Carly Gibson, petite yet mighty, is an Atlanta based singer-songwriter who blends Americana and roots with rock-n-roll and old-school R&B. Carly walks in her own footsteps and draws you in like a magnet with her inviting sultry vocals and sincere lyrics, all gripped together with her gutsy guitar. While her sound is distinctly original, you feel a warm sense of nostalgia less than seconds into her songs as she pays subtle tribute to her many legendary influences including Grace Potter, Jimi Hendrix, John Mayer, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Black Crowes, CSNY and Led Zeppelin.
A respected guitarist, Carly has 13 years of performance under her belt. She has opened for artists such as Randall Bramblett , Michael Tolcher and Geoff Achison and has performed with Caroline Aiken, Donna Hopkins, Diane Durrett, Chris Hicks (Marshall Tucker Band), Jeff Sipe and more. Carly is a 2009 and 2010 alumni of the prestigious GRAMMY Camp, and is a 2013 graduate of the renowned Atlanta Institute of Music – one of less than a dozen women to complete their guitar program. Besides her solo career, Carly is a member of and tours with the successful Atlanta-based bands Gibson Wilbanks and The Pussywillows. Carly released her new original single, Love Me, on Friday, last month with Victory Music Buzz, which you can check out below!
We managed to catch up with Carly a she talked about her latest release and more!
Can you tell something about the release of Love Me?
This is my first official solo release; I’ve been working and preparing a long time for this plunge, so I’m pretty damn pumped. I’m so glad I waited til I met the right people and gave myself time to learn and grow more as an individual as well as artist before I went into the studio process.
Can you tell something about the single no one else knows?
I had the melody and first two lines of the verse randomly come to me while I was on a road trip to visit my boyfriend. There was about 7 months of us having to live a few hours apart from each other. It was a difficult and humbling time for us. We new if we could get through that, we could get through anything together.
Will you be releasing an EP/album this year?
I’m hoping I can get another single, if not EP started this winter. I’m an indie artist so the process has a mind of its own depending on many variables haha. I’m also in two other groups: The Pussywillows & Gibson Wilbanks. Both of those projects will be releasing this year. Gibson Wilbanks will be dropping our first full length album in late August, and The Pussywillows will be dropping our first EP in October. I’m overjoyed to be able to finally get them out.
Have you got any tour dates or festivals lined up for 2018?
I will mostly be in the south east this year touring with GW & TPW but I hope to be doing some solo touring as things progress with an EP or LP.
If you could work with any band or artist on a new song, who would it be and why?
It would probably be Grace Potter. She’s one of my most influential songwriters and female role models. I love her way of building a song without making it busy, and delivering a clear point with genuine soul and power. I connect with her music and genre deeply. She is so multitalented and faceted. I would die if that were to happen haha.
What was the first gig you ever attended?
Well, my mother, father, and step dad are all musicians, so technically I was probably still in the womb haha. MY frist gig I went to and played though, I was 12 years old and I played drums with a school of rock band with my brother and a few of his friends. My dad was a guitar teacher at the time and arranged our little group giving us a slot at a local summer festival in my home town of Sun Valley, Idaho. We played several 70’s classic rock– like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. It was scary and fun as hell at the same time.
What inspired you to get into music in the first place?
Having my parents both being gigging musicians, I was constantly surrounded by it. In a lot of ways, It was the pentacle in my house hold. It’s life. I was (and still am) obsessed with the movie Wayne’s World. That sound track was everything to me. It was my first memorable experience hearing Jimi Hendrix and Queen. Nothing else looked as fun and freeing. Hearing and seeing Angus Young play guitar gave me the fire to be able to play. My big brother also played and I always felt jealous. I yearned to be able to connect with him and my dad; music was the language with them. It was a healthy competition to get better too.
What do you get up to in your spare time when not working on music?
I teach private music lessons as my day job. I love working and helping others connect and grow through music. I’m a yoga and nature fanatic as well. I love spending time with my friends and family and my two pups. I pretty much eat, drink, live music though.