Nashville singer/songwriter Caleb Hearn talks to Atwood Magazine about how he got to where he is today and the rays of hope and healing that shine through on ‘Left on McKinney,’ his upcoming debut LP.
Stream: “Last Breath” – Caleb Hearn
Growing up, Caleb Hearn was surrounded by music.
His mom wrote songs, his uncle played in bands, and Caleb himself sang in church. “No one was doing anything professionally, but music was always a big part of my upbringing,” Hearn tells Atwood Magazine. When he was 10 years old, he got a guitar for Christmas and started teaching himself to play using YouTube videos and any other resources he could get his hands on.
Then in high school, Hearn and one of his good friends pooled their money to buy some music equipment and started writing songs together. “We did every genre you could think of,” Hearn says of the music they were making at the time, “even rap at one point – we were just doing everything.”
But even then, Hearn was grappling with the question of whether it was possible to make a living as a musician. “We did see a vision where we could make it somehow,” he says. “But it was never really anyone else’s dream for us, and it didn’t seem realistic, necessarily. So eventually it dawned on me that maybe this is a risky, risky thing to go for.”
So Hearn set his guitar aside and continued with his schooling, pursuing financial planning. But the feeling that something was missing continued to nag at him, and his passion for making music never abated. Eventually, he decided that he had to give music a real shot, and he dedicated himself fully to writing and recording songs with renewed energy.
When the COVID-19 pandemic brought life to a standstill in 2020, Hearn used the time to create new music and refine his sound. But at first, nothing was taking off in the way he hoped it would. “It was about six months of just kind of throwing stuff at the wall and trying to make a hit song,” he says of this period.
It was when he got some tough yet insightful advice from his father that things really started to click for the artist. Hearn describes the moment this way: “My dad comes down to the basement where I’m working and says ‘the music’s sounding good, it’s awesome. But none of it sounds honest — I don’t believe you when you’re singing it. I think that’s what your strength is — your honesty.’”
At first, Hearn was resistant to his father’s advice, but he quickly realized the wisdom in what his dad had told him. Later that same day, Hearn wrote what would be his first breakout hit, “Always Be 2.0.” Shortly after that, he released the song and it started to take off online.
“It was perfect timing,” Hearn says, “because I had quit my job, and I was almost out of money from what I had saved up. I needed something to happen, and it just worked out.”
Much of Hearn’s early success came through TikTok, where he now has 1.5 million followers.
At first, he felt like the social media site was a great way for a budding musician like himself to build a following. “If the video was good, it would actually get pushed out to people,” Hearn says of how TikTok felt back in 2020 and 2021. “So for me, there was always this thought that if I just make good music, and I make things that people care about and connect to, then that’s the formula.”
But he finds today’s social media landscape much more difficult to navigate and feels that TikTok has changed in ways that make it harder for musicians to reach a new audience on the platform. “It’s more random and luck of the draw – that’s what it feels like to me,” Hearn says of TikTok today. “I have to remind myself that this is a tool. I’m a musician first – that’s what I love to do.”
That’s even before considering the recent legislation in the US that may lead to an effective ban on TikTok in the near future. With all the uncertainty surrounding social media and its effectiveness for musicians, Hearn has increasingly relied on a strategy that has helped musicians succeed long before the internet age. “I think the number one way to connect with fans these days is touring and getting out there,” he says.
And Hearn has been putting these thoughts into action by hitting the road to play his music live.
So far this year, he has played all across the US, including shows in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Austin, with more tour dates coming soon. “I love being up there and playing for fans and seeing that connection,” Hearn says of the experience of playing a live show.
The sound that Hearn has developed over his years exploring and mastering his craft is often centered around acoustic guitar, piano, and soft, melodic vocals. But he isn’t afraid to let the story he’s telling guide how his songs sound. “The sound always matches what the lyrics say first,” Hearn says of his songwriting process. “It’s always lyrics and then sound for me.”
“Klonopin,” one of many singles Hearn has released in 2024, is a good example of how the songwriter matches the music to the story. The song starts with just an acoustic guitar and Hearn’s voice as he recounts a moment where he was seemingly overtaken by panic or anxiety. But then the arrangement builds to the song’s climactic chorus, with massive drums joining Hearn’s emotive vocals:
I need you like, I need you like water
A man in the desert,
I need you like a child needs a father
You hold me together like a stitch in my skin
It’s almost a fix ’til I bleed again
It must be a sin
You’re pulling me into your arms again
Heard wrote “Klonopin” after a period where he had been struggling with his mental health — something so many of us can relate to — and that inspired him to share that part of himself in his music. “I’ve been told that I’ve been able to give off this sense of having everything together,” Hearn says. “But I don’t, and I never have,” he adds with a chuckle. “I felt like I owed it to myself and to people that know me or follow me to say ‘you’re not alone in this. This is what I went through, and it was awful, and I want you to know that you can be going through something like this, and it’s a normal thing.’”
Hearn also loves collaborating with other artists, as he did with ROSIE, another emerging singer/songwriter with a massive TikTok following, on the recently released “Little Bit Better.”
“I was just a really big fan of what ROSIE was doing,” Hearn says of why he was so excited about the collaboration. After he reached out to her through Instagram, they were able to meet for a session in Los Angeles, where the song came together.
“Little Bit Better” is an emotionally nuanced song about how our problems don’t feel as insurmountable when we’re with the people that love us most. The song begins with an acoustic guitar and atmospheric background vocals. Then Hearn introduces the song’s themes in his opening verse:
I met somebody, selfless and kind
She’s got a smile even when she isn’t fine
She can be hurting, but she’s got enough love
To fill up Tennessee
ROSIE responds in the second verse to add her perspective to the narrative:
I met somebody, gentle and smart
He underestimates the size of his heart
He can be laughing, but he’s got enough pain
To fill up New York City
In between these two verses, the singers join their voices to reveal the hope that comes from having someone to help you through the difficult moments in life:
But now you hold me in the darkness
Hold me ’til it hurts less, you
Tell me that I’m alright
Show me where the light shines through
Please stay, love me through the weather
Please say this will be forever
Hold me in the darkness
Even when it’s hard with you
It’s a little bit, little bit better
It’s been a prolific year for Hearn — since the start of June, he has released two more singles, “If It Wasn’t for You,” a ballad dissecting the end of a relationship, and “Last Breath,” a beautiful love song that is perfectly suited to any wedding playlist.
All of these new releases will culminate in the introduction of Hearn’s debut album Left on McKinney, which is set for a September 6th release via Nettwerk Music Group. He also has plans to get back on the road and support the album with more tour dates. “In my opinion, it’s the best batch of music that I’ve been able to put out,” Hearn says. “So I’m super excited about that aspect of it.”
And Hearn is just as enthusiastic about sharing the message he wants to convey through the songs on his new album.
“It’s been close to five years now since I’ve been putting music out,” he says.
“And during those five years, a lot has happened, and a lot has changed for me. I think for the first time in my life I’m looking forward, and I’m not really reminiscing on past things that have happened that have hurt me. I think I’m healing from that and moving forward. So part of the message of the album is that there’s that sense of hope for everyone.”
“That being said, there are still some sad songs,” he adds with a smile. “So anybody who wants the sad songs – they’re still going to have that.”
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Stream: “If It Wasn’t for You” – Caleb Hearn
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© Tyler Krippaehne
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