R2RB Podcast - Indie Artists and Entrepreneurs
Where Indie Artists and Entrepreneurs share their journeys.
We sit down with indie musicians from diverse genres, shedding light on their personal and professional experiences. From the euphoria of their first gigs to the challenges of carving a niche in the industry, R2RB Podcast is your backstage pass to these rising stars' raw and unfiltered narratives.
We also embark on a journey of Entrepreneurs and share their inspiration, amplifying the voices and stories of remarkable entrepreneurs. Join us as we delve into the worlds of visionary leaders, innovators, and trailblazers who are rewriting the rules and reshaping industries.
We look forward to sharing your journey!
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R2RB Podcast - Indie Artists and Entrepreneurs
Behind the Scenes with Callum Toner: Family, Inspiration, and Success
Imagine being just 16 years old and already making waves in the music industry. Meet Callum Toner, a talented young artist who wrote and performed her first song at the age of 10, and has since played at over 10 festivals and even pre-opened for Coldplay. Join us as we delve into Callum's unique soulful folk voice, her experience opening for Coldplay, and the character-building moment of her first performance in front of a real crowd that set her on the path to success.
Navigating the music industry can be tough, especially for a young artist. Thankfully, Callum has a strong support system in her mother and manager, as well as her creative team. In this episode, we discuss the challenges and rewards of working with family, the importance of understanding that it's still work, and explore Callum's sources of inspiration for her songs. Listen in as Callum shares her experiences at the Ladybug Festival, and how she found solace in songwriting and singing from her own emotions. This is an episode you won't want to miss!
https://linktr.ee/deblamotta
Welcome to Women Entrepreneur Spotlight Podcast Series, where we interview women entrepreneurs and share their story of their journey. Why did they choose to become an entrepreneur, what obstacles were there to work through, what kept them from giving up, and so much more. I'm Deb LaMotta. I'm your host for Women Entrepreneur Spotlight. We'll talk about what the future looks like for these women and what advice they would give the next woman entrepreneur. So sit back, relax and enjoy Women Entrepreneur Spotlight Podcast Series. Hi Cal, how are you? I'm good. How are you? I'm good, thanks. Well, i want to thank you for being here with me And good morning, del Marva. I had this to say about you.
Speaker 1:Callum Toner is a 16-year-old rising musician from Del Marva. She wrote and performed her very first song at only 10 years old. Since then, she has performed at over 10 festivals and was a pre-opener for Coldplay on the Xfinity Live Buds Seltzer stage with her band Scattered. She also has released her third single. I started following you last year and I love your voice. It has been described as soulful folk. Is that how you would describe it?
Speaker 2:I have no idea personally how I would describe it. To me it's, honestly, soulful. Folk is an incredible way to describe it, but I don't really know, because I don't do the listening to myself. Other people listen, like my mom. My mom's a big listener, so I guess.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, from what I have been listening to, like I said since last year, i would go with the soulful folk. Absolutely, Oh my gosh, Absolutely. I have to ask what was it like for being the pre-opener for Coldplay?
Speaker 2:That was exciting. But of course, being like 14 dumb, dumb teenager, i was just like, oh my God, it's Coldplay. But I wasn't like oh my God, it's Coldplay. You know what I mean. It was just kind of like, okay, we're here at this gig, we're just here with Coldplay. It was looking back on it, i don't know how. I wasn't as excited as I am now about it. I was just kind of like, yeah, whatever. But now I'm like, oh my God, you know what I mean. I do.
Speaker 1:I do know what you mean because now you know, when you talk about it and you look back at it it's like oh my God, that was me. So did you have like any nervousness or jitters? I have no idea.
Speaker 2:I don't really get nervous anymore. It's kind of just like I get excited, i get very excited, and the only time I get nervous is when I don't get to go on stage. That's when I start to get nervous is when I'm not on stage. When I'm on stage, it's kind of mellow and relaxed.
Speaker 1:And you're just in your center of yourself and doing what you love to do, right, exactly. Yeah, oh my gosh. And so tell me, when did you first start singing? or when did you first start knowing that you had that voice? Well, i, and wait, wait.
Speaker 2:I heard it was at a young age It was. So I started humming in the crib. Actually, when my mom would play the like the snow globe, wind up things, i would hum along with those And she would also play like some children's songs And I would just hum along to those. Maybe when I was about like four months, four months old, i started to hum And then, as maybe three is when I really started to sing four, five, six. There's a couple videos of me out Actually that my mom posted. Thanks, mom, she posted of me when I was about I'd say like four in that video, yeah, and I was singing. I still don't even know if I have the voice. It's hard when it's yourself, but I sometimes I think I sound good And then other times I'm like ew, you know what I mean, but I think around like 11, 12, maybe 10 is when I was like, okay, i can really sing You know, and so around age 10, where did you go with your?
Speaker 2:singing. That's cool. I was on the morning announcements and I was like playing my ukulele and I was like I wrote the song for the teachers So I would play on morning announcements. Oh, i was on a cruise and there was an open mic And I think I was 11 or 12, and that was the first time I had ever sang in front of a real crowd. I got up and I sang a Grace Vander Waals song and I remember being so nervous and I messed up the song and I almost started crying. But the person who was running it, he walked over to me and he gave me a hug in the middle of the song and he started singing it with me. Oh, my gosh, and it was the best. It was the best thing ever and that was my first performance in front of a real crowd, like just singing by myself.
Speaker 1:Wow, i think.
Speaker 2:I was like 10, 10 or 11.
Speaker 1:Do you think that kind of catapulted you into your singing career?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think so. I think it was a character building moment. honestly, How did you learn the ukulele? I was self-taught. I was begging my mom for a ukulele and my pop-up finally bought one for me And I, right away, was just on the computer, on my phone, like searching up the chords. I never watched videos. I always would just look at the chords on this app that I have. I looked it up and I would. I never liked people telling me what to do, so I would always figure it out myself. I looked it up and I was like, hmm, this looks right and I'd play it. And I was like, yeah, that is right. So everything I'm totally self-taught on, But now I do have a guitar teacher. What?
Speaker 1:about voice. Do you have a voice? mentor?
Speaker 2:I don't, It's just. I don't like people telling me what to do when it comes to my profession.
Speaker 1:Well, you're doing something right. You know, a year later, just from me following you, you have matured. Your voice has matured Absolutely. So. are there musical people in your family? Do you have other people who sing or play instruments? Are you it? I?
Speaker 2:am it? My pop-up was he plays guitar and he sings, so he has an ear for it. Yeah, and my dad, who passed away, but my dad he used to play and he would sit me on his lap while he played piano when I was younger And he would. he always played by ear and he would sing and he would play. And I guess that's kind of where it's almost started. It's kind of started with that.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, that is absolutely awesome. Is scattered your band that you put together, or was scattered already formed and you joined the band?
Speaker 2:Scattered was a group effort, but I'm no longer in Scattered but it was more of a group effort. My mom actually came up with the name, i think.
Speaker 1:So then, what made you switch from the band going to be a soloist? We?
Speaker 2:the band. I wanted to do different type of music and they wanted to do a certain genre And we kind of butt heads over that a little bit. So I figured that I just needed to go solo and not worry about other people at the moment, And I really just wanted to do a certain type of music. They wanted to do another kind, so we just split And I found that solo works a lot better for me too, unless it's I have a band for a bigger festival, But otherwise solo works a lot better for me.
Speaker 1:Okay, and was it a hard decision for you to leave the band, or did you always think you would end up being soloist?
Speaker 2:For a minute. It was hard. It was a hard decision.
Speaker 1:Yeah, So you definitely. I know you definitely liked being on your own and you've grown so much. Who manages Callum Toner?
Speaker 2:Music. It's a group effort. So it's me, my producer, my photographer, sonny He's with Outer Control, and then my mom, all three of us. Oh, and then one more person. Her name's Nikki. She does all my cards, all my stickers with my website. So it's just the four of us that are kind of working together with photography, production, you know, website and just social media. It's kind of all of us as a group.
Speaker 1:Together And does it all work? You all work well together. Yeah, I think we work extremely well together, And having your mom in the mix also does it balance out. Do you have? do you bump heads All the time? I? know, she has your best interest at heart always.
Speaker 2:Yes, i believe she does. It's definitely hard working with someone who's your mom but also your manager. It's difficult and yes, but you know it's also work. So you got to do what you got to do.
Speaker 1:Absolutely right, and I'm sure you know the other people that help you along too, you know, have the same outlook helping you and wanting to see you succeed Absolutely. I know this past year has been a whirlwind for you. You. Have you just finished being at the Ladybug Festival? Do I have that right? Ladybug? What was that like?
Speaker 2:That was. It was really really cool. I went to that festival I think last year excuse me, last year or the year before, I think it was last year. That festival is always really fun. They always have like super cool jewelry, clothes and musicians and it's the vendors are awesome. They always have like super cool stuff too, but the musicians are fantastic And I love that it's a female lead band or like a woman empowerment thing. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:I do. I do Gretchen Emery, who I interviewed last year Gretchen Emery band. she was there. So yeah, one of these times I'll make it up that way. So where do you get your inspiration for your songs that you?
Speaker 2:write, it's usually experiences. I write a lot based on experience. I find it very difficult for me to write songs or make up stories. It has to be based on experiences, whether they're negative or positive or odd. It always has to be from my own personal experiences, but I also find inspiration from other musical artists that I listen to as well, but it's usually from just my experiences that I've been through.
Speaker 1:And I can hear that in your music, i mean that comes through. So that definitely works for you, more so than you know. Maybe what another musician might you know find inspiration from? You have a very soulful soul, thank you. Being in a recording studio for the first time feel like you were in a dream, or you're nervous, or were you just loving every minute.
Speaker 2:I was loving every minute of it. I honestly, I was so excited to be there. I just wanted to, ooh, I just wanted to sing. so bad, but everybody had to take turns and blah, blah, blah. But I was like just let me see, I just want to sing. I was so excited to be there.
Speaker 1:What was the first song that you recorded?
Speaker 2:I recorded Killing Me Softly by the Poochies. Oh nice, That was my first song that I ever recorded. I have no idea where it's at now. I never received the CD copy of it, but the first song that I recorded.
Speaker 1:All right, and you want it. Now you have your third single that you've released. Captivate It. I love it.
Speaker 2:I listen to it. Thank you, yeah, you're welcome, and so what inspired?
Speaker 1:that song?
Speaker 2:had somebody very close to me who was moving not moving, but they were going to college And it was tough on me at first And the first couple months was I was just reminiscing and remembering and I was hurt because it felt like they were kind of happy to leave me behind or just leave where we live and what we've been doing and who we are. And you just left us behind and left it alone and just went.
Speaker 1:That's hard, that's a hard one, absolutely. It was hard, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:The song kind of came from and it was. I wrote that song in like 20 minutes. It was hard. It's better now, but it was very difficult and it was just It's hard for both parties, both sides.
Speaker 1:You know you being there and then the other person leaving, you know doing something else. Do you find that your songwriting is a therapy for you? Do you find solace in it?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, girl, i didn't even let you finish that question. I'm sorry, but absolutely it is for me And I'm sure it is for a lot of other people. It's so therapeutic for me, Like I could write how I feel down and it could be in the song and people wouldn't even know if it's actually how I felt. That's almost. The best part Is that some people won't even know if it happened to me or not.
Speaker 1:I don't know about that, Callum because I know that you know when you sing you sing from a place within that really does resonate your feelings.
Speaker 2:That's true, i think, for now.
Speaker 1:That's true, you caught me, you caught me, that's true. So for now, That is true.
Speaker 2:That's also true. I guess I sing with all of my emotion Yeah, everything, everything. So yeah, that's true. I guess people will know, and they probably do know, absolutely, oh well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's the best part of you. That's the best part, absolutely. Oh my God, don't even apologize for that one. So who does inspire your music? Where do you find your inspiration? I know you mentioned there were other musicians.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, there's a lot of people that inspire me musically. There's Phineas, of course. His production, his lyricism, his talent Oh my gosh, he's so talented. Definitely Phineas is the biggest one at the moment. Amy Winehouse has inspired all of my previous songs And one that isn't out yet but it's called Tolja, and she really inspired that song musically. But there's just Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So like my chemical romance, really. And Billie Eilish was a big one for me too, like when I was 11 to 14, she still inspires me. I'm in love with her, but she really she was a big inspiration for me for a while.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she's right at the. She is definitely right up at the top, absolutely. So what's been the best part of your singing career? I mean, i know you love to, you know write your songs and sing Is there, you know? is there that one takeaway Like a show or like the best thing? Yeah, what's the best part? Do you like the traveling, because I know that you are all you know, up and down from Maryland, delaware. Do you go up to Pennsylvania? I?
Speaker 2:do I go up to New York? I pretty much I go, almost I will go everywhere to play my music, but the traveling is a really good part. that I'd say that it's the people that I meet is my favorite part. And I was talking about my producer, sunny, earlier, but he's probably the best thing that I feel has happened to my career. He's just been. he's definitely a good thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it sounds like you have a lot of good people in your camp.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1:I feel like I do. So what's next for you? Where will you be performing And where can people find you? So you have a website I do.
Speaker 2:So. I have Facebook, which is CalTonerMusic, and then my Instagram is LoveCowm, so it'll be L-U-V-C-A-L-L-U-M, and in both of the descriptions and bios of my social media accounts there will be a link to my Linktree, which has my Spotify. It's basically my website, but it has a link to my Spotify, a website, facebook, instagram and SoundCloud And iTunes and whatever. It has all my stuff to it.
Speaker 1:So you play at venues. You play at festivals. Do you do private events? I do private events, yes, and would they contact you through Facebook or Instagram? Linktree.
Speaker 2:Yeah, or that also. Yeah, they would contact me via email, facebook, instagram, anywhere. Really is perfectly fine. But yeah, i do private events birthday parties, graduations, weddings I do anything, so you're going all the time. Yeah, every day On the road a lot.
Speaker 1:You're amazing. You are an amazing young woman, Girl. where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Speaker 2:Hopefully still playing music. If not, i think it'd be cool to be I don't know a mortician. That'd be cool, but I really I have my heart set on music, but a mortician would be cool.
Speaker 1:And funny. You should mention that because I have worked with somebody that had gone to school for that also. She did it for a while. Yeah, she liked it. Yeah, absolutely, that's really cool. So it's always good. You got Plan A, which is going to be your music, and you have a singing career in front of you, and then you have Plan B Yeah, so I'm going to be sharing the interview on R2RB podcast series and women entrepreneurs spotlight. Your determination and dedication to your craft is one to be applauded for someone of your age. I hope that other young women who might be afraid to start their singing career. The message they take away is that with a little determination and dedication, anything is possible. Callum Toner, you are awesome, thank you, You're welcome. Is there anything else you would like to tell my listeners about you? your music? Go listen to my new song Absolutely Captivate it. You can find it on Apple. You can find it on Spotify, that's everywhere, girl.
Speaker 1:It is everywhere You have to go like it, you have to buy it, you have to share it, you have to follow it. Because it is so important and this is the other part of me is that I love doing this with local artists. I talk to a lot of them, i do a lot of their music on the radio, but it's so important for everybody to know that that is what is important to the local artists Follow them, like them, comment by the CDs, by the singles, download the music, pay for it and then just keep talking about everybody, right? Well, cal, I appreciate this. You have been a joy to talk to. Thank you, you're welcome And I hope we do this again because I want to follow up. Thank you, you know I've been, like I said, i've been following you and I'm going to follow up with you. So, thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for having me. This was so fun, so fun, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Women Entrepreneur Spotlight podcast series. You can listen to the podcast on wwwwomanentrepreneurspotlightbusbrowcom or wherever you listen to your podcast. You can find us on Facebook at Women Entrepreneur Spotlight and you can email us at womenentrepreneurspotlightgmailcom. Until next time, keep being awesome.
