Singer/Songwriter Kelly McCafferty on her debut EP Texas Heat, her songwriting process, filming her first music video, and what it’s like being the youngest sibling
Pittsburgh singer/songwriter Kelly McCafferty has had an exciting summer. She released her great debut EP, Texas Heat, played a show at the Pittsburgh Winery, and opened for Mat Kearney at Hartwood Acres Amphitheater. On Texas Heat, McCafferty goes to new levels with her music, showcasing engaging vocals, relatable lyrics, and cool pop melodies. Each song has a personable quality, with relationships at the center.
Over a phone interview, I talked with Kelly about her new EP, her songwriting process, filming her first music video, and what it’s like being the youngest sibling.
Starting Out and Inspiration
Josh: When did you learn guitar?
Kelly: I probably started playing guitar in 4th or 5th grade. My dad’s pretty into music and guitar, so he kind of taught me my first guitar and the basics.
J: Did you have any musical influences growing up or even now?
K: Yeah, definitely. I mean, obviously, Taylor Swift has always been huge just in terms of everything from a songwriting perspective. She kind of paved the way for a girl with a guitar in many ways.
J: When did you start writing songs?
K: High school for sure, is when I started, I always liked journaling. I love singing and playing guitar. I love music, so it just kind of naturally happened.
J: You went straight to your guitar.
K: Whether it’s listening to music or playing or writing, that’s pretty much how I process all of my emotions, that’s just how it works for me.
J: I totally relate to that. Whenever I play, it just makes me feel better about anything for that moment.
K: Totally, yes.
Releasing her debut EP Texas Heat
J: Congrats on Texas Heat.
K: Thank you very much.
J: How’s it feel to put it out into the world?
K: Oh, it feels so good. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. This is gonna sound fake, but truly I don’t even care what happens with that. I hope people connect with it and I hope people listen and like it. But just the fact that I did it and put it out feels amazing. It makes me want to keep doing it.
J: I love that. Just putting it out makes you feel on top of the world.
K: Yeah, definitely. It was two full years of my life, from writing demos to producing and recording, and then figuring out how to put it out. I don’t think I’ve ever put so much effort into anything or cared this much about anything in my life, so it did feel good.
J: What was the recording process like?
K: So Dave Hidek, he worked at Treelady Studios here for a while. He’s a great sound engineer and producer. I worked with him years ago on one song. He reached out when I was living in Texas. I sent him a bunch of demos. He would do his thing and produce them. We would go back and forth. I went to his home studio in San Diego. Recorded all the songs. Everything was finished last fall.
Behind The Songs
J: What was the inspiration behind the song “Milky Way”?
K: I was absolutely going through it. I didn’t want to deal with it. I used to talk about the song like, ‘This song is fully about avoiding your problems and just distracting yourself.’ Now I’m like, ‘No, “Milky Way” is just about enjoying the little things in life and letting them keep you happy.’ When I wrote it, I was down bad and I didn’t want to deal with it, so that’s why I wrote it.
J: The lyric, “And we’ll dance in the living room,” reminded me of a Taylor lyric. It really stood out.
K: Oh, that makes me so happy. Yeah, I mean, everything is probably pulled in some way out of inspiration from her.
Filming Her First Music Video
J: What was it like filming the music video for “Milky Way”?
K: Oh my gosh, it was so fun and that was probably the thing I was most afraid to do. Just because it’s so unbelievably out of my comfort zone to do anything like that. I found this couple, Tanner and Jenna Solich, and they mostly do weddings, but Tanner has a production company. I just loved their whole vibe. Couldn’t have been better people to just make me feel calm. It was the most fun day and it turned out great.
J: Ok, so my favorite off of the EP is “The Last Thing.”
K: Thank you.
J: Did you work on that for months or did it come quick?
K: Yeah, so this is probably the most interesting one of how it came to be. I always wanted the EP to be 5 songs. So I had finished everything, and then I wrote “Finally.” I was like, ‘Ok, “Finally” is the last song.’ It’s very introspective. The next day, I was playing guitar and I just started to sing. I was like, ‘You know what, the EP needs a fun song.’ I wrote it in 3 days. It’s very much how I kind of fell in love with my person. I didn’t want a relationship, but then couldn’t avoid it. I’d never really written a song about this. Yeah, I’m glad you like that one. I love that one. I feel like this one has an energy that none of them have, so I want it to go on.
Benefits of Being the Youngest Sibling
J: You mentioned the song “Finally.” I love the line, “I flew back to Pittsburgh, to be with my family. I’m the youngest, I do what they tell me.”
K: (laughs) Yes.
J: (laughs) Care to elaborate on that?
K: I’m actually so glad that you’re calling that line out because it’s one of my favorite lines on the EP. Whenever I play it live, I think most people think it’s supposed to be funny, which in a way it is funny and people always laugh when I sing it. I laugh too. But when I wrote it, it was supposed to be sad. I’m the youngest of four in my family, so I’ve always just kind of done what they want. I’ve never asked any questions, you know, I’ve just always kind of done what they’ve told me to do and it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but that song was very much coming into the realization of like, ‘Oh, I can do what I want. I don’t have to do what everyone else does because it works for them in a way.’ It’s also funny because if you are the youngest child in a family, you get that—you just have to do what everyone else does (laughs).
J: It’s funny because you’re the youngest of four. I’m the oldest of four brothers!
K: (laughs) So you’re the boss then. Think about your youngest sibling.
J: (laughs) This puts a whole new perspective on everything.
K: Yeah, tell him I feel for him. In a lot of ways, being the youngest though is the best, so there’s also that.
J: It’s appropriate that you released Texas Heat during summer. It feels like we’ve had a lot of heat waves recently.
K: Yeah, I planned for that. I had to pull some strings.
J: So what’s next?
K: I’m gonna be putting out a few more live recording videos of the songs I did in the studio. So I have those coming out. More songs, more shows.
You can find Kelly’s music on streaming platforms and follow along with her on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Check out the July artist of the month here!
This content was provided by a local, independent contributor to Made in PGH, a lifestyle blog.
