This year will see you make your British debut with your new album 'History of Now' - what are your feelings leading up to this?
Callaghan
I have had some amazing experiences over the last 4 years writing, recording, and touring across 46 states in the US, and am now so excited to bring my music back home to the UK and tour again. I am really lucky to be working with a great team of people in the UK as well as receiving amazing support from Bob Harris at BBC Radio 2 who has a real champion of my music over the years.
And what should fans and new listeners expect from that record?
Life is a journey of moments and experiences. We're all writing our own story through the decisions we make, the relationships we have, the things that happen to us and the moments we experience. I hope this album reflects that journey and those moments. From happy uplifting tracks, to more reflective, emotional ballads.
There are universal things all of us experience as we go through life - moments that might seem insignificant but which shape who we are as people and our outlook on the world. I hope that listeners find songs on the album that make them reflect, some that make them cry and some that make them want to dance around the room!
Although I'd describe the sound of the new record as contemporary singer-songwriter or adult-orientated pop, there are influences from genres including pop, folk, rock and country. Producer Dennis Matkosky and I had a lot of fun experimenting with the modern and traditional, recording in Nashville using some of Music City's top players, using loops and tracks from Owl City's Casey Brown, and recording a lot onto analog tape. The result is a very warm, authentic sounding record with a real modern twist.
Lead single from the album 'Best Year' is released February 15 - why did you choose this song to release as your debut UK single?
The song "Best Year" is really special to me. I wrote it just after moving to the US during a period of my life that was so scary but equally exciting. The video for "Best Year" shows my journey over the last 4 years and brings back so many amazing memories every time I watch it.
The feeling of joy and positivity in the song is a great feeling heading into a New Year. It's become a real anthem for me, and always reminds me to go for what you want in life.
You've achieved success in America, so to-date what have been some of your best experiences?
It has been really great seeing the hard work with touring paying off - going from playing open mic nights when I first arrived to now being able to headline my own shows in cities all across the USA. One of the best experiences with touring was headlining a show near Portland, Oregon in the North West last year. It was a show with my full band and we had 1200 people in the audience. Driving into the city and seeing the huge billboards up advertising the show and having so many people turn out was a really incredible feeling.
Another highlight would be organising my first coast-to-coast house show tour, "Callaghan Across America" in May 2013. We started in Boston on May 3rd and played 25 shows in fans' homes arriving in San Francisco at the end of the month. Taking in 25 major cities, 10,500 miles and traveling from sea to shining sea! Billboard did a 4 page feature article about the tour which I was really proud of.
You worked on your debut US album with Grammy-nominated artist Shawn Mullins - how was that?
The biggest turning point in my career so far was definitely sending the message to Shawn Mullins on MySpace back in 2009. After having been a fan of his for so many years, having him produce my debut album was really a dream come true. I had no idea he would even see the message that I had sent, but getting a reply and hearing how much he loved my songs was just incredible, and always goes to show that you never know until you try something!
Shawn has been a great friend and mentor to me. From working with him in the studio on my first album to doing four tours together, I learnt so much from him and I know he'll always continue to inspire me as an artist.
What drove you to move to America to first begin chasing your dreams?
Getting to work with Shawn Mullins was an opportunity I thought was just too good to pass up. It was definitely a gamble leaving everything behind and getting on that plane to Atlanta, but looking back now I'm so glad I took that risk. The last few years have pushed and challenged me a lot - as a songwriter and a performer but I think that in order to be a writer and have something to say you need to get out and live your life and have experiences that inspire songs, so being in America has definitely given me that.
How difficult would you say it is to carve out a career in this industry?
Being an independent artist is certainly challenging, and I think you definitely need a strong sense of determination to keep motivating yourself and working at it. Things are changing so fast in the music industry and these days there are lots of opportunities for artists to carve out a great career. You can reach new audiences both online and through touring and steadily build up your fan base, but you have to keep finding innovative ways to grab people's attention. The internet has helped a lot with being able to share music so widely, but the other side of that is that it also makes it a challenge to raise yourself above the thousands of other people working to do the same thing. I am a firm believer that hard work pays off though, and I don't think there are any fast-track ways to success no matter what your industry. If you want a long-lasting career you have to put the ground work in, and if you keep working at your music and finding ways to reach more people your audience and your career will grow.
In October of last year you played some live shows here in the UK show, how was the reaction to those shows?
It had been 4 years since I had performed my last show in the UK, at The 100 Club in London. When I lived in the UK most of my shows were in and around London so I was a little apprehensive what the reaction would be to the shows which were spread around the country. Some places I hadn't performed at for years, and some places I'd never even been to before! But I was overwhelmed at the response and turn out, and I had so much fun. I'm really looking forward to more touring in the UK this year.
Is there anything else we should know about going forward?
I'll be back in the UK in Feb/March/April for live dates - all the details are on my website www.callaghansongs.com. People can also download a free EP from my website which has a collection of songs from my debut album and live album.
My single 'Best Year 2015' is available right now on iTunes, and the album is released in April, but is also available to pre-order now or to buy at live shows.