The Sit down with karissa ella
Whilst Karissa Ella is a Belmont University graduate who now calls Nashville home, you really can’t the that Buckeyes spirit out of anyone from Ohio. Fittingly for the Canton native, her most recent track shared is titled “Hall Of Fame” which was the fourth new track she released in 2025 leading up to the release of her fourth studio EP “Growing Wings” that will be out on July 11th and is now available to pre-save / pre-add HERE.
Ahead of the release of the new Casey Wood produced seven track project, Karissa hung out with us over Zoom for a really fun chat about the new project, her live show closer (along with some stories about that beautiful yet mischievous clear spirit) and a little OH – IO back and forth!
Thanks for taking the time to hang and talk about this lovely little EP that's coming out next week! Where you have started to release tracks from it through the year and how the whole process of releasing music works, it isn’t quick with writing, cutting tracks and waiting for it to be mixed, as exciting as putting out new music is, in a way it must almost feel like a relief too that it’s finally coming out in to the world.
“Yeah, exactly. We've been working on it for over a year and it's like, I've already moved on mentally to other things, but I can't move on yet because I'm about to give birth to this project and have this baby for the world to see. I'm so excited for that but you know, to other people, it's out of the blue while for me, it's been a long time coming, a lot of hard work, my teams worked really hard and so I'm just excited that it's finally time to release it.”
Ahead of the release of the new Casey Wood produced seven track project, Karissa hung out with us over Zoom for a really fun chat about the new project, her live show closer (along with some stories about that beautiful yet mischievous clear spirit) and a little OH – IO back and forth!
Thanks for taking the time to hang and talk about this lovely little EP that's coming out next week! Where you have started to release tracks from it through the year and how the whole process of releasing music works, it isn’t quick with writing, cutting tracks and waiting for it to be mixed, as exciting as putting out new music is, in a way it must almost feel like a relief too that it’s finally coming out in to the world.
“Yeah, exactly. We've been working on it for over a year and it's like, I've already moved on mentally to other things, but I can't move on yet because I'm about to give birth to this project and have this baby for the world to see. I'm so excited for that but you know, to other people, it's out of the blue while for me, it's been a long time coming, a lot of hard work, my teams worked really hard and so I'm just excited that it's finally time to release it.”
In terms of the seven songs that are on there, it's been two years since you put out your last EP, were all seven of the songs, things you've written since then or were any of them older ones that just weren't a fit at the time for the last project?
“That's such a good question. No, none of them were meant for the second project that didn't make the cut. We wrote so many songs for this project that didn't make the cut that were incredible, but it just felt like the vibes were too different. Hopefully we'll figure them out because every song has timing, you know what I mean? So, no, these are all brand new songs that we wrote specifically for this project, we're continuing to write and now I think I have even better songs. So, it's funny you're, you're like, I’ve got these great songs and then you just continue to keep writing great songs, so I just can't wait till I keep releasing music, but yeah, it's a fresh batch, I'd say”
Well, let's talk about a couple of tracks specifically and “Growing Wings” is obviously the title track of this project. When you'd written that, did you always know it was going to be the EP song and you were trying to build around that with things that fitted with it? Was it always where things were starting from?
“Nope, I really struggled with figuring out what was going to be on this project. I knew I wanted to do a project because it's been a few years and it felt like it was time, but I didn't know what I wanted to say. I didn't know what it was going to be about and we spent all of 2024 trying to figure it out and I kept writing songs. It kept being like, it's not good enough, it's not good enough and it was to the point where I liked about ten of these songs and I tried to find the common thread. We played with a lot of different titles but at the end of the day, I looked at the project and was like, I want there to be a title track and I think “Growing Wings” is the best song in it. It encompasses kind of everything, no matter if you're growing through heartbreak, if you're falling in love, if you're dancing at a bar, dancing with a last call cowboy or moving on from a breakup, no matter what you're doing in life, you're always getting stronger and you're always growing those wings. I think it is an important thing to remember that even in the hard times and in the happy times, you're still growing, you' becoming a better version of you so, that's why I thought “Growing Wings” was the best option for the title track.”
That is one of the three new songs of the seven that's on there and you start off the EP with a proper banger! It’s a really fun little cowgirl era, proper honky tons start. Just tell us a little bit about the background between behind “Honky Tonk Heartbeat” and who you wrote it with.
“I had this idea for a long time then I wrote it with my friend Alex Seier and he is notorious for writing big, you know, honky tonk bangers. I wanted to start this project off with something that is fun, carefree and that people can dance along to. I was playing a lot of honky tonk bars at the time and I was like, I want a song that they can line dance to so, that’s kind of how it was made. The term Honky Tom Heartbeat is kind of referring to the band that's playing at the bar and keeping the beat going, that's the heartbeat of the bar that everyone comes out to see and is having a good time. As an artist, I've been there, I know what that feels like and I just kind of want to play with that a little bit. I think it was the easiest song to write, definitely one of the easiest ones because we just had some much fun writing it and we’re both are artists so we know what it's like to be at a honky tong bar and be the heartbeat of the bar.”
It must be a really fun one to play live as well. I know you haven't actually put it out yet but has it been something that's been in your live set for a little while now?
“I've only played it live, I think, twice, so since June since we've been talking about the EP but I've been starting out with it, it's been my opener depending on the sets. On shorter sets, we'll build a bigger intro with it and it's so cool, it's so much fun and it gets me in a good mood. I think everyone gets hyped and it's the perfect song to kick a set off with which is what I wanted. I always try to be like, do I have an opener do I have a closer? “Well Tequila” is always my closer and until I write another song like that, then it can move up, but right now Honky Tonk is my opener, I think people are really loving it and it's just a feel good song and I love it!”
We’ll come on to talk about that closer in a little bit but sticking with the new project for now and “Heartbreaker” was the first one that you put out leading into it. This is one you didn't write, it came from Jep Gipson, Chase Bryant and Kasey Tyndall so how did the song get to you? What made you really connect with it where it was something you wanted to cut? And also, why did you feel that was the best song of the batch that you had to lead into this new era?
Well, those are all really great questions. I was looking for a different song, at the time, I was having a really hard time writing big songs. I love being a sad girl, writing sad songs so it was hard for me to write these upbeat fun songs. I had my producer reach out to some friends and Chase Bryant actually worked on the song, he worked on a lot of the rest of this record, which is really cool so he was pretty involved and we loved having him. He's so talented and it was cool to have one of the songwriters who wrote the song in to work on it. My producer pitched it to me and I said, I have nothing like this, this is awesome. I love the play on the word heartbreaker, I loved that it was a twist and it was more of like an empowering heartbreak rather than the woe is me, I love the woe is me, but it was like, don't let the heartbreak break you.”
“That's such a good question. No, none of them were meant for the second project that didn't make the cut. We wrote so many songs for this project that didn't make the cut that were incredible, but it just felt like the vibes were too different. Hopefully we'll figure them out because every song has timing, you know what I mean? So, no, these are all brand new songs that we wrote specifically for this project, we're continuing to write and now I think I have even better songs. So, it's funny you're, you're like, I’ve got these great songs and then you just continue to keep writing great songs, so I just can't wait till I keep releasing music, but yeah, it's a fresh batch, I'd say”
Well, let's talk about a couple of tracks specifically and “Growing Wings” is obviously the title track of this project. When you'd written that, did you always know it was going to be the EP song and you were trying to build around that with things that fitted with it? Was it always where things were starting from?
“Nope, I really struggled with figuring out what was going to be on this project. I knew I wanted to do a project because it's been a few years and it felt like it was time, but I didn't know what I wanted to say. I didn't know what it was going to be about and we spent all of 2024 trying to figure it out and I kept writing songs. It kept being like, it's not good enough, it's not good enough and it was to the point where I liked about ten of these songs and I tried to find the common thread. We played with a lot of different titles but at the end of the day, I looked at the project and was like, I want there to be a title track and I think “Growing Wings” is the best song in it. It encompasses kind of everything, no matter if you're growing through heartbreak, if you're falling in love, if you're dancing at a bar, dancing with a last call cowboy or moving on from a breakup, no matter what you're doing in life, you're always getting stronger and you're always growing those wings. I think it is an important thing to remember that even in the hard times and in the happy times, you're still growing, you' becoming a better version of you so, that's why I thought “Growing Wings” was the best option for the title track.”
That is one of the three new songs of the seven that's on there and you start off the EP with a proper banger! It’s a really fun little cowgirl era, proper honky tons start. Just tell us a little bit about the background between behind “Honky Tonk Heartbeat” and who you wrote it with.
“I had this idea for a long time then I wrote it with my friend Alex Seier and he is notorious for writing big, you know, honky tonk bangers. I wanted to start this project off with something that is fun, carefree and that people can dance along to. I was playing a lot of honky tonk bars at the time and I was like, I want a song that they can line dance to so, that’s kind of how it was made. The term Honky Tom Heartbeat is kind of referring to the band that's playing at the bar and keeping the beat going, that's the heartbeat of the bar that everyone comes out to see and is having a good time. As an artist, I've been there, I know what that feels like and I just kind of want to play with that a little bit. I think it was the easiest song to write, definitely one of the easiest ones because we just had some much fun writing it and we’re both are artists so we know what it's like to be at a honky tong bar and be the heartbeat of the bar.”
It must be a really fun one to play live as well. I know you haven't actually put it out yet but has it been something that's been in your live set for a little while now?
“I've only played it live, I think, twice, so since June since we've been talking about the EP but I've been starting out with it, it's been my opener depending on the sets. On shorter sets, we'll build a bigger intro with it and it's so cool, it's so much fun and it gets me in a good mood. I think everyone gets hyped and it's the perfect song to kick a set off with which is what I wanted. I always try to be like, do I have an opener do I have a closer? “Well Tequila” is always my closer and until I write another song like that, then it can move up, but right now Honky Tonk is my opener, I think people are really loving it and it's just a feel good song and I love it!”
We’ll come on to talk about that closer in a little bit but sticking with the new project for now and “Heartbreaker” was the first one that you put out leading into it. This is one you didn't write, it came from Jep Gipson, Chase Bryant and Kasey Tyndall so how did the song get to you? What made you really connect with it where it was something you wanted to cut? And also, why did you feel that was the best song of the batch that you had to lead into this new era?
Well, those are all really great questions. I was looking for a different song, at the time, I was having a really hard time writing big songs. I love being a sad girl, writing sad songs so it was hard for me to write these upbeat fun songs. I had my producer reach out to some friends and Chase Bryant actually worked on the song, he worked on a lot of the rest of this record, which is really cool so he was pretty involved and we loved having him. He's so talented and it was cool to have one of the songwriters who wrote the song in to work on it. My producer pitched it to me and I said, I have nothing like this, this is awesome. I love the play on the word heartbreaker, I loved that it was a twist and it was more of like an empowering heartbreak rather than the woe is me, I love the woe is me, but it was like, don't let the heartbreak break you.”
“Sometimes you’ve got to break your own heart to find yourself again and I have known so many people who have been in that situation that need to leave a situation that no longer serves them. I thought it would be empowering for them and other people who are going through situations like that but mainly, I also wanted to start off the year with it because I thought it was so different from what I've done in the past. I kind of wanted to see what people thought, then we did a new hairdo, we did like bigger hair and we changed up the vibes which was kind of was like I hadn't released music in a minute and welcome to the new era of Karissa Ella. So, I thought it was a really fun one, I knew I wanted to start off with something fun and I thought “Honky Tonk Heartbeat” was a summer song so, we did “Heartbreaker”.”
You mentioned that it was your producer who brought you the track and Casey (Wood) worked on your last project as well as this one, what is it about working with him that makes the perfect fit in an artist producer relationship to make the sound you are looking for?
“Casey is just amazing, he's worked with every artist under the sun, whether he's mixing or engineering. For me, it's great, because I get to have him for everything, he just he really cares about me, he cares about my music and he gets me. He knows how to collaborate with musicians in order to get the best songs, the best ideas for me and instrumentation, then he is so creative. He knows how to talk to musicians, he's in sync with all of them, he's very talented and I just love working with him because he's in it! He really loves my music, he supports me and I think we create some really cool stuff together. We have been on this road of trying to find my sound and I think we're really narrowing in on it, we're getting closer and closer every day. It's hard to find that out as an artist, but he's been so instrumental in finding my sound and I'm very grateful for that.”
Lastly of the songs on this project I wanted to touch on, it’s quite fitting in the fact that you're from Canton, Ohio to have a song called “Hall of Fame”. People obviously use the term in a lot of ways but with living so close to the Pro Football Hall of Fame did you always have that as a working song title from very early on and it was a case of waiting to find a way to use it that kind of fitted what you were trying to say?
“Yes, I always wanted to write a song that was called “Hall of Fame” because of the fact that I grew up down the road from there. We also have a lot of Hall of Fames in Ohio, like the Rock and Roll Hall and so on. The people I co-wrote it with is my friend, Cassidy Best and Sam Blasko, Sam is from Ohio too, she's from Youngstown, so I knew she'd understand and she'd be a great person to write the song with because she gets the Ohio things. Cassidy does too but I I think when I pitched it, I said, I've always wanted to write a song that's called Hall of Fame that we can play on the words Hall of Fame because I do believe that the people there too, are so incredible and that their names are not in the headlines. They don't get the credit that they deserve, but they are the reason that the town is still running and I have so much appreciation for them. I truly think that where I'm from is really special and there's something so honest about it, everyone there is willing to give you the shirt off their back and help you and support you and I think it's a one of kind sort of place. We touched a little bit on Akron, Timken Steel, Goodyear, Canton and stuff, we sprinkle in a lot of pieces that if you're from the area, then you really resonate with the song, but the song's just about the hardworking people that make the town go around so it applies to any home town.”
On being from Ohio, I see in your Insta bio that you've kind of broken down the names of your state in a certain way and this tells me that whilst Belmont was where you went to college yourself, Ohio State and the Buckeyes have been a big part with your family and growing up there.
“Oh, yes. OH-IO is the name of the game. It's music to my ears, I always have to do it at shows so I love playing Ohio shows because I know I’ve got the crowd. I can always get them involved with OH-IO but yes, I am a Buckeyes fan through and through, we all are!”
What about in terms of the pros? Geographically being from north eastern Ohio, would it be Cleveland or possibly even Pittsburgh, that people tend to be rooting for where you grew up?
“Yeah, I'm a Cleveland Browns fan.”
Oh, poor you.
“I know, I know. Yep. Ok, one day ha-ha. We love the Browns, I live in Tennessee now, so we have adapted and we follow the Titans. We’re gonna cheer on whoever, where we're at and we also love the Las Vegas Raiders too. My dad's always been a Raiders fan so, those are kind of our three teams but yeah, we're Browns fans and the Steelers are our rivals, so we definitely do not like Pittsburgh in my house.”
That’s cool, I think you're only the second Cleveland Brown that I've ever spoken to, Brad Paisley was the first and that was also on Zoom, but during the pandemic. I told Brad that it was a honour to meet a real live Cleveland Brown because it proves that their fans actually exist!
“Ha-ha! That’s amazing, I didn't know he was a Cleveland Browns fan.”
Indeed, he is. I can’t really mock the browns too much though as I’m a Cowboys fan so I’m a sucker for punishment too! Earlier you brought up the song that you close your live shows with so that’s a great way to round off, especially as it’s a song that I do relate to very well ha-ha. Was there a night in particular that was very central to where “Well Tequila” came from?
“I think my friend pitched this song, I wrote it with my friend Joshua Gleave and I said to him, I need a closer, what’s my closing song? He was like, well, I have an idea for a tequila song, you know, I know you love tequila. I was like, yes, yes I do, but he was like, well, what did you did like, “Well Tequila”? But like, Well, Tequila! So, I was like, yes, because people say different alcohols, you know, do different things to you and tequila just makes me want to have fun. Like, we're just hitting the town, we don’t care what's going on, we're going to have a good time and we're dancing. That's kind of what's the songs for, if we're dancing on the bar or we might fight someone that's dramatic you know It's just for fun, you know what I mean? We’re going to act like we're Grand Ole Opry stars, we’re just going to have a ball and for me, that's what tequila does to me. Now, have I fallen down some flights of stairs? Yes, I have, but well, tequila. However, you know, it's just about having a good time and I don't have too many of those anymore, but that's okay. We're old now and tequila is always might go to, no matter what, with a margarita, I can never go wrong”
You mentioned that it was your producer who brought you the track and Casey (Wood) worked on your last project as well as this one, what is it about working with him that makes the perfect fit in an artist producer relationship to make the sound you are looking for?
“Casey is just amazing, he's worked with every artist under the sun, whether he's mixing or engineering. For me, it's great, because I get to have him for everything, he just he really cares about me, he cares about my music and he gets me. He knows how to collaborate with musicians in order to get the best songs, the best ideas for me and instrumentation, then he is so creative. He knows how to talk to musicians, he's in sync with all of them, he's very talented and I just love working with him because he's in it! He really loves my music, he supports me and I think we create some really cool stuff together. We have been on this road of trying to find my sound and I think we're really narrowing in on it, we're getting closer and closer every day. It's hard to find that out as an artist, but he's been so instrumental in finding my sound and I'm very grateful for that.”
Lastly of the songs on this project I wanted to touch on, it’s quite fitting in the fact that you're from Canton, Ohio to have a song called “Hall of Fame”. People obviously use the term in a lot of ways but with living so close to the Pro Football Hall of Fame did you always have that as a working song title from very early on and it was a case of waiting to find a way to use it that kind of fitted what you were trying to say?
“Yes, I always wanted to write a song that was called “Hall of Fame” because of the fact that I grew up down the road from there. We also have a lot of Hall of Fames in Ohio, like the Rock and Roll Hall and so on. The people I co-wrote it with is my friend, Cassidy Best and Sam Blasko, Sam is from Ohio too, she's from Youngstown, so I knew she'd understand and she'd be a great person to write the song with because she gets the Ohio things. Cassidy does too but I I think when I pitched it, I said, I've always wanted to write a song that's called Hall of Fame that we can play on the words Hall of Fame because I do believe that the people there too, are so incredible and that their names are not in the headlines. They don't get the credit that they deserve, but they are the reason that the town is still running and I have so much appreciation for them. I truly think that where I'm from is really special and there's something so honest about it, everyone there is willing to give you the shirt off their back and help you and support you and I think it's a one of kind sort of place. We touched a little bit on Akron, Timken Steel, Goodyear, Canton and stuff, we sprinkle in a lot of pieces that if you're from the area, then you really resonate with the song, but the song's just about the hardworking people that make the town go around so it applies to any home town.”
On being from Ohio, I see in your Insta bio that you've kind of broken down the names of your state in a certain way and this tells me that whilst Belmont was where you went to college yourself, Ohio State and the Buckeyes have been a big part with your family and growing up there.
“Oh, yes. OH-IO is the name of the game. It's music to my ears, I always have to do it at shows so I love playing Ohio shows because I know I’ve got the crowd. I can always get them involved with OH-IO but yes, I am a Buckeyes fan through and through, we all are!”
What about in terms of the pros? Geographically being from north eastern Ohio, would it be Cleveland or possibly even Pittsburgh, that people tend to be rooting for where you grew up?
“Yeah, I'm a Cleveland Browns fan.”
Oh, poor you.
“I know, I know. Yep. Ok, one day ha-ha. We love the Browns, I live in Tennessee now, so we have adapted and we follow the Titans. We’re gonna cheer on whoever, where we're at and we also love the Las Vegas Raiders too. My dad's always been a Raiders fan so, those are kind of our three teams but yeah, we're Browns fans and the Steelers are our rivals, so we definitely do not like Pittsburgh in my house.”
That’s cool, I think you're only the second Cleveland Brown that I've ever spoken to, Brad Paisley was the first and that was also on Zoom, but during the pandemic. I told Brad that it was a honour to meet a real live Cleveland Brown because it proves that their fans actually exist!
“Ha-ha! That’s amazing, I didn't know he was a Cleveland Browns fan.”
Indeed, he is. I can’t really mock the browns too much though as I’m a Cowboys fan so I’m a sucker for punishment too! Earlier you brought up the song that you close your live shows with so that’s a great way to round off, especially as it’s a song that I do relate to very well ha-ha. Was there a night in particular that was very central to where “Well Tequila” came from?
“I think my friend pitched this song, I wrote it with my friend Joshua Gleave and I said to him, I need a closer, what’s my closing song? He was like, well, I have an idea for a tequila song, you know, I know you love tequila. I was like, yes, yes I do, but he was like, well, what did you did like, “Well Tequila”? But like, Well, Tequila! So, I was like, yes, because people say different alcohols, you know, do different things to you and tequila just makes me want to have fun. Like, we're just hitting the town, we don’t care what's going on, we're going to have a good time and we're dancing. That's kind of what's the songs for, if we're dancing on the bar or we might fight someone that's dramatic you know It's just for fun, you know what I mean? We’re going to act like we're Grand Ole Opry stars, we’re just going to have a ball and for me, that's what tequila does to me. Now, have I fallen down some flights of stairs? Yes, I have, but well, tequila. However, you know, it's just about having a good time and I don't have too many of those anymore, but that's okay. We're old now and tequila is always might go to, no matter what, with a margarita, I can never go wrong”
Well, I know the coolest spot in north London that does the best margarita’s you will find anywhere and I know you have been over here before on vacation with a hope of coming back to visit. I know with the way things works this isn’t as simple as I really want to, with the time and financial elements but is the European market and particularly the UK something that is on your radar that you would really like to explore and try to play some shows over here?
“I would love to. My dream is to combine my two passions of travelling and music. I just think I would be over the moon if I ever got an opportunity to go across the pond to sing my music, like C2C or play anything, that would be a true dream. It would be a lot because you're away from home and you're on the road but all I want to do is travel, see the world and see how other cultures, other people live and get to experience that. If I get to do that and sing, it's like the biggest dream ever, so I would love to do that.”
‘Growing Wings’ EP:
The new EP “Growing Wings” from Karissa Ella will be released on July 11th and is available to pre-save / pre-add HERE. You can find more of Karissa’s music and upcoming tour plans on her WEBSITE whilst you can stay in touch with her socially on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK X & FACEBOOK.
“I would love to. My dream is to combine my two passions of travelling and music. I just think I would be over the moon if I ever got an opportunity to go across the pond to sing my music, like C2C or play anything, that would be a true dream. It would be a lot because you're away from home and you're on the road but all I want to do is travel, see the world and see how other cultures, other people live and get to experience that. If I get to do that and sing, it's like the biggest dream ever, so I would love to do that.”
‘Growing Wings’ EP:
- Honky Tonk Heartbeat
- Last Call Cowboy
- Hall Of Fame
- Growing Wings
- Heartbreaker
- ‘Till Chevy Stops Making Trucks
- Mamas Do
The new EP “Growing Wings” from Karissa Ella will be released on July 11th and is available to pre-save / pre-add HERE. You can find more of Karissa’s music and upcoming tour plans on her WEBSITE whilst you can stay in touch with her socially on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK X & FACEBOOK.
