The Sit Down with Callum Kerr
To many of his followers, Nashville based Scottish singer Callum Kerr would be known for his acting credits in Netflix’s Virgin River and One Piece rather than as a country artist. At the end of July, Kerr started the next phase of his growing music career by releasing his six-track debut EP Roots Under Me via ONErpm/Huff Co. that was produced by Dann and David Huff. The release of the EP was also followed with the opportunity to make his Opry debut the very next day after being invited by Dustin Lynch. We caught up with Callum at the end of a very busy release week to find out more.
Hey Callum, how are you doing?
No complaints, man, no complaints. Yourself?
Good, I take it this weekend is going to be a little bit quieter for you than last weekend?
Absolutely, yeah, I'm praying for it, I'm waiting for it. I've had the family in town for about two weeks, four friends from Scotland and a few from Texas. It's been mental! Everyone leaves tomorrow and I'm like, all right, sleep for a couple of days.
Coming from Scotland, how did you first get into country music scene as most people will know you more for acting than for singing?
Yeah, I didn't listen to it growing up because it wasn't big. I got a job at a kids sports camp one summer in Texas. I was actually trying to get one in California! I went to this recruitment fair and the first one I saw was in Texas - I was like, Texas sounds cool, I'll go check that out. I’m so glad that I did, because before I got there the guy who'd hired me had asked if I listened to country music and I was like, no, not really. I've heard maybe I Feel Like A Woman and Nine to Five, but that was like it. He was like, right, I'm going to send you 20, 30 quintessential country songs that you have to know before you get here. I listened to them, and I thought they were just so good and then, of course, when you land in Texas, there's more country radio stations than there are pop radio stations. I was obsessed immediately. I grew up listening to rock music and ended up finding country along the way. I'm so glad I ended up in Texas and not somewhere else.
You’ve now gone from being sent those quintessential songs to having your own EP out. That must feel like a real full circle moment.
Yeah man. I started putting music out a couple of years ago and writing probably three years ago. I put a song out with my buddy, Chris Andreucci, who's also from Scotland, and everything's just snowballed from there. About this time last year, I started speaking to the label that I work with now and we put together a group of six songs. It was a mix of some that I'd written, some that were written by others, but they'd pitched for the project. We wanted a combination of different things. We wanted the classic heartbreak country; we wanted some rock; we wanted the love songs; drinking because your happy songs; drinking because your sad songs! We put together what I thought at the time was a really good variation of different kind of styles of country music with the guys who produced it, Dan Hough and David Hough, who are legends in this town. We tried to get a sound that was rooted in country but had that Texas-y sound with the mix of Nashville vocals and writing style. We definitely slid in some rock references or influences too because as I said I grew up listening to rock. Dan Hough is one of the best guitar players in Nashville, if not the world, you know, he's played guitar on like Beyonce tracks and stuff like that and because he's so good, I was like, this would be a wasted opportunity not to have some rock and solos in the middle of these songs. It came out on Friday, and man I couldn't be happier to finally get it out.
How did you come about working with Dan and David on it?
David called me just out of the blue actually! I don't know how he got my number, but it was not long after we'd done Tamed by Tennessee. I think he told me that his wife found me on social media - heads up to other artists, you got to post as much as possible, because you never know who's going to get your, who's going to see your video! He called me out of the blue at a time when I'd just been speaking to another couple of labels. One of them was a non-country label, but they were going to fund my next project, which was cool, but they weren't really an avenue into the kind of country world here in Nashville. Another one was a big label here, but they were looking to do something that was very different to what I was looking to do. They were very much like radio tour, one song a year, slow burn. While I was like, I'm here to get music out and get rocking and am ready to get going. I was kind of bummed out, because I didn't really want to do either of those. Then David called me. I could tell immediately that him and Dan were just all about the music. They didn't really care about anything else. They just wanted to make cool songs. It was an obvious choice to go and sign with them.
Before this release cycle, it has been like two years since you first dropped some songs. Was that really important to you to take that time to work on that craft of writing and singing before turning you attention to this project?
Definitely. I'm still working on those things. They call Nashville a 10-year town and that’s so true. It's like getting your black belt in martial art, you have to be here every day and focus and get better. I released a few songs very early - Tequila Therapy and one called More Tennessee – and I was really proud of those songs when I did them, because they were two of the first songs that I ever wrote in this town. I wrote them in the first few weeks that I came to town. But, you know, would I be proud of them if I wrote them today? Probably not! You have to just write, put it out, write, produce it and put it out. Those were the best of the few in the first month. I wrote some bad songs when I first got to town and those will never see the light of day! I think just continuing to work on that craft of songwriting and melody writing is so important. I don't really have to work on the production side of things at the minute because I just hand it to the office and they do sprinkle their magic on whatever they touch.
Neither of those songs made the final cut for the EP. Was that were they ever in your mind to be on the EP? Or was it always going to be about this being a new project?
Absolutely. New project moving forward. We thought about putting Tamed by Tennessee on the EP because that is a classic trick that people do when they've got one song that's blown up a lot more than the others. They’ll put that one on the EP and then it makes the EP look more successful because they can say, oh, I had 20 million streams on the EP. Turns out 18 million were from one song! We thought, no, we'll start fresh because this is a new producer, first label deal, first EP is a non-independent artist. We wanted to just completely try something different. I only had six songs for the first option of the deal, so I was like, I want to do six fresh songs, not five with an old one.
Hey Callum, how are you doing?
No complaints, man, no complaints. Yourself?
Good, I take it this weekend is going to be a little bit quieter for you than last weekend?
Absolutely, yeah, I'm praying for it, I'm waiting for it. I've had the family in town for about two weeks, four friends from Scotland and a few from Texas. It's been mental! Everyone leaves tomorrow and I'm like, all right, sleep for a couple of days.
Coming from Scotland, how did you first get into country music scene as most people will know you more for acting than for singing?
Yeah, I didn't listen to it growing up because it wasn't big. I got a job at a kids sports camp one summer in Texas. I was actually trying to get one in California! I went to this recruitment fair and the first one I saw was in Texas - I was like, Texas sounds cool, I'll go check that out. I’m so glad that I did, because before I got there the guy who'd hired me had asked if I listened to country music and I was like, no, not really. I've heard maybe I Feel Like A Woman and Nine to Five, but that was like it. He was like, right, I'm going to send you 20, 30 quintessential country songs that you have to know before you get here. I listened to them, and I thought they were just so good and then, of course, when you land in Texas, there's more country radio stations than there are pop radio stations. I was obsessed immediately. I grew up listening to rock music and ended up finding country along the way. I'm so glad I ended up in Texas and not somewhere else.
You’ve now gone from being sent those quintessential songs to having your own EP out. That must feel like a real full circle moment.
Yeah man. I started putting music out a couple of years ago and writing probably three years ago. I put a song out with my buddy, Chris Andreucci, who's also from Scotland, and everything's just snowballed from there. About this time last year, I started speaking to the label that I work with now and we put together a group of six songs. It was a mix of some that I'd written, some that were written by others, but they'd pitched for the project. We wanted a combination of different things. We wanted the classic heartbreak country; we wanted some rock; we wanted the love songs; drinking because your happy songs; drinking because your sad songs! We put together what I thought at the time was a really good variation of different kind of styles of country music with the guys who produced it, Dan Hough and David Hough, who are legends in this town. We tried to get a sound that was rooted in country but had that Texas-y sound with the mix of Nashville vocals and writing style. We definitely slid in some rock references or influences too because as I said I grew up listening to rock. Dan Hough is one of the best guitar players in Nashville, if not the world, you know, he's played guitar on like Beyonce tracks and stuff like that and because he's so good, I was like, this would be a wasted opportunity not to have some rock and solos in the middle of these songs. It came out on Friday, and man I couldn't be happier to finally get it out.
How did you come about working with Dan and David on it?
David called me just out of the blue actually! I don't know how he got my number, but it was not long after we'd done Tamed by Tennessee. I think he told me that his wife found me on social media - heads up to other artists, you got to post as much as possible, because you never know who's going to get your, who's going to see your video! He called me out of the blue at a time when I'd just been speaking to another couple of labels. One of them was a non-country label, but they were going to fund my next project, which was cool, but they weren't really an avenue into the kind of country world here in Nashville. Another one was a big label here, but they were looking to do something that was very different to what I was looking to do. They were very much like radio tour, one song a year, slow burn. While I was like, I'm here to get music out and get rocking and am ready to get going. I was kind of bummed out, because I didn't really want to do either of those. Then David called me. I could tell immediately that him and Dan were just all about the music. They didn't really care about anything else. They just wanted to make cool songs. It was an obvious choice to go and sign with them.
Before this release cycle, it has been like two years since you first dropped some songs. Was that really important to you to take that time to work on that craft of writing and singing before turning you attention to this project?
Definitely. I'm still working on those things. They call Nashville a 10-year town and that’s so true. It's like getting your black belt in martial art, you have to be here every day and focus and get better. I released a few songs very early - Tequila Therapy and one called More Tennessee – and I was really proud of those songs when I did them, because they were two of the first songs that I ever wrote in this town. I wrote them in the first few weeks that I came to town. But, you know, would I be proud of them if I wrote them today? Probably not! You have to just write, put it out, write, produce it and put it out. Those were the best of the few in the first month. I wrote some bad songs when I first got to town and those will never see the light of day! I think just continuing to work on that craft of songwriting and melody writing is so important. I don't really have to work on the production side of things at the minute because I just hand it to the office and they do sprinkle their magic on whatever they touch.
Neither of those songs made the final cut for the EP. Was that were they ever in your mind to be on the EP? Or was it always going to be about this being a new project?
Absolutely. New project moving forward. We thought about putting Tamed by Tennessee on the EP because that is a classic trick that people do when they've got one song that's blown up a lot more than the others. They’ll put that one on the EP and then it makes the EP look more successful because they can say, oh, I had 20 million streams on the EP. Turns out 18 million were from one song! We thought, no, we'll start fresh because this is a new producer, first label deal, first EP is a non-independent artist. We wanted to just completely try something different. I only had six songs for the first option of the deal, so I was like, I want to do six fresh songs, not five with an old one.
When you started making this transition to the music industry what was the reaction like from your family and friends?
I always sang in my bedroom from when I was young. My parents would be probably bored of certain Fall Out Boy songs and Nickelback songs and all those angsty pop, punk and rock songs that we all listened to in like mid 2000s, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, all those guys. I was always singing in my bedroom, in the shower, wherever. I grew up playing the guitar too and then they knew that I loved Texas having moved there and always listened to country music. I always told them about bands that I was listening to and I forced everybody to become a fan! I did a TV show called Monarch, where I was playing a Texas country singer and that was when I thought maybe I could do this, but I'd just never written a song before. I had to start brand new. I was the white belt. I pulled on the white belt, brand new, fresh, clean, white. I was like, just let me let me learn how to do this damn thing and they were there for me. I think they weren't surprised about the genre and they've always been supportive. When I started acting, they didn't have any expectations there. My family would be proud if I'd done tech work or was a bartender. I'm lucky to have a cool family that are like chill. I don't think they realized how far I could go, which is cool.
And now they'll fly around the world to support you as well which is an amazing support.
Exactly. They've been cracking holidays from it! They've joined me on set in South Africa and London, Liverpool, Austin, Texas and a few others, so they've had a good few holidays, which is cool. I love having them because I don't live at home and any excuse to see them is a good excuse.
Have you had to manage your acting career while doing the songwriting and recording or have you had time to solely focus on the music side these past few months?
Interestingly, I actually cut the vocals for this EP in Cape Town while I was on set. We'd chosen the songs; we wanted to get them out and I just happened to have an acting job that was in South Africa. The label were like, wait, where are you? Why are you not in Nashville? I was like, sorry, guys, but we got all the studio session players in and I watched them record the songs over Zoom, which is crazy. We found a really good recording studio in Cape Town and then there's a couple of apps that you can use in Pro Tools and we had FaceTime set up so that we could basically recorded the vocals for the EP over FaceTime in a studio. It was insane but cool to say part of this album was made in Cape Town! Don't get me wrong though, I think for the next one, I'd like to be in Nashville!
I always sang in my bedroom from when I was young. My parents would be probably bored of certain Fall Out Boy songs and Nickelback songs and all those angsty pop, punk and rock songs that we all listened to in like mid 2000s, Paramore, My Chemical Romance, all those guys. I was always singing in my bedroom, in the shower, wherever. I grew up playing the guitar too and then they knew that I loved Texas having moved there and always listened to country music. I always told them about bands that I was listening to and I forced everybody to become a fan! I did a TV show called Monarch, where I was playing a Texas country singer and that was when I thought maybe I could do this, but I'd just never written a song before. I had to start brand new. I was the white belt. I pulled on the white belt, brand new, fresh, clean, white. I was like, just let me let me learn how to do this damn thing and they were there for me. I think they weren't surprised about the genre and they've always been supportive. When I started acting, they didn't have any expectations there. My family would be proud if I'd done tech work or was a bartender. I'm lucky to have a cool family that are like chill. I don't think they realized how far I could go, which is cool.
And now they'll fly around the world to support you as well which is an amazing support.
Exactly. They've been cracking holidays from it! They've joined me on set in South Africa and London, Liverpool, Austin, Texas and a few others, so they've had a good few holidays, which is cool. I love having them because I don't live at home and any excuse to see them is a good excuse.
Have you had to manage your acting career while doing the songwriting and recording or have you had time to solely focus on the music side these past few months?
Interestingly, I actually cut the vocals for this EP in Cape Town while I was on set. We'd chosen the songs; we wanted to get them out and I just happened to have an acting job that was in South Africa. The label were like, wait, where are you? Why are you not in Nashville? I was like, sorry, guys, but we got all the studio session players in and I watched them record the songs over Zoom, which is crazy. We found a really good recording studio in Cape Town and then there's a couple of apps that you can use in Pro Tools and we had FaceTime set up so that we could basically recorded the vocals for the EP over FaceTime in a studio. It was insane but cool to say part of this album was made in Cape Town! Don't get me wrong though, I think for the next one, I'd like to be in Nashville!
Looking back through 2025 for you, it must be crazy to reflect on some of the firsts you’ve had. This year you made your CMA Fest Debut and just on Saturday you got to make your Opry debut the day after releasing the EP.
Yeah. It is
I guess these are kind of things that growing up in Scotland, they're not even bucket list of things because they're not even really things you would think to do or even imagine doing.
Yeah, exactly. Even with the Opry I went there with Chris to do the Opry Radio WSM a couple of years ago when Tamed by Tennessee came out. We went and did an interview on the radio and after we did the radio show, they gave us a little private tour of the Opry. We went backstage and saw the dressing rooms and then we went onto the stage. I refused to stand in the circle where you sing because it's got the wood from the original Ryman. The first time you stand in the circle as an artist is so special, so I said, I'm not going to stand in that circle until I get invited to. I honestly really didn't think it would happen anytime soon. I wasn't expecting it to be as soon as like a year or two later for sure. I thought I'd have to have a number one hit and be on stadium tours and have a whole career behind me before they were like, all right, you want to come and play the Opry. I didn't know that they'd done it, but Kylie, my manager, had pitched my songs to the Opry people. I guess that's how you do it. You pitch your music and pitch your story and then they make a decision. She'd done that way back in January and kept it a secret until June! I was like, how did you keep that a secret? She was like, I wanted to tell you so bad! They told me when I was playing a gig at Whiskey Jam here in Nashville. There's about five artists in the night and then Dustin Lynch asked me to play the Opry after I'd finished playing at Whiskey Jam, which was just surreal. Towards the end, I was like, come on, let's go, let's get there! It’s been like counting down to Christmas morning. I was so excited. It was a crazy blessing. I don't know what else to call it. It was surreal. I was in a dreamlike state the whole time. CMA Fest just insane as well, my family came over for that too. Like you said, it’s been a crazy couple of months. We're now just going to keep smashing forward and see what we can do next.
Which were you more excited for – EP release or The Opry?
Oh, it was definitely the Opry. I mean, the EP release was a close second, but man, the Opry do such a good job of letting everyone know how big of a deal it is. Right before you get on stage, they play a video about how important it is and how crazy it is to debut. If I wasn't nervous before, here's Carrie Underwood and Luke Combs and all these huge artists making their debut. I was like, oh my God. I got out there and was like I guess I got to do it.
You’ve said how important your family and friends have been, having them by your side for that instead of 4,000 miles away must have been exactly what you needed to get through it.
Yeah, you know, it's always better when they're in town regardless. I think they really wanted to see it and a few of my friends from Scotland, they were like, you only make your Opry debut once, we're coming! They came for four days, and they got absolutely hammered for four days straight and enjoyed Nashville and actually almost missed me play because they were on Broadway getting drunk! They had a blast. It might have been less pressure if not everyone was there, but I'm so glad they got to see it. My family kind of knew what was going on as they'd been over a bunch of times, but I think my friends finally understood what I'm trying to do over here and how cool of a city Nashville is. I'm always bragging about it back home and they're like, oh, it can't be that good. They had a way better time than they even imagined.
They're already booking their next trip over, aren't they?
Oh, yeah, they were like, we'll be back. Two if the guys had kids back home and, you know, they kind of came over as a bit of a lads weekend. My other friend who was over, proposed to his girlfriend, now fiancé, when he was here, so the whole weekend was just a huge celebration. This week's been a lot more chill, which is nice.
Yeah. It is
I guess these are kind of things that growing up in Scotland, they're not even bucket list of things because they're not even really things you would think to do or even imagine doing.
Yeah, exactly. Even with the Opry I went there with Chris to do the Opry Radio WSM a couple of years ago when Tamed by Tennessee came out. We went and did an interview on the radio and after we did the radio show, they gave us a little private tour of the Opry. We went backstage and saw the dressing rooms and then we went onto the stage. I refused to stand in the circle where you sing because it's got the wood from the original Ryman. The first time you stand in the circle as an artist is so special, so I said, I'm not going to stand in that circle until I get invited to. I honestly really didn't think it would happen anytime soon. I wasn't expecting it to be as soon as like a year or two later for sure. I thought I'd have to have a number one hit and be on stadium tours and have a whole career behind me before they were like, all right, you want to come and play the Opry. I didn't know that they'd done it, but Kylie, my manager, had pitched my songs to the Opry people. I guess that's how you do it. You pitch your music and pitch your story and then they make a decision. She'd done that way back in January and kept it a secret until June! I was like, how did you keep that a secret? She was like, I wanted to tell you so bad! They told me when I was playing a gig at Whiskey Jam here in Nashville. There's about five artists in the night and then Dustin Lynch asked me to play the Opry after I'd finished playing at Whiskey Jam, which was just surreal. Towards the end, I was like, come on, let's go, let's get there! It’s been like counting down to Christmas morning. I was so excited. It was a crazy blessing. I don't know what else to call it. It was surreal. I was in a dreamlike state the whole time. CMA Fest just insane as well, my family came over for that too. Like you said, it’s been a crazy couple of months. We're now just going to keep smashing forward and see what we can do next.
Which were you more excited for – EP release or The Opry?
Oh, it was definitely the Opry. I mean, the EP release was a close second, but man, the Opry do such a good job of letting everyone know how big of a deal it is. Right before you get on stage, they play a video about how important it is and how crazy it is to debut. If I wasn't nervous before, here's Carrie Underwood and Luke Combs and all these huge artists making their debut. I was like, oh my God. I got out there and was like I guess I got to do it.
You’ve said how important your family and friends have been, having them by your side for that instead of 4,000 miles away must have been exactly what you needed to get through it.
Yeah, you know, it's always better when they're in town regardless. I think they really wanted to see it and a few of my friends from Scotland, they were like, you only make your Opry debut once, we're coming! They came for four days, and they got absolutely hammered for four days straight and enjoyed Nashville and actually almost missed me play because they were on Broadway getting drunk! They had a blast. It might have been less pressure if not everyone was there, but I'm so glad they got to see it. My family kind of knew what was going on as they'd been over a bunch of times, but I think my friends finally understood what I'm trying to do over here and how cool of a city Nashville is. I'm always bragging about it back home and they're like, oh, it can't be that good. They had a way better time than they even imagined.
They're already booking their next trip over, aren't they?
Oh, yeah, they were like, we'll be back. Two if the guys had kids back home and, you know, they kind of came over as a bit of a lads weekend. My other friend who was over, proposed to his girlfriend, now fiancé, when he was here, so the whole weekend was just a huge celebration. This week's been a lot more chill, which is nice.
Are you now looking ahead at what's coming next for the rest of the year or are you starting to turn your focus to 2026?
I've got a lot of stuff to squeeze in for the rest of the year. A couple of acting jobs and I was trying to get out on tour. We made some deals with some venues in Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Arkansas to do kind of a southeast tour. I also had another artist ask if I wanted to support him on tour and he plays bigger venues than I would be. It's not an arena tour, but he does pretty big venues. I'm trying to work with my acting agents, booking agents, manager to see when we are going to fit this all in? We'll do as much as we can, but there’s a lot to squeeze in. To add to all that, I get married in Scotland in January too, so I've got to keep preparing for that as well. We're not done with the planning, but luckily, my fiancé is on it. I'm going to chill out this weekend and then Monday morning I’m right back to it. Let's go!
Amongst that hectic schedule, do you think you'll get back over here to do some shows?
100%. I know we've been speaking to the Country 2 Country people, as that one is on the bucket list for next year. It’s been a couple of years in a row now that we were talking and either the dates didn't work out or something happened, and we couldn't make it. That's probably up there with one of the things that I'd really want to push to do next year and then at some point, I'd like to do an actual little tour back home. It's all on that to-do list. The more you do, the more opportunities start opening up. Even just with playing the opera a couple of opportunities have presented themselves this week. I feel really fortunate that things are snowballing and I get to wonder how am I going to do all this? How am I going to fill this in? We'll work it out though. I'd love to play in London. I’d love to play in either Edinburgh or Glasgow and maybe somewhere in between like Manchester. I'm going to try my best, for sure.
I like the sound of all of that and can’t wait to hear more soon. It's been awesome to chat and make the most of a weekend off.
Thanks man, I'll enjoy the last night with the family, take them to the airport tomorrow and then I'll probably sleep for two days. Thank you very much Ian.
Callum’s debut EP – Roots Under Me is out now and be sure to follow Callum across his social platforms: INSTAGRAM / TIKTOK / FACEBOOK / SPOTIFY
I've got a lot of stuff to squeeze in for the rest of the year. A couple of acting jobs and I was trying to get out on tour. We made some deals with some venues in Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Arkansas to do kind of a southeast tour. I also had another artist ask if I wanted to support him on tour and he plays bigger venues than I would be. It's not an arena tour, but he does pretty big venues. I'm trying to work with my acting agents, booking agents, manager to see when we are going to fit this all in? We'll do as much as we can, but there’s a lot to squeeze in. To add to all that, I get married in Scotland in January too, so I've got to keep preparing for that as well. We're not done with the planning, but luckily, my fiancé is on it. I'm going to chill out this weekend and then Monday morning I’m right back to it. Let's go!
Amongst that hectic schedule, do you think you'll get back over here to do some shows?
100%. I know we've been speaking to the Country 2 Country people, as that one is on the bucket list for next year. It’s been a couple of years in a row now that we were talking and either the dates didn't work out or something happened, and we couldn't make it. That's probably up there with one of the things that I'd really want to push to do next year and then at some point, I'd like to do an actual little tour back home. It's all on that to-do list. The more you do, the more opportunities start opening up. Even just with playing the opera a couple of opportunities have presented themselves this week. I feel really fortunate that things are snowballing and I get to wonder how am I going to do all this? How am I going to fill this in? We'll work it out though. I'd love to play in London. I’d love to play in either Edinburgh or Glasgow and maybe somewhere in between like Manchester. I'm going to try my best, for sure.
I like the sound of all of that and can’t wait to hear more soon. It's been awesome to chat and make the most of a weekend off.
Thanks man, I'll enjoy the last night with the family, take them to the airport tomorrow and then I'll probably sleep for two days. Thank you very much Ian.
Callum’s debut EP – Roots Under Me is out now and be sure to follow Callum across his social platforms: INSTAGRAM / TIKTOK / FACEBOOK / SPOTIFY
