Casey McQuillen Talks New Album, UK Live Dates And More

 American pop artist Casey McQuillen was a contestant on season 13 of ‘American Idol’ and released her album ‘Skinny’. 2024 will see her tour the UK and Ireland as special guest to Marti Pellow as well as her own headline dates. We sat down with her to learn more about her and her music:

Your new album ‘Skinny’ is out now. How did you want to approach the making of this album?

The making of this album was rather unconventional, as it spanned many years! The oldest song on the album, ‘Dying’, was recorded in 2018, and the latest song on the album, ‘Skinny’, was recorded in 2022. I think this album encapsulates the process of finding myself and my sound after graduating from music college, and giving myself permission to make whatever genre of music I wanted, not what I thought I ‘should’ be making.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

I recorded this album in New York with my producer of many years Charles Humenry! We have been working together since we both attended Berklee College of Music together, and I feel like it was that deep creative trust we have that allowed us to make such a wide reaching album.

Similarly, even though we recorded this album over 4 years, we had only one engineer, Robin Buyer, and 1 co-writer, Hadley Kennary, on the entire album. I think this gives the album a cohesion regardless of the different genres represented stylistically.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

We fully produced ‘Bourbon’ out as a pop song before we gave up and made it country! Back in the early days of the album, we were trying to make the album stylistically consistent, and we kept trying to force a pop production for the song ‘Bourbon’. But it just didn’t work! When we
finally experimented with more natural instrumentation on ‘Bourbon,’ I realized that I wanted to produce each song how that specific song
would best be represented, instead of trying to shove all the songs into one creative box.

Was it a difficult album to write?

No, I wouldn’t say so. Because I wrote this album over many years, I didn’t feel pressured; I wrote these songs when I felt them authentically, and I think you can feel that in the vulnerability of the album.

 Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

My hometown is Boston, MA, and I’d describe Boston as historic, proud, intellectual, tight-knit, and beautiful!

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals etc?

My trusty Martin and I have toured all over the world. Nothing beats a well made guitar!

In doing some research, I read that you are involved with Bullying Prevention charity work. When did you start your charity work, how important is it to you and what can people do themselves to support Bullying Prevention?

I run an anti-bullying concert called The ‘You Matter’ Tour that uses my original songs to connect with students about issues around self-confidence & bullying. I started this program when I was fresh out of highschool at 18 and have had the privilege to perform for over 40,000
students at over 100 different schools in the US & Europe.

The ‘You Matter’ Tour shaped me as an artist; it taught me the impact I could make by being vulnerable and honest in my songwriting and
storytelling. The main message of the ‘You Matter’ Tour is that bullies aren’t evil characters from TV shows; we all have the capacity to hurt or help those around us, and it’s our responsibility to think about how our words and actions could affect those around us. We are more powerful than we realize, both for good and for bad.

How do you look after your voice?

Obsessively! I actually had vocal surgery years ago, and that process taught me soo much about vocal health! I try to limit talking on show
days, I don’t drink at all on tour, and I avoid loud environments where I might speak louder than I realize. Most importantly, I alwaysssss warm up AND warm down after shows!

What are your plans for 2024 and do you plan to support the new album
with any live dates in the UK/Europe?

Oh yeah! I am about to leave on tour again; I am doing my first arena tour ever, opening for the legendary Marti Pellow in Ireland & the UK in
March! Then I am set to perform my own headline tour, The ‘Brooklyn to Britain’ Tour, across the UK in April! Head to www.listentocasey.com/shows to grab your tickets, I’d love to see you there!!

Do you have a specific process when it comes to songwriting such as lyrics before melody for example?

I tend to write both lyrics and melody at the same time; I’ll sit down with a general idea or feeling, and play my guitar and sing, trying to clear my mind so ideas can come naturally. Once I have general melodies and ideas taking shape, I’ll zero in on the lyrics to try convey exactly what I’m thinking.

What makes Casey McQuillen happy and what makes you unhappy?

Feeling connected to others makes me happy. This can be sitting on an old friend’s couch drinking wine & catching up, driving in the car with the windows down screaming Taylor Swift with my siblings, or singing a deeply personal song to thousands of people. For me, it’s all about feeling seen, understood, and accepted, and I find that feeling in many different places.

Lack of control is something that usually makes me really unhappy. I most in life when difficult circumstances are out of my control; it makes me feel weak and powerless. But I’m working on creating space in myself to better absorb those hard times and weather the storms a little easier.

Feature Image Photo Credit: Supplied By PR

Casey McQuillen’s album ‘Skinny’ is out now.

In addition, Casey McQuillen will tour the UK and Ireland as special guest to Marti Pellow’s ‘Popped In, Souled Out’ March 2024 Tour followed by her April 2024 Headline UK Tour at the following venues:

March 10 – Sun 3 Arena Dublin

March 16 – Sat OVO Hydro Glasgow

March 17 – Sun AO Arena Manchester

March 22 – Fri Motorpoint Arena Cardiff

March 23 – Sat First Direct Arena Leeds

March 24 – Sun Utilita Arena Newcastle

March 29 – Fri Eventim Apollo London

March 30 – Sat B.I.C. Bournemouth

March 31 – Sun Resorts World Arena Birmingham

——————————————–

April 2024 Headline UK Tour:

April 11 – Thu Gullivers Manchester

April 12 – Fri Classic Grand (Lounge) Glasgow

April 14 – Sun Cluny 2 Newcastle

April 19 – Fri Camden Club London

April 20 – Sat The Soundhouse Leicester

April 21 – Sun Sunflower Lounge Birmingham

Tickets: https://listentocasey.com/shows

For more information visit her official website here: https://listentocasey.com/