Callaghan is a young woman singer from the UK who has a
voice that reminds me of singers like Emmy Lou Harris back in the sixties.
Callaghan, that is the only name she uses, held a concert in Asheville recently
in a very small venue, Altamont theater. She plays piano and guitar but it is
her voice that is haunting. Her lyrics are like poetry.
She writes her own songs and they are based on her
life, her thoughts and ideas. Some are
uplifting tunes about enjoying life as it is today. She also wrote a sweet song for her nephew, Noah.
"We are all, right now, writing a story which will
one day fascinate someone," Callaghan says. "The way we live, the
decisions we make, and the moments of hope, grief and happiness which punctuate
all our lives will one day make someone stop, think and wonder. All of us are
writing our own 'history of now.’”
Most of my writing is autobiographical and I teach
memoir writing, so I agree with her. Every life is unique and each of us has a
story. She sings her stories. I write mine as poetry or personal essays.
You can find lyrics to one of her songs
here.
My sister and brother-in-law, Gay and Stu, and I had no
idea what to expect when we paid for our
tickets. We heard a little bit of a song by Callaghan online and decided her
show sounded better than anything else in Asheville on a Thursday evening. She
was accompanied by Mike Gallagher who played electric guitar and bass
with his foot. I think he used a synthesizer.
We learned that this tall beautiful woman with long
dark hair came to Atlanta to record an album—and she stayed. Now she tours all
over the states and has made several albums.
We were so impressed with her music and her
personality, we plan to go see her again when she appears at Red Clay Music
Foundry in Duluth, GA, Saturday, January 7th, 2017 at 8:00 pm for Callaghan's Birthday Show.
