Caylee Hammack

Caylee Hammack possesses a supple, soul-stirring voice paired with a flair for incisive, imagery-rich songwriting that first surfaced on her 2019 debut single “Family Tree.” Although she grew up in a rural Georgia community, the music she crafts fuses earthy country roots with sleek infusions of R&B, electronic-tinged pop, and blues-inflected rock. Those same hybrid textures shaped both her full-length debut If It Wasn’t for You, issued in 2020, and the 2023 single “All or Nothing.”

Born in Ellaville, Georgia, Hammack first picked up an instrument at age thirteen. She quickly began performing wherever opportunities arose on the regional club circuit, occasionally relying on a false ID to gain entry to venues. At sixteen she formed her initial band, an endeavor that coincided with a serious health scare when a two-pound tumor developed on her spinal muscle. Following successful treatment, she resumed playing throughout the Southeast.

Her initial major opportunity arrived when Luke Bryan’s mother caught one of her performances and urged her son to listen. Bryan became an immediate supporter and advised the young artist to relocate to Nashville. Hammack was seventeen when she first received the suggestion and took several years to act on it. Forgoing a college scholarship, she moved at nineteen, initially living out of her car while securing regular gigs along Lower Broadway. In 2016 she secured a publishing contract with Universal Music Group. That same year her membership in ASCAP’s GPS program led to the Sammy Cahn Award, given annually to emerging songwriters; earlier recipients include Lori McKenna, Josh Ritter, Nicole Atkins, and John Mayer.

Hammack inked a recording contract with UMG Nashville in 2018 and began work on her album. The track “Family Tree,” which she wrote alongside Gordie Sampson and Troy Verges, served as her first official single the following year. Throughout 2019 she opened shows for Lanco, Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley, and the Brothers Osborne. The song climbed to number 32 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, paving the way for the August 2020 release of If It Wasn’t for You on Capitol Nashville. Hammack and Mikey Reaves (known for work with Miranda Lambert and Ashley Monroe) co-produced the project alongside Connor Thuotte, and the record included a duet with Reba McEntire plus a collaboration featuring Ashley McBryde and Tenille Townes. Hammack returned in 2023 with the single “All or Nothing,” tracked under the guidance of producer and guitarist Dann Huff.