Hammack pays homage to wide ranging musical influences
Capitol Nashville’s Caylee Hammack is premiering the official music video for her new single “Just Friends” exclusively with Billboard. The “full throttle vocalist” (HITS) pays homage to some of her strongest musical influences from vintage Dolly Parton to 90’s alternative rock in the new clip, directed by Justin Clough, and featuring one of Hammack’s dream collaborators Everclear’s Art Alexakis.
“When I was in the writing room and studio working on my debut album, I got to sneak lyrical and sonic Easter eggs throughout the record to pay homage to the legends who have shaped me and my music. Considering ‘Just Friends’ partly came from a Everclear binge during a breakup, I dreamt that Art Alexakis could star as an Easter egg, mystery character in the music video,” explains Hammack. “‘I Will Buy You a New Life’ was one of the first songs and music videos that stuck in my head as a kid. I knew I had to reference that in someway. Then the idea popped in my head to just ask his number of a mutual friend and call him. I’m glad I did. He is a wonderful creator and even better human.”
Hammacks’ debut, If It Wasn’t For You, takes listeners on an intimate journey, from Hammack growing up in Ellaville, GA, braving a medical scare and coming out the other side of a bad love that was the catalyst for her turning down a scholarship to Belmont University and ultimately arriving in Nashville, TN. The LP has already been praised by critics with People declaring the set as a “a lavish feast of autobiographical storytelling, served up with catchy hooks and the singer’s power-packed voice.” Some of country music’s most potent women have also thrown in on Hammack’s debut, with appearances by Reba, Ashley McBryde and Tenille Townes. Hammack also continues to show her reverence for classic country music, recently releasing a collaboration with country music icon Alan Jackson: a special rendition of Don Williams’ “Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good.”
Hammack has been noted as an “Artist To Watch” by outlets including The Bobby Bones Show, Rolling Stone and HITS Magazine for her “voice to move mountains” (Rolling Stone). With her breakout Top 30 single “Family Tree” marking the most-added single at country radio by a female artist in over three years, Hammack, the Capitol Nashville recording artist has previously brought her unforgettable live set to opening slots for Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Trisha Yearwood, Brothers Osborne and some of country music’s biggest festivals. She’ll return to the road with Reba during a summer arena trek in 2021.
