Who Is Abbie Callahan? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music

This week, we chatted with talented singer-songwriter, Abbie Callahan all about her upbringing, her music, and where she’s headed.

“I grew up in Iowa City. I was there until I moved to college, but nobody in my family does music at all, it’s just me. I really wanted to be a surgeon until I was sixteen, and we visited Nashville for the first time, and that’s where I really saw live music.”

Despite not being surrounded by musicians, Callahan was always a big music fan. “Growing up, we listened to a bunch of pop radio, my mom loved that, and as I grew up and learned about streaming, I started listening to the Tyler Childers kinda country and early Chris Stapleton.” She even recalls participating in the school talent show in elementary school. “I moved schools when I was in fourth grade and I did the talent show to make friends at the new school. […] We had a karaoke machine just for fun, and I said, “I’ll try singing.” So I knew I could kinda sing, but I didn’t think of it as a job at all.”

The songstress took her love of music and starting writing songs as a way to process her teen feelings. “It was so cliche. My mom was very proactive of us, so she said no dating until you’re sixteen, so when I was sixteen, I was like there are so many new feelings and that’s when I started writing crazy songs.”

The Turning Point:

Despite thinking she was going to be a surgeon one day, Callahan’s trip to Nashville changed the trajectory of her career. “I really wanted to be a surgeon until I was sixteen, and we visited Nashville for the first time, and that’s where I really saw live music. And I fell in love with Broadway in Nashville, and all the country music going on,” she shared, “That’s when I was first introduced to it. I was just enamored with it, and I went home writing songs and two years later, applied and went to Belmont. It was kind of a big switch, but it wasn’t really a big part of my upbringing, but then I saw it, and I was like, “oh that’s what I want to do.”

Since her mother was in education, Callahan knew she was going to attend college, but had to find a way to get an education and play music. “I really just wanted to move to Nashville and start playing shows, but my mom wanted me to figure out how to get a degree under my belt. […] I found Belmont, so I started doing college classes while I was in high-school, so I finished a year of college before I move to Nashville which was really helpful, I did songwriting, and I came here during COVID, so I didn’t meet a ton of people but it gave me a change to sit in my dorm and gave me a chance to write good songs.”

The songstress started playing on Broadway in Nashville, honing her skills as both a performer and an artist “Playing on Broadway was a master class on how to perform and how to be on stage. It paid for college and also to put out some of the songs I wrote in school.” Eventually, the industry took notice of the singer-songwriter, offering her, her first publishing deal. “My publisher found me on Instagram playing Whiskey Fest or something. […] It kinda fell into my lap. I wasn’t really looking for a publishing deal. Obviously I wanted it, but I didn’t really know how.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, Callahan continues to find her place in country music, a genre she has fallen in love with. She continues to write as often as possible, while connecting with her fans across her socials. Most recently the singer released a song with Brendan Walter called, “2:38.”

“Last summer I wrote that with Ryan Hurd and Michael Lotten. I had been in my publishing deal for two years, so it was about right after I signed. I was so nervous because I had never written with an artist I had heard of before. […] It was one of those weeks where I felt like I couldn’t think of anything new. […] I was up late the night before for probably no good reason, and the time was 2:38, so I wrote it down in my notes, and I don’t know why it inspired, but it did, so I brought that into the room with Ryan and he loved that. […] I met Brendan [Walter] at a writer’s round in Nashville, and he’d always been very supportive and friendly, and eventually my publisher sent it to him, and asked him if he wanted to be on it, and he said, “hell yeah.”

While different than her viral song, “Simon Says,” both songs speak to Callahan’s undeniable talent as both a singer and a songwriter. “It’s a really honest song, and the reaction to it has been amazing. So many people have commenting their stories with it. It’s been really inspiring to keep making music that is that honest,” shared the singer, when asked about “Simon Says.”

We expect even more coming from Callahan this year too! “I’m going on my first tour dates with Carter Faith this winter. That’s something I’m very excited about, and then we’re going to see if anything clicks on social media. If it does well, we’ll put that out. Everything I’m teasing right now is up for consideration, and I’ve been writing a ton.” Stay tuned!

Connect:

To keep up with Abbie Callahan, follow her on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook.

Abbie Callahan’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.