Looks like somebody in Nashville has decided to put the guitars back in country music, and it’s a nice change! With Bailey Callahan’s new single “Bitter,” it’s also clear that there are a few people out there who can’t wait to turn up the heat. This is some good, old-fashioned Southern rock turned up to 11, and thanks to Ashley McBryde’s success, I think we’re going to see a lot more of music like this. Who can complain? For Callahan’s part, she brings a whole ton of swagger to an unusual breakup song: that moment when you know it’s time to leave, but want to get together one more time for the hell of it.
Callahan, who’s based in Florida, seems to be hitting the ground running in the country scene. Her self-titled EP debuted at 43 on the iTunes charts in 2017. She’s been spending the last few years hitting the road, playing over 300 dates and opening for the likes of Luke Combs, Hunter Hayes, LOCASH, Scotty McCreery, and Jesse James Decke.
“’Bitter’ is the most confident I’ve ever felt in a song,” says Bailey. “We all went through a lot with Covid, and being in quarantine I feel like I had a lot to say. ‘Bitter’ was the first song I wrote, when we were locked down, and it shows a lot without saying a lot. It sums up the southern rock and country sides of me, and it’s the best preview of what this new record will be.”