Callie Young
Nashville-based artist/singer/songwriter Callie Young has recently revealed her latest single “training wheels”. Co-written with Jonathan Beard, Mason Crisp and Skyler Mayes, the folk-pop single is about growing up and its challenges. “Growing up feels like being thrown on a two-wheel bike without training wheels. I wanted the bridge and instrumental section to feel like flying down a hill uncontrollably—like anything could happen,” she explains.
“training wheels” is in my opinion one of the best songs ever written. Callie Young is an artist to watch in 2025.
“training wheels” is now available on all major platforms !
Hi Callie, how are you? What's your story?
Hi! Thank you so much for featuring me! I am a 25 year old indie folk-pop artist in Nashville, TN. I grew up on my family’s cattle ranch in a small town in beautiful Southwest Colorado. I was drawn to dance and music from a very young age, first taking the stage in ballet at the age of 4. I’ve spent my whole life with music and dance being a very prominent roll, but when my brother started his first band in middle school that’s when I really started to get a taste of that world. I started on drums when I was 9, but I think subconsciously craved something that I could create over, so I started taking guitar lessons soon after and immediately started creating my own progressions and lyrics. My brother is 5 years older than me and I have kind of followed in his footsteps chasing music. About 7 years ago, he and I started a band together, the Garrett Young Collective, combining both of our sounds, where we have gone on a few independent tours and played countless shows opening for acts like Mike Ryan, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and the Bellamy Brothers. In 2019 we were chosen to perform with Chevel Shepherd (season 15 winner of The Voice!), where we got to play shows all over the country as her band opening for artists like Little Big Town, Lee Brice, Chase Bryant, and Brothers Osborne. I moved from my small home to Nashville in October of 2023, driving 24 hours in a budget truck with everything I owned, and it has been the best decision of my life. Since moving here, I have written my favorite songs, found a sound that perfectly reflects me as an artist and as a person, I’ve made the best friends of my life (who happen to all be my co-writers, producers, and videographers), and I’ve jumped 100% into trying to make my music dreams a reality. I’ve released three songs since my move and have a release plan for the rest of this year already in the works!
Do you remember your earliest musical memory?
I think my earliest music memory, or at least one of them, is the first time I ever sang on stage. My brother had a classic rock cover band when he was about 14. I was probably 9 years old in a brewery in my small town that I was too young to be in, but was “with the band,” so I would hide in the hallway or next to my parents the whole show, until they called me up to sing. Walking up to the stage I was so shy and so nervous. The band started playing Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” and I don’t even remember anything else but the feeling of being on stage and how everything else kind of disappeared as soon as I started singing. I’ve recently seen a video for the first time and it was absolutely terrible, but I will never forget that night. Another that is very prominent for me is the first time I really sang with my brother. We were just sitting on the couch in my parent’s house, and we learned “Jackson” by Johnny Cash and June Carter, and since that moment we’ve sung that song together probably hundreds of times in countless cities and venues. I think that song will always hold a special place in my heart and to this day every time we sing it it feels like that first time in our parent’s living room.
What did you grow up listening to?
I grew up on my dad’s 80’s country and my brother’s blues and classic rock. When I was about 7 my grandma told me to pull up a video she just watched of this blond curly haired girl named Taylor Swift singing “Our Song,” and I immediately fell in love with her lyric writing. My brother is a sucker for the deep cuts and underrated songs, and I have definitely taken this trait from him. He has introduced me to all kinds of songs you’ve never heard of from huge bands that are so incredibly cool, and to this day I constantly find myself falling in love with the deep cuts off of all of my favorite albums. I’ve grown up singing songs like “Midnight Rider,” “Bad Moon Rising,” “Scar Tissue” and “Otherside,” “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Jolene,” and “Rhiannon.” I’m kind of a mix of all of the different genres and inspirations I’ve grown up with and I think they really inspire what my music sounds like today.
When did you know you could sing? Who was the first person to ever believe in you?
I have the most supportive parents and they gave me every opportunity they could in any passion that I had. I kind of just started singing and never really thought if I was good or not, I just loved it. I started getting drum lessons, then moved to drum and guitar lessons, and eventually in middle and high school getting vocal lessons with a woman who was also my first songwriting mentor. My parents have been supportive through every step and given me a chance to try everything I wanted to try. My parents were the ones at every game, every dance, and every recital in the front row with a video camera and I am so thankful to have the opportunity to pursue what makes me happy because of them.
When did you realize you had to become an artist and release your original music?
I never really thought about it honestly. Music just became a part of who I am and something that I just have to do to get through all of my emotions. It’s how I cope with heartbreak and loss, and also how I let myself live in the happy moments too. It’s something that I had to do for me, and with that I’ve just always shared what I write in hopes of it helping someone else who might be feeling the same thing. I write about every human experience I live through and I release the songs I write because there is no way I’m the only one who feels the things I write about. I want to give a voice to people who can’t put into words what they are feeling or give them something that might be able to help them not feel so alone in what they feel.
Who are some of your biggest inspirations?
I talked a bit about it before, but my brother is definitely one of my biggest inspirations because I owe him most of my experience on stages, my ability to hold my own on guitar, my love for guitars, and my appreciation for talent. He is the most incredible guitar player I have ever seen, and growing up around that taught me so much. The music he writes can be very intricate and challenging, so I’ve had to get good at guitar to hold my own playing with him which I am so thankful for. For my sound musically, my biggest inspirations are Kelsea Ballerini, Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams, Kacey Musgraves, and Olivia Rodrigo. In terms of performance and who I really look up to as an artist, I think Kelsea Ballerini is the biggest inspiration. I love how real and raw she is no matter what situation she is in, whether it’s on social media, in person, or on stage, and I love how she isn’t afraid to put it all, every emotion, into a song.
"training wheels" is your latest single - what's the inspiration/story behind this song?
I had the title “training wheels” in my notes app for months, and I knew I wanted the song to be a metaphor for life and growing up in some way. I brought it to a write I had one night with three of my favorite writers and friends, Jonathan Beard (who also produced it), Mason Crisp (who also filmed the bts and official music video), and Skyler Mayes (who sang backups). We went into Jonathan’s studio and chatted for a while and then the question “what do you guys wanna write about?” came up like it always does. Something called me to that title I remembered I had written down months before, and we kind of just jumped right into it. The inspiration is really just from a real place that I think every person can relate to. We’re all in our 20’s and I think we could all really relate on the topic of wishing we had some sort of instruction manual for growing up, because it truly feels like flying down a hill with no training wheels. I had so much fun making this song feel nostalgic and it honestly made me feel like a kid again every step of this song coming to life, from writing it to making the music video.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this song? When did you start working on it?
We went into Jonathan’s studio for the write just a couple months ago on November 12th at like 7pm. We finished the song and had a full demo with Skyler’s backup vocals by 1am. The next week I went to Walmart and bought a little pink bike with training wheels, and a bright pink helmet and elbow pads and we found the cutest neighborhood in Franklin, TN and shot an entire music video in a few hours. After Thanksgiving, I went back in to cut final vocals, we added some more backup vocal layers, added some more guitars, made a few tweaks, and that was it. The demo that Jonathan made the night we wrote it was honestly not too far off from what you hear now in the mastered track. I couldn’t be happier with how the production turned out, and how it perfectly evokes the same emotions as the lyrics.
What's your favorite lyric on this song?
My favorite lyric in this song is “If I knew I’d have a helmet on and bubble wrap my legs and arms.” I was so happy when I managed to get “bubble wrap” into the song, but I also just love what this line means. If I knew how hard life was gonna be I would’ve put some gear on to protect me or wrapped myself in bubble wrap, but sadly there’s no instruction manual to tell you to gear up cuz you will probably crash at some point, and there are no training wheels to help you learn how to ride before you’re sent down the hill on two wheels.
What message do you want to deliver through this song? What do you want people to feel when listening to it?
First and foremost I want people to feel like a little kid again because that’s how the song made me feel to create. I want people to look back on their childhood and remember the first time they rode a two-wheel bike and how scary it was, that there may have been a few crashes, but eventually they learned to ride it. I want to portray a little nostalgia, but also bring up all of the feelings, good and bad, that come with growing up. Growing up is hard, and truly feels like flying down a hill with no clue how to ride the bike you’re on. It can be so incredibly fun and you can feel like you’re flying, but it can also be terrifying and there is a very high possibility that you’re gonna crash at some point. I think growing up is a bittersweet thing and I want the listener to feel all sides of it.
As an artist, what are the biggest challenges? And what's the best part about being an artist?
I think there are a few prominent challenges in pursuing a career in music, especially as an artist. I think the biggest is the internal battle knowing there are no guarantees. I’ve had many people in my life through the years pose the question that no creative wants to hear, which is basically “how long do you give yourself before you quit.” “How long do you keep pursuing this time consuming and financially straining dream when there is no guarantee that you’ll come out with anything on the other side.” I’ve never known how to answer this question, and honestly I don’t let myself think about it for too long. I’ve never really given myself another option, because this is what I love to do, but it is definitely a weight that is kind of always there, as I’m sure it is for every artist. Another big challenge is that the industry is pretty much built on comparison because it’s so tied to social media and numbers and being unique. I personally have to constantly remind myself that everybody’s path looks different and that comparison is the thief of joy, and is only hurting me. While there are so many challenges, the good definitely outweighs the bad. The best part about being an artist, for me, is being able to create something beautiful from an experience that can be the opposite of that, and then be able to give a voice to people who have felt the same way or gone through the same experience that may not have the ability to put their pain into words. I think being able to write songs is such a special gift, and I love how it connects people through life experience.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
I think there are a lot of great things in today’s music industry, like social media making it easier to reach a broader audience, and streaming services making it extremely easy to consume and find new music, but there are also a lot of negatives that these things create as well. Because social media is so attainable and easy to use, anyone can be a musician and this creates such a saturated market because with all of the tools and technology at our fingertips, anyone can make a song and post it. I’m not sure I can pick just one, but if I could change a couple things, I wish success in music wasn’t so tied to numbers (amount of followers, streams, monthly listeners, comments, shares, viral videos, etc.), and I wish that the artists and songwriters could be fairly compensated for what we create. In today’s industry, you almost have to have a song go viral on social media to get any traction. It is so frustrating to be at the mercy of something so out of your control and uncertain, but also time consuming and subjective. Creating music is in general extremely time consuming and it’s very expensive. It’s like having a full time job that you have to pay to do. The whole process is financially straining, from the cost of getting a song produced, plus getting it mixed and mastered, to then trying to get people to listen to the song with PR and playlisting and social media ads, etc. When one stream on Spotify makes between $0.003 and $0.005, it gets extremely difficult to make a living in music. This means a song needs to get one million streams to make probably the amount you put into making and promoting it, and that’s without calculating any writer or producer spits. I’m grateful for all of the ways that the music industry is more accessible, but I would love to see creators get compensated fairly and I hope that something changes soon in that regard.
In your opinion, what would make the world a BETTER place?
I think the world would be a better place if everyone stopped to look around to realize we’re all just on a giant floating rock in space and we’re all just doing the best we can. We’re human and we disagree and have different values and opinions and views on the world, and I think if we could all realize that there isn’t a single other person on this planet that we can’t learn something from, there would be so much more respect and kindness in the world. We only get a little bit of time on this beautiful planet and I wish that there wasn’t so much judgement and comparison and hate and blame pulling us away from things that truly matter. If we take a step back we’re really not all that different from anyone else. We’re all just trying to figure out the best way down the hill on a two wheel bike with no training wheels.
What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?
For me, the biggest life lesson I’ve learned this far is that no one is going to make your dreams happen for you. I’ve been frustrated a lot in my life having to depend on other people, especially in the music industry, and starting with my move to Nashville, I just really made everything happen for myself. You have to show up for yourself and give everything you have because no one is ever gonna chase your dreams for you. Moving to Nashville I’ve met some of my favorite people. I’ve built a community of uplifting, supportive, and kind friends, and it made me realize very quickly how big of an impact the people you surround yourself with have on your quality of life. So, another big life lesson I’ve learned is to surround yourself with people who build you up and cut out anyone who does the opposite. It was one of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn and it took me a long time to learn it, but it makes a world of difference.
What are your goals for this new year?
I’m planning on releasing a song every 4 to 6 weeks this year, and my biggest goal is just to build my audience and grow my numbers (on social media and streaming platforms) enough to have it be feasible to release an album by the end of the year! I have so many songs I absolutely love and I can’t wait to share! I’m also so lucky to have the opportunity to create music videos for a handful of these songs, and have some goals for certain songs having music videos as well this year. Right now I’m most excited about my next release, and the music video that will be coming out with it!
Connect with Callie: