Though Collin Nash has been making a name for himself in the country music space for a decade, 2025 will see the Salem, Missouri native give a formal introduction.
Nash admits spending a decade honing in on his artistic identity that has led him to the release of his debut album, aptly titled Hello, I’m Collin Nash, which is set for release on April 25.
With two singles released from the album and two more on the way, we chatted with Nash about his love of storytelling, growth, his recent Bluebird Café debut and more!
Pro Country: Your bio mentions growing up listening to artists like Roger Miller, Merle Haggard and Tom T. Hall. What was it about their stylings and methods of storytelling that struck a chord with you?
Collin Nash: Each one had such a unique way of phrasing words and lines. Roger was brilliant with humor, word play and internal rhyme. Merle was the working man’s poet. The way he told a story was so convincing that I believed every word he sang, whether it was fact or fiction. Tom T. lyrics read like Twain. He was so good at painting pictures and setting the scene of a story. I take a little piece of each of them every time I sit down with pen and paper.
PC: You began writing songs in your teenage years. How quickly did you take to the craft of songwriting and what was it about songwriting and expressing yourself in that way that connected with you that early in your life?
CN: I feel like I’ve always had an ear for melody. I used to make up silly substitutes for lyrics in popular songs to entertain myself when I was a kid. When I figured out I could put those two things together, I took off running with it. As I got older, it became an outlet for whatever I was going through at that time. I figured out with songs that I can create these little worlds to escape to when I need to. It’s been something that has always been there for me when I needed it.
PC: Though you had that early love of music and songwriting, when did it become clear the they were something you wanted to, and actually could, pursue as a career?
CN: I think growing up in a family band and learning the ins and outs of performing live gave me a lot of confidence that I could do it for a living. When you’re 16 years-old and you’re making a couple hundred bucks a night playing shows, then spending all week doing a blue-collar job for the same amount of money, that 40-hour week looks a lot less appealing. It never felt unobtainable when I was young; it just felt like it’s what I was supposed to be doing. I just knew that I would do whatever it took to make music for a living someday. Even if that meant working two jobs to keep the rent paid for a while, I knew I’d get there if I worked hard enough.
PC: You moved from your hometown of Salem, Missouri to Nashville to pursue music. What was it like moving so many hours and miles from home to follow your musical dream?
CN: Moving from Salem to Nashville was a culture shock. My entire understanding of the world and how it worked was flipped on its head. Those first few years were really tough, but I will say it’s been so wonderful to be surrounded by so many people from different walks of life and learn about their viewpoints and experiences. That sort of thing is invaluable. I’ll always hold Salem close to my heart. I do miss the speed of things, the beauty of the Ozarks and the people especially, but Tay and I have a wonderful life here in Tennessee that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
PC: You released your first EP, An Evening at Blackbird, in 2018. What emotions came with releasing music for the first time, especially in such a vulnerable way with sparse, largely acoustic instrumentation?
CN: The way that came about that was my friends Luke and Catfish were putting together a documentary of sorts. They brought in myself and a few others to do some live recordings on camera, and as payment for doing that, we got to keep the tracks to release. The three songs on that project were ones that felt like I was getting somewhere with my writing. I didn’t have a true direction at that time really, but I liked all three of those and felt like somewhere in the mix of them that I’d find my way.
PC: In 2022, you released your single “You Went Right, I Went Wrong,” which has since earned well over 130,000 streams on Spotify alone, with several thousand more across platforms. What was it like to see the life that the song had, especially as a song you wrote yourself?
CN: It’s been wonderful to see people latch onto what I thought was the dumbest song I’d ever written at the time. It’s a true testament to the fact that none of us really know what’s gonna work. The day I put that on TikTok, I was in a place of being extremely frustrated with the music industry and Nashville as a whole. When it took off the way it did, it really felt like people were giving me permission to be myself, and I needed that at the time, especially when folks on the business side of things were telling me the opposite. It put me on the path to where I am now, and I’m so thankful for it.
PC: You released “Sunday Morning Sick” in January, which is serving as the lead single from your forthcoming debut album, Hello, I’m Collin Nash. Why did you feel that “Sunday Morning Sick” was the right song to kick off the project?
CN: It felt like the best way to make an introduction for this record. That song has felt great every step of the way from the day that we wrote it, to cutting it, to hearing the master for the first time. I just wanted to come out strong, and I felt like we did that with “Sunday Morning Sick.”
PC: You just released the second single from the album, “The Way We Used To,” which was written two years ago with Stefanie Joyce. What was it about the song that stuck with you for the last few years, and why was now the right time to release it?
CN: I knew the day we wrote the song that it was really sturdy. At that time, I was playing lots of songwriting rounds during the week and opening shows for Tyler Halverson on the weekends. I would throw a different set together every night trying to figure out what translated and what didn’t. This song in particular just kept making its way into the set every night. The writing cycle for this record was about two years, and of the 40 we had set aside to choose from, we knew this one was a building block for the record and was gonna be a huge part of the foundation of it.
PC: You announced on social media that there will be two more single releases prior to the release of Hello, I’m Collin Nash. What information, if any, can you give about what is to come with the singles and album? What can listeners expect to hear?
CN: Both of them are very different from the first two, but still very country. The last single before the record comes out is my favorite song on the whole album! The next single is a little different in that I recorded it with a different band at a different studio. I had my two good buddies, Dalton Brown and Dylan Murphy, come in to play bass and drums on it, so sonically it’s got a distinction to it when you put it up beside the rest of the songs on the record. I’m very proud and excited about both of them.
PC: You mentioned on social media that Hello, I’m Collin Nash and formally introducing yourself with a debut album has been a decade in the making. With the release date now set and fast approaching, what have you learned about yourself as an artist over the last decade that has helped you get to this point?
CN: I think the most important thing I’ve learned over this last decade is how to love myself and accept who I am. There were so many years of trying to create some kind of character of myself that I lost touch with what makes me happy, what gives me peace, and ultimately, what gives me purpose. I spent a lot of time being a chameleon, and it’s so refreshing to just let my true colors show and be who God made me to be. I feel like this record is reflective of that, in that the record itself really is who I am right now. It’s not some “lifestyle brand” that we spent a lot of time curating, it’s just full of personal truths, sounds I love and things I’m interested in. As an artist, I feel like I have the most potency when I speak honestly about my experiences and use those to draw the outline, then come back and use my imagination to fill it with color.
PC: You made your Bluebird Café debut in late January. As someone with such a deep love of songwriting and storytellers, what was it like to play songs you wrote at such an iconic venue?
CN: I don’t think I’ve ever been that nervous before a show! I have always loved the Bluebird and what it represents. To add my name to the list of people who have played there is one of the great honors of my life. I’m very proud and humbled by that experience and can’t wait to do it again soon!
PC: Along with Hello, I’m Collin Nash releasing in April, what do you have planned for 2025?
CN: I plan on releasing some more music this year after the record comes out and touring a whole lot this summer/fall. There are few things in my personal life outside of music that I’m very excited about as well! So there’s a lot to look forward to and I can’t wait to see what the rest of this year holds for me.
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