Delivering flairs of Latin, blues, roots and pop, tied together with introspective lyricism, 21-year-old folk rock singer/songwriter Calista Garcia is gearing up to release her sonically diverse eight-track album, Confession, early next year (exact release details TBA).

Calista’s zestful, piano-driven sophomore single — “Kalamazoo” (out December 2, 2022) — exhibits her distinctive, expressive style and musical ingenuity. “Kalamazoo” follows the release of the LP’s lead single, “The Coals,” which gained support from Spotify’s official “Fresh Finds Folk” playlist, along with praise from Americana Highways.

Under The Radar exclusively unveiled the latest track, remarking that “‘Kalamazoo’ is a delightfully vintage piano rocker, recalling Elton John’s glam-laden tributes to rock and roll. Garcia fills the track with sharp danceable piano hooks and old-school doo-wop backing vocals, adding a euphoric nostalgia and playful glamor to the track while she knits it all together with her immensely expressive vocal talents. Meanwhile, Garcia’s backing band recorded the track live with all the players in the room, lending the song an irresistible fiery driveand rollicking instrumental chemistry.”

“The song is a hugely danceable tribute to classic rock, with the glamor and whimsy of Elton John,” Calista shares. “To keep it authentic — the track as well as the rest of the forthcoming album — was recorded live with all players in the room, on the legendary Neve console. ‘Kalamazoo’ is a three and a half minute party track coming right on time to break up those winter blues.”

The first single off the album, released October 13, 2022, “The Coals,” is a gritty tune that outlines being able to “find your voice when you’ve been silenced or have silenced yourself,” Calista shares. “It’s about letting yourself scream and howl when you’ve half forgotten how to. It’s about resisting the comforts of the things that have damaged us. It’s about breaking old patterns, and the kindness of no longer killing ourselves to be kind.”

Recorded at Plyrz Studios and produced by GRAMMY Award-winning producer Jim Scott (The Chicks, Tom Petty), Confession 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.

“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. 

Other standout singles from the album include the authentic and raw “The Way I Love You” and the utopian “Flowers in My Hair.” As Calista puts it, “‘The Way I Love You’ is about the unflinching approach to speaking about one-sided love. Whereas ‘Flowers in My Hair’ is about the initial butterflies, the first moment of attraction. . .where everything is light and hopeful.”

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 was a 2022 “New Folk” Winner at the Kerrville Folk Festival, the 2022 Songwriters’ Association of Washington (SAW) “Young Artist of the Year” award, the 2022 Winner of two Wammies music awards (Best Folk Song & Artist), a 2021 Chris Austin Songwriting Finalist at Merlefest, among many others. As 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. 

Confession is set for release in early 2023.