Conversations with Casey McQuillen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey McQuillen. 

Hi Casey, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I’ve been writing music for as long as I can remember and started posting my original songs on YouTube when I was 15, right when YouTube first came out. I developed a bit of a following, and soon fans were asking when I was going to release an album. No one in my family has any connection to music or the music industry, so my parents and I sat in our kitchen and Googled ‘recording studios near me. I started working with a man on Cape Cod who lived a few towns over from me, and in the summer, when I was done scooping ice cream for the day, I would head over and record my music out of his basement studio! 

A few years later, I attended Berklee College of Music to dual major in Songwriting and Music Business Management. 

During that time, I met many of the wonderful musicians I work with today, built my anti-bullying concert series in schools, and performed on American Idol. After graduation, I moved to New York to find a team to help get my music and story out into the world! 

Now, I’ve had the opportunity to tour extensively nationally and abroad, both with my anti-bullying concert series The ‘You Matter’ Tour, as well with acclaimed singer/songwriters like Eric Hutchinson, Kate Voegele, Tyler Hilton, & Nick Howard. I was a guest on the Kelly Clarkson Show, and have had my music featured on ExtraTv, iHeartRadio, and today in Nashville. It’s been quite the ride, and I hope my newest single, “In & Out” feat. Jon McLaughlin, will reach even more listeners! 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I was flying high right before the pandemic; touring all over the country with artists I had admired my whole life, secured huge press opportunities, and made some of the best music I’d ever written. It felt like finally, finally, the snowball of my career had begun to roll down the hill, picking up speed and growing every day. When the pandemic hit, all of those plans and momentum came to a grinding halt. I struggle with an anxiety disorder, and the uncertainty and stagnation of the last year were very mentally difficult for me. 

I know many of us had similar experiences during the pandemic, so I hope that by speaking so publicly about my own mental health issues, other people will feel more comfortable sharing their own stories. It’s important we create space as a society to acknowledge and work through the trauma of the pandemic. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Though I am most widely known as a vocalist from my time on American Idol, I think of myself primarily as a songwriter. I love, love, love articulating complex stories and emotions through a three-minute song. I am generally a happy person, but many of my songs are sad or tackle difficult topics because I find the process of songwriting helps me work through negative emotions and emerge on the other side with better acceptance and understanding. 

I was bullied a lot as a kid, and I often felt unheard or misunderstood. I found that the same students who picked on me in daily life would not only leave me alone when I performed my music, but would listen to the words I’d written, and understand me a bit more. 

That’s what’s really beautiful about songwriting; songwriting is empathy and connection. Within the context of a song, people take down their walls and enter the emotional world you’ve built. They walk in your shoes for three minutes and come out on the other side closer together. So, every time I write or perform my songs, I try to put as much honesty and vulnerability into the song as I possibly can. Because the more vulnerable I am, the more understanding the audience takes away, and more connected we become. 

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Ok, this is a hot take, but the best part about Nashville is that there is never any traffic! I know locals will disagree with me, but, as a girl who bounces between New York, LA, and Nashville, it is AMAZING how little you have to plan around traffic in Nashville. In NYC, you can’t drive anywhere between 3:30 – 7 PM because the whole city is at a standstill! In Nashville, I feel like the king of the world, bopping around whenever I like! 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.listentocasey.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/listentocasey
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/listentocasey
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/listentocasey_
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/listentocasey
• SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/listentocasey
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4sP0ut8h3t4uRkJazqm1DA?si=7mm5WoXMTpOZ80XvqReybA&dl_branch=1

Image Credits
Erica Bronkwoski
Fox
Evan Griffith
Beatrice Scholz
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Can Ahtam
Lauren Desberg