If there’s one thing to know about Charlie McCabe, it’s that he’s driven.
When Covid shut the world down, McCabe picked up an off-handed guitar that had been collecting dust at home and taught himself to play. Soon after, he was writing songs, and soon after that, he and a friend taught themselves how to record, produce and release music, which culminated in McCabe’s debut EP, Devil Leaves at Sunrise.
In the years since, McCabe has stayed busy with seven single releases, including his latest effort, “Not a Cowboy,” which landed him on our radar last week. Just over a month removed from that release, McCabe already has two more releases set, with lofty songwriting and performing goals also set for 2025.
We chatted with McCabe all about his big plans for the year, as well as his rock and country influences, following his musical dreams in Houston, opening for Texas country legend Pat Green and more!
Pro Country: You grew up listening to classic and alternative rock before moving to Houston and immersing yourself in country music. Who were some of the artists in those genres that influenced you?
Charlie McCabe: I grew up in the Midwest, so country music wasn’t a big influence on me until I moved to Texas. When I was up there, I was listening to a lot of rock from the 70s through the early 2000s; artists like Weezer, Green Day and Blink-182. Those are the bands that I grew up on. That’s my dad’s favorite genre, so he kind of brainwashed me to love it as well [laughs].
PC: You started playing guitar and writing music during Covid. Can you talk about making that decision and how quickly you took to each?
CM: In the summer of 2020, everyone was sent home from college because of Covid, so I went back home to Austin. I had been working a summer landscaping job, but I wasn’t really doing much else. And I wasn’t really hanging out with anyone. I was so bored. I found my dad’s old guitar that had been sitting in our living room for God knows how long. It happened to be a left-handed guitar. I’m a righty with everything, but I was so bored that summer, I figured that I didn’t know how to play righty or lefty, so I might as well teach myself lefty [laughs]. I started learning the basic chords, and once I got bored of the fundamentals, I started learning songs and writing my own songs.
The first song that I learned was “Hell of a Year” by Parker McCollum. He’s one of my favorites and biggest influences, so it’s kind of poetic that he was the artist of the first song I learned.
PC: During the second half of your college years, you began to pursue a music career. As someone who was so new to playing and writing, what was it like to make that decision, and how confident were you in it from the outset?
CM: It really started with playing gigs around College Station. I saw the positive response from my friends and the people around town that I didn’t know that heard me play. I decided to run with it. There was some God-given talent there, because I’d just learned to play guitar and people were liking what they were hearing. I thought that I’d be a fool to waste it.
When I moved down here to Houston, I had to start over. My base crowd was in College Station. I didn’t really know anyone down here. I would go to open mic nights a couple nights a week trying to get my name out there and trying to meet as many people as possible. That eventually led to booking gigs and filling up my calendar.
PC: When you were playing those early gigs in College Station and Houston, you were still pretty new to playing guitar. Was it at all nervewracking to be getting up in front of people and playing when you were still new to the instrument?
CM: I was so nervous. I’d been in an alt-rock cover band with my some of my college buddies called My Chemical Bromance [laughs]. I was the lead singer of that band, but I didn’t play guitar. So when I started playing solo acoustic gigs, I was so nervous. I would get up there and play three hours’ worth of literally every song that I knew. I was pulling out some deep songs. Some of them weren’t even country; I was pulling out a little bit of Weezer just trying to get through the three hours.
PC: You self-produced your debut EP, Devil Leaves at Sunrise, which was released in 2021. What emotions were you feeling as you were gearing up to release music for the first time, and how challenging was it to learn the craft of producing along the way?
CM: That was one of the biggest challenges that I’ve faced so far in music. Me and one of my best friends basically spent ten months watching YouTube videos trying to figure out how to record music. We were using a beta version of Logic on his laptop and invested in a 300 dollar microphone. It was a very rewarding experience, though. I needed to get some music out there so people could see that I was legit. If I had the chance to do it again, I would. There were a lot of late nights, but they were fun nights.
PC: You were a marketing major at Texas A&M. Do you find that your marketing background has helped you as you’ve launched your music career?
CM: It’s been huge. I learned a lot about promoting music before and after release. I learned a lot of valuable tactics during college, and even after. Marketing is something that I’m passionate about, and I think it really helps with bumping the metrics when it comes to releasing music.
PC: It was a year and a half between the release of Devil Leaves at Sunrise and its follow up single, “Amigo.” How excited were you to release “Amigo” into the world after that layoff, and why did you feel it was the right song to kick off your next musical chapter?
CM: “Amigo” was inspired by missing my college days and having all of my best friends at arm’s length in College Station. When I moved to Houston, I wrote that song in remembrance of those fun times. I figured there was no better way to come back with my first studio-produced single than “Amigo.” To this day, it’s one of my favorites that I’ve written, and it’s a fan favorite too. It’s a good, fun drinking song, and I’ve really enjoyed the success that it’s seen.
PC: In under two years since “Amigo,” you’ve released six additional singles, including four in 2024. How important has it for you to have music being released so consistently?
CM: I think it’s really important, especially with keeping momentum with streaming and being on top of peoples’ minds. I have enjoyed it so much. It’s given me countless unforgettable memories with shows that I’ve played and people that I’ve met. This is something that I didn’t always think that I would do. I picked up guitar during my sophomore year of college, and I didn’t really think anything of it. I was just doing it for fun. All of these releases so far and everything they’ve allowed me to do has been tremendous. I’m very thankful.
PC: You released your newest single, “Not a Cowboy,” in December of 2024. Can you take us in the room and in your head and talk about how the song came together?
CM: During my sophomore year, I went to see Parker McCollum for the first time at Hurricane Harry’s in College Station. I remember being at that show and knowing that what he was doing is what I wanted to do. I went home at 2:30 in the morning, and I wrote the shell of the song. It wasn’t very good at the time; it’s taken me this long to refine it, but it embodies who I am as an artist and a person. I’m a country music artist, but I don’t try to portray that I’m a cowboy or that I’m the most “country” guy in the room. I’ve lived in cities my whole life, but I have a great passion for country music, and that’s where that song stemmed from.
PC: You shared your year-end stats from Spotify at the end of last year, which totaled well over 30,000 streams in 70 different countries on that platform along. How encouraging was it to see the support you’ve received and the growth you’ve seen over the last few years?
CM: There’s nothing more encouraging than seeing the numbers. If they continue to increase every year, then I must be doing something right. It makes me want to write and release more music that people are going to listen to.
PC: Having released music so consistently over the last two years, what information, if any, can you give about any forthcoming releases? What can people expect to hear?
CM: I actually have a new single dropping next Friday called “Two Steppin’.” It follows the theme that I’ve been running with lately: it’s got a real swing-country theme with a 90s country influence. There’s fiddle paired with steel guitar, and lyrics that I’m really proud of. I think it’ll be a fun, honky tonk dancing song that people are going to enjoy.
Then, in light of St. Patrick’s Day, I have an Irish country song coming out at the end of February. As long as I’ve been playing music, my mom has been asking me to write her an Irish country song, and I always told her that I would. I started writing it about two years ago. Last year, I had my first gig on St. Patrick’s Day, and I knew I needed to finish it for that gig. I played it there, and people loved it.
PC: Along with releasing new music, what do you have planned for 2025?
CM: I’m going to be booking and playing as many shows as possible, paired with buckling down and trying to write more than I ever have. I have some lofty goals in terms of playing shows and writing songs, and I can’t wait to tackle them.
PC: Speaking of playing shows, we’ve seen that you were recently playing shows with Pat Green. How exciting is it to play songs with someone who is such a legend in the Texas scene?
CM: I was shaking in my boots [laughs]. He’s one of my icons in the Texas country scene. I was beyond thankful to have the opportunity to open for him and to get to talk with him after. He gave me some wise words from a guy who’s been doing it for a long time. It was a really cool experience.
PC: Is there anything you’d like to add?
CM: Keep streaming the songs wherever you get your music! I post all of my shows on my Instagram page and on my website.
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