Who is Caylee Hammack? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music
Who is Caylee Hammack? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about her journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…
Caylee Hammack // Photo Credit: Kirsten Balani
Quick Facts:
Full Name – Caylee Hammack
Hometown – Ellaville, Georgia
Current City – Nashville, Tennessee
Label – Capitol Records Nashville
Current Single – “The Hill” // as of date of article: 6/18/2024
The Beginning:
This week we are re-introudcing you to an artist that we have loved for years, Caylee Hammack. Hammack a true artist in the country music genre in every sense of the word. We chatted with the singer-songwriter about her journey so far, as well as, her brand new music, and everything in between.
“I was raising in South Georgia and I think I was probably 11 or 12 when I saw an info-commercial for the golden classics of country music,” shared Hammack. “As the names were passing and scrolling up the commercial and its playing snippets of a Tammy Wynette song and a little bit of a Johnny Cash song, and Loretta Lynn, and Patsy Kline, I sat there for 15 minutes just watching this commercial, and I wanted to hear more.”
This core memory led to Hammack falling in love with the country music genre, opening up her curiosity around music and its healing powers. “I got curious, so when I found out that Loretta Lynn was playing in Columbus, Georgia, about an hour away from us growing up, I begged my Daddy to go,” she shared. “He went with me, and I remember just seeing her and listening to her story, and it captivated me, and I looked around the room and it captivated everybody. The stories are what everyone loved and the stories behind the songs that they already loved and already knew. I saw magic that day. There is something sacred about the community that could be built around stories and songs, and I sort of became obsessed with it.”
Despite loving country music, Hammack still desired to follow her first dream, to be in the medical field and to attend medical school; however, when she had a sudden medical scare at the age of sixteen, music was there for her. “I started writing songs when I was laying in bed, not able to move around that much after the surgery, and as I’m sitting here, full bent on “I’m going to go to medical school one day and I’m going to become a doctor,”” she shared. “It slowly but surely shifted, […] I just realized that I was better at making words rhyme, and telling stories than having the strength that doctors have. […] I kept doing music and kept connecting, and slowly I realized it made me the happiest.”
The Turning Point:
Hammack spent her teenage years honing her craft, before making the move to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of nineteen.” I was sleeping in my car, got downtown, I used a fake ID to get in the bar, it was Honky Tonk Central. I played with the band and the bass player who was the band manager of all those bars or a couple of those bars down there he had told me to come to Tootsie’s the next day to try out and audition officially.”
The singer got the job and spent two and half years cutting her teeth in Nashville on Broadway. “I played down there, and then I got my publishing deal, I was writing everyday as well. I finally got the connection of my favorite person in the world, Cyndi Forman, my publisher,” shared Hammack.
The songstress continued to write songs, first as a staff-writer, but then in 2017, tragedy struck. “I had a house fire while I was on a writer’s retreat with Tenille Townes, Eric Paslay, and Brothers Osborne and I lost about 60-70% of everything. It was a beautiful blessing though, because I realized in the midst of everything I was losing a lot of material goods, I found out how loved I was and how many people cared for me and helped me go through that.”
Through this experience and the support of others, Hammack felt ready to release her own music, and subsequently, landed a record deal with Capitol Records Nashville. “It’s just kind of been a wild journey ever since. After that, we go to release the first album and we had to release it during 2020, which was kind of odd. It was very solitary. […] I was eager to get the music out, and I thought that music would be appreciated and a comforting thing during a hard time for all of us, but having to sit at home and wondering if people were connecting, almost drove me crazy,” she shared. Expressing the mixed emotions that came with the time.
Regardless, music continued to be magic in Hammack’s life. “Getting to write music, it’s been a very beautiful outlet for me. It’s bewildering to me sometimes that people can connect to it to the point where I can actually make a living out of it. I’m so grateful that people connect to these songs because it heals me to share it with them.”
Today:
Flash forward to today, Hammack has entered a new music era. Kicking it off with a brand new song called, “The Hill.” “The song is about hand-holding the last straw that is about to break the camel’s back, and trying your best to keep the straw in the hand. It’s a white-flag in the middle of a battle, so that you don’t lose the war and you don’t lose the battle, the love in the middle of the war. I just felt as if a lot of people have been in that situation and that people could connect to it,” shared Hammack.
The single was written over Zoom with Tenille Townes and Logan Wall. “We made a demo, and it kind of stayed in the catalog for a bit, but it kept coming up. […] It was really cool as I was creating this record and kind of basing it off the trials and tribulations of trying to find love and finding love within yourself and others along the way, it kind of just became this heart-centered album, and I feel like “The Hill” is one of the more vulnerable, passionate songs on the record.”
Hammack’s new song speaks to her talent as both a singer and as a songwriter, as well as, a lover of music. “It felt very pivotal to have it as the first song off this album because it has a more organic nature to it that feels sincerely me, and it also has a little bit of a Celtic influence based off of some of the UK touring that I experienced,” she shared. Adding, “It’s just an appreciation for different types of music that I’ve been kind of immersed in.”
“The Hill” is the first song off Hammack’s new album that is slated for release sometime in 2025. “Until then, we’re going to roll out song after song and immerse people in the sonic playground that this album is going to be. When it does come, it’ll be like a garden in full bloom after planting the seeds this year.”
Connect:
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Caylee Hammack’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.
