I’m going to work from my place which is that I absolutely adore and enjoy touring. The nicest thing someone could possibly say is that they were moved by something that I wrote. I would be very grateful that was even possible.
Kiefer Sutherland will be bringing the Love will Bring Your Home tour to the O2 Academy, Oxford, on Thursday 26 May. For more information including links to book tickets, visit Kiefer’s music visit kiefersutherland.com or pinkdot.seetickets.com.
