Callie Twisselman knows about working hard and about waiting. Her new single “Two Hands,” was released on Friday, April 9, and she’s ready to set it loose on the music world.The country singer-songwriter may not fit the stereotype of the California girl. Growing up on a seven-generation grain and cattle ranch in Central California, forty minutes from the nearest town where they could buy groceries, she is as comfortable working on the ranch without makeup, wearing a ballcap and riding four-wheelers, as she is dressing up.
Music was a big part of her household, where she got a lot of her inspiration from her mother who sang with a local country band. By the time Callie was ten, she says she thought, “That’s what I want to do.” She credits her sister with the bright idea of having her sing the national anthem, admittedly not the easiest song for beginners or seasoned performers. She sang it everywhere she could.
She started writing songs too, and when her mother came across a song she had written and tucked away in her closet, it felt like her diary.
“It was the first song that I wrote,” she said, “but I think I wanted to sing something else besides the national anthem. I want to write my own music.” At fifteen she started learning to play the guitar, first on her own, and then—after some frustration—with a teacher that made the journey easier. Along the way, she says, writing music grew to be as much of a love as singing.
After high school, she came to Nashville and recorded seven of her songs. “It was so inspiring in the studio to see all the musicians who are so good at what they do,” Callie says.
Back home in California, she started a band that began touring throughout the state. Eventually, she realized that if she was serious about a career, she needed to move to Music City. The decision to leave California and her family wasn’t easy, she said. “I was hesitant because I love home so much, but that was where the opportunities are, I decided, and I’m not going to miss out.”
Living n Music City, 2000 miles away from family, helped her to grow as a person and as an artist. Once there, she met Danny Nozell with CTK Enterprises, who became her manager and directed on the right path. She started going to songwriter rounds where she got inspiration. She also learned that the music business really is a business, and she recognized the importance of mentors.
While she had been writing on her own, in Nashville she found co-writing a good way to grow musically. “I like to get other people’s perspectives on something I might not have thought of. We can share the different stories of what we’ve been true and use each other’s minds to collab,” she added.
And while she usually writes songs that she expects to sing herself, she also finds that some seem more suited for others. “I’ve had plenty of songs I’ve written that I thought could be for a guy, that sound better coming from that perspective.
Her new single “Two Hands” was written by Kalie Shorr, Lena Stone, and Emily Reid. While Callie likes to record songs she has written, when her manager and producer brought this one to her, she thought, “I need to record this song. It’s one I would like to have written.
She says the lyrics caught her eye. “I know it’s about a relationship, a girl who can be a handful, but her man loves her for it,” Callie says. “It also reminded me of myself. I too can lose my keys sometimes, and there are occasions when I think I can outdrink a man,” she joked.
For her, she says, the perfect country song is one she feels she is living. “It’s truth and honesty, and nothing about it is fake. As a writer, it’s from my own perspective, raw and real.” She has about five tracks recorded with three or four slated for release before the end of the year. While she promises at least one sad heartbreak song, others have the same fun vibe as “Two Hands.”
For now, she wants her current single to enjoy its time in the spotlight. “After all, it’s a singles game these days,” says Twisselman.
While her band stayed behind in California, when she travels back regularly, they get together and play. They are appear in the music video for “Two Hands,” filmed in California and due out some time this spring.
While Callie Twisselman says she’s been productive during the pandemic, she’s looking forward to performing on stage again, playing at some of her favorite local Music City venues, such as the Stillery and The Listening Room. She’s hoping to get to tour soon. “I’m excited that things are finally trickling back to normal—maybe the new normal,” she said.
“For now,” says Callie, “I’m just a county girl from the middle-of-nowhere California trying to live a glam life, and I’m happy to do what I love and to share it with others.”