“Calista Garcia changes the world for you”
takamine
Photo Credit: Kirill Bykanov
Delivering flairs of Latin, blues, roots and pop, tied together with introspective lyricism, 22-year-old folk rock singer/songwriter Calista Garcia released her sonically diverse eight-track album, Confession, on May 26, 2023.
“I sat with myself for a couple of years during the pandemic, and I felt myself change,” Calista opens up about the inspiration behind Confession. “I'm now 21 and will be 22 by the time the record is out…there's a lot of wiring and rewiring during this stage of life. I've moved to New York City by myself, I've had my heart broken a couple times since the last record, and a lot of strange, beautiful, and difficult experiences. I learned that the best way to deal with hardship was to stare it in the eye, then just keep moving. I think the world's gotten too crazy for music you can't move to.” Collectively, Calista devotes Confession towards personal growth and learning to love your imperfections.
Previous LP singles released include lead track, “The Coals,” that gained immediate support from Spotify’s official “Fresh Finds Folk” Best of 2022 playlist, “The Way I Love You,” “Kalamazoo” which Under The Radar remarked as “a delightfully vintage piano rocker, recalling Elton John’s glam-laden tributes to rock and roll,” and “Flowers in My Hair” that Wonderland Magazine commented: “Calista Garcia is amongst the upper echelons… as she concocts a diverse, expressive and innovative sound that lays the foundation for striking, thoughtful songwriting. Atop the groove-laden, sentimental instrumental backdrop, Garcia delivers a delicate but endearing performance…” As well as her most recent single “Can’t Give Myself Away,” which Calista describes as her most confessional track on the album.
Recorded at Plyrz Studios and produced by GRAMMY Award-winning producer Jim Scott (the Chicks, Tom Petty) in collaboration with Calista and GRAMMY Award-winning producer, Davíd Garza
(Fiona Apple) showcases a “new classic” style — with a fresh, modern twist that hearkens back to the ‘70s era — drawing inspiration from legends such as Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell.
Confession follows Calista’s previously released EP’s, A Beautiful World (released October 2021) and Wild Woman (released April 2019), which garnered a nomination for “Best Roots/Country EP” in the 2020 Independent Music Awards. The project also won multiple nominations and awards from International Acoustic Music Awards (IAMA), the International Songwriting Competition (ISC) and the Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Contest (MASC).
As seen on Season 16 of NBC’s The Voice, Calista is a prolific songwriter who plays guitar, piano, ukulele, bass, mandolin and harmonica. She is a 2022 Kerrville New Folk Winner, the 2022 Songwriter’s Association of Washington Young Artist of the Year, 2022 Winner of 2 DC Area “Wammies” music awards (Best Folk song & artist), a 2021 Chris Austin Songwriting Finalist at Merlefest, a 2021 “She is the Music Foundation” Connect TogetHER Songwriting Fellow, the 2020 National YoungArts Gold Winner in Voice/Singer-Songwriter (top prize), a 2020 Johnny Mercer Songwriting Project Fellow, a 2019 Strathmore Artist in Residence, a 2017 & 2018 Berklee Performance Showcase Winner, the 2017 Bernard Ebbs Young Songwriter of the Year and a two-time Grammy Foundation Young Songwriter Program Artist.
A member of ASCAP and the Dramatists Guild, Calista also writes for the stage, having completed her second folk-rock inspired musical, Crystal Skies, which premiered in April 2018. Crystal Skies was a 2020 semifinalist for the Eugene O’Neill Musical Theatre Conference. Calista splits her time between New York City and Washington DC. She is on Takamine’s worldwide roster of Takamine guitar artists.