Trading the “Standard Route” For the Love of Music

by Tenesha Green | WeINSPIRE Reporter

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Growing up, Audrey Callahan was raised in a military family. Education was a priority in her family, with many earning advanced degrees, the highest degree being a PhD. 

Audrey Callahan. Photo Courtesy of Audrey Callahan

The obvious path for Callahan’s life included earning a college degree, joining and becoming ranked in the military posing her to be set for success in adulthood. Callahan’s love for music led her to rethink that plan. As a young girl, Callahan’s father played the guitar and loved classic rock. She would sing along to the melodies of Queen and Journey, as he taught her harmonies.

“Through trying to keep up with my dad, my training with singing started early on,” Callahan said. “Every time we moved, he always made sure to get an extra room so we could make it the family music room.”

Audrey Callahan recording. Photo Courtesy of Audrey Callahan

When the time came, Callahan enrolled in college and began her pursuit of what had become the “standard route” in her family. Majoring in Biotechnology, she found all the while, her love for music grew stronger. 

One day, while driving in the car with her then-boyfriend Shane Snyder, Callahan began to sing. This was the first time he had ever heard her sing and he was so struck with awe by the sound he had to pull the car over. He turned and asked her to sing more. As she began to sing again, excitement filled his face. 

His response to her musical talent and encouragement further fostered her love for music. 

“He was a huge catalyst for me pushing into the music career full time,” she said. “He believed in me so much.”

Audrey Callahan with her husband Shane Synder. Photo Courtesy of Audrey Callahan

Anytime the couple went to parties that had musicians around and in spaces where jam sessions broke out, Snyder would nudge her to join in singing. Callahan found herself rekindling her love with music again, and dropped out of college to explore this passion more. This didn’t prove easy and before long Callahan felt she needed a consistent more reliable job, so again, Callahan pushed music to the side and became a full-time waitress as she explored her career options. 

During this same time, Callahan discovered another love that showed lots of promise, her coding and graphic design skills. Her love for this field started many years prior through coding and designing her Myspace page as well as band flyers. Eventually this lead her to go to school for Web & Graphic design. In 2009, as school was coming to an end, she and her husband started their web design business together. The security provided by these choices allowed Callahan to attend again to her love for music. 

In 2014 she released her very first song Better Me For Me, a love song about her and Snyder, followed by multiple other singles off of what would later become her first EP entitled The Awakening. To this day, Better Me For Me remains her favorite song.

“It’s my first and it represents the fact that I did it,” Callahan said. “I released it and became a recording artist. I felt like I was home and I finally found my place in life.”

Audrey Callahan Better Me For Me Cover. Photo Courtesy of Audrey Callahan

Better Me For Me did not start out as a love song, it was originally going to be about her personal development journey. About how she had broken past many limiting beliefs and grew into a new mindset that was taking her places she never once thought possible. Through writing the song, Callahan quickly realized her husband was a large part of that journey.

“I’m so proud of him for being so honest, authentic, outspoken and truly himself,” Callahan said. “From day one he would always ask the right questions and dig deep to get to know me on an intrinsic level. He continually sows seeds of possibility into my being and his constant belief in me inspires me to continually strive to be my fullest potential.”

As of 2018, Callahan is now a full-time soul-pop artist who has had her music played in 79 countries. She acknowledges she took side steps in her career by being part of music groups that did not align with the genres of music she felt most interested in. She had this to say for any other aspiring artists who may be reading: 

“It’s important to be authentic and to understand who you are at your core,” Callahan said. “Armed with this knowledge of self, you can create a life that you truly love.”