The beautiful violin sounds of Lucy Cantley paired with the powerful vocals of Camille Rae make me press my foot to the pedal. Driving down the open road I’ve taken all my life, wondering what would happen if I kept on going down unknown roads? When you’ve grown up in once place with the love of your family it can be easy to miss it, yet when dreams are calling and you must go – Calamity Jane encourages you to take your time in their new single “The Chase”
The Journey Calls…
For Lucy Cantley, her journey to Nashville took time. Playing viola since the age of six, she learned classical pieces and trained with an inspirational teacher. After pursuing a college degree in viola performance, Lucy decided something was missing. Many auditions led to being burned out, “I never felt fulfilled by that, not getting to express myself the way I wanted to. I decided I wanted to get into country music and play in a band. The industry was new to me at the time,” she shares.
A Wandering Soul…
Lucy moved from New Jersey to Virginia Beach to play in a cover band. After a year she decided to move to Nashville. Finding herself in band drama and band break-ups led Lucy to take her own creative lead by forming Calamity Jane, a collaborative project featuring different artists. When Lucy had the idea she reached back out to former bandmate and friend Camille Rae (read more about Camille in our full interview here).
Not All Who Wander Are Lost…
Camille and Lucy had been in a group together briefly where she filled in as vocalist. After the band parted ways Camille focused on her solo career, but they kept in touch. When Lucy left the trio she wanted to be a creative force behind whatever project she would be a part of next. “I’m primarily a string player, I sing a little bit, but I’m really a back up singer. I had this idea for a collaborative group where its me bringing in featured artists on different projects – songs or albums. I feature different artists in roles I need for those songs. I would be writing and playing and it would give me the opportunity to have creative lead, but enjoy being in a group,” explains Lucy.
When Lucy told Camille about her idea for Calamity Jane the two decided to cover “Devil Went Down To Georgia” to share Lucy’s musical story in classical training through a chilling music video (read my review of the music video here).
So I Steal Away In The Night…
After collaborating on the cover, Camille and Lucy shared their goals. Deciding to be duo, but still collaborate with other artists. Their music has it’s own style while telling a story. “We’ve talked about how country music has become very shallow and the story telling element is gone from it. We want to have a reason to be writing music,” says Camille.
As a Kentucky native, Camille brought her bluegrass background into the musical production of their single “The Chase”.
“We wanted to incorporate a folky feel back into the music… letting it develop with the violin parts, vocals harmonizing and telling a story through our musical instruments. The production of the song was natural and we’re proud of it. We don’t want to put ourselves in a box with our sound, we want to experiment with different things and bring other musicians in to feature their talent and stories. We’re open to creativity and nurture that,” says Camille.
And So I Drive…
“The Chase” was written by Lucy two years ago and is personal to her musical journey, but shares a message to all dreamers. “I wrote the song when I was driving from Virginia back to Nashville. It was a ten hour drive, I left home and said goodbye to my fiancé and my family. I was feeling torn between the two worlds I was living in. The world of my career and pursuing dreams, the other being home in my comfort zone. I was thinking about all these things and the song unfolded,” shares Lucy.
I’ve Got Time…
“It’s about people who are dreamers, but at the same time are human. We all kind of crave that stability of having a comfort zone and having a home to go back to,” she explains, “The song is about the struggle between those two worlds and finding a balance. The message is to relax because there is no way of knowing what the future will hold. All you can do is your best and appreciate both sides. No matter what happens you have time. That’s the line at the end of the chorus, ‘I’ve got time,’ that’s something I’m always saying to myself, even though I don’t always think or feel it. Sometimes you have to force yourself to relax.”
I Keep Searching and Searching and I Will Not Stop…
While Calamity Jane has time, they have no plans to stop with big plans in the works for music, branding and live performances. “We are excited to see how far it goes, and the sky’s the limit. I’ve always loved collaborating. Lucy and I have been friends for a few years now, our goal is to not put ourselves in a box or limit each other. Our goal with our individual careers is to nurture whatever is going on in each other’s lives personally and professionally,” says Camille.
Their ultimate goal is to share stories in their music that inspire others. “We want to be able to have a platform, have influence and be able to inspire people on a bigger level. To be able to work with a friend and share that with somebody is something I haven’t been able to do, it’s been nice to have that partnership,” says Camille.
Listen to their new single “The Chase” now on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube. A music video is coming soon, so visit calamityjaneofficial.com and follow Calamity Jane on social media to stay up to date on when they release new music, projects with featured artists and future performances.
Facebook @calamityjofficial, Instagram @calamityjaneofficial, YouTube
Photo Credit to Calamity Jane and Camille Rae social media
Farm Girl With Curls 