NHTE 291 Shannon Lauren Callihan

"I think in this day and age it's okay to kind of be versatile and explore different types of genres of music as an artist."

"Over the past year I've developed quite a following through Instagram and through Facebook and I rely on that a lot when I release a single."

"When I say me, it's the band, 'cause I wouldn't be me without them.  They add so much to what the sound is."

"If you're going to have a successful group you all have to be on the same page and want the same things and have similar goals of where you want the music to go."

"There's more to it than just having a following.  When it comes to Instagram... content is number one, like, providing good content, you have to be good at your craft, obviously to get a following like that, you can't pay for that.  But really focusing in on that.  So, being good at what you're doing but also making it look appealing to the viewers and engaging with your fans.  Engaging with your fans is really, like, the biggest thing for me, is just being online, answering questions, responding to people."

"The first video that we did... did so well, like, millions of views, which was super cool, and it's led to a lot of the opportunities, like getting to play NAMM - it led to us being able to do that."

"For me with music, it's, sometimes you can't take it too seriously 'cause I think you lose sight of what you're doing and it's better to just let things work out.  I mean, still work hard, obviously, but I think it's important to just not overwork yourself and just trust in your abilities."

(songwriting) "usually by myself.  When I first moved (to Nashville) I was doing a lot of co-writing, and it wasn't that I didn't like it, I just, I feel like I write better songs by myself - as of right now, which, that could change."

"Instead of meeting with all these different people you don't know to write songs, I think sometimes it's best to find that one person that you mesh really well with and keep writing songs with them."