Luke Callen is a songwriter – singer – instrumentalist and poet who spends most of his time living in the Upper Midwest – where the prairie meets the big woods and the rivers all run to the Mississippi. He will be releasing his latest Album – “Fool’s Spring” – on April 1st 2026.
Recorded in a small cabin in Northern Wisconsin – featuring three improvised instrumental pieces – field recordings of birds in Arkansas – Missouri – and Wisconsin – topical – personal and tongue in cheek songwriting – alongside ethereal fingerstyle and Travis style fingerpicking – accompanied by Pedal Steel – Bass – Electric Guitar – Drums – Percussion – Sounds – and Harmony Singers.
You can pre-order/order a copy of Fool’s Spring Here
Outside of music – Luke enjoys tending to his garden – communing with the natural world – propagating and distributing Native wildflowers and Woody shrubs – and playing in and around water.
‘Luke Callen, a laconic singer songwriter whose third release, ‘Also Going Nowhere’ is a mighty fine listen. Take a pinch of John Prine, add some Ian Noe and the merest hint of Ramsey Midwood, then stir in a swell band and you have a fine blend which is just perfect for listening to on a lazy sunny day. All 11 songs on the album allow Callen to stake a claim to be a successor to the above named acts whether he is singing about rural idylls or blood stained history. ‘Clementine‘ is a wonderful portrait of coal mining in North Minnesota and ‘Lake Street Hustle’ is a vivid capture of the perils of drug deals going wrong. Relax with the soothing groove of ‘Fishing Song’ and prepare to be delighted by the boho road trip which is ‘Wolves Of New York’. – Americana UK
“Callen played his own outstanding set. With lived-in lyrics that balance humor and heartache, his natural musical storytelling ability charmed the crowd more and more with each song. In between some songs, Callen leaned into that charm to inject some crucial doses of reality. While introducing a ballad, he set the context for the song. “This song is a story I made up that takes place in northern Minnesota, where there’s a lot of resource exploitation for things like lumber, iron ore, and taconite. Those areas have these big camps where they do all this work, and what tends to happen is that many Indigenous people end up going missing or getting murdered. I’m sure you’ve all heard that story. This song is about Clementine.” As Callen wrapped up “Clementine,” a friend leaned over and said, “This sounds like those early Johnny Cash songs about the struggles of Indigenous people but sung like Bob Dylan if Bob Dylan could actually sing.” And honestly, there’s no better way to describe it than that. Callen’s entire set was poignant, self-aware, and brimming with gratitude. – Joel Swenson – The Current
In an age of quick fixes, flashing screens, and pop ‘songs’ that are more formula than art, an album that takes its sweet time is a radical act. “Also Going Nowhere”, Luke Callen’s third full-length effort is just that – a collection of songs that spread out through time and space, dripping with honest Midwest charm and a mischievous glint. It’s music that you can relax into, paired with lyrics you’ll want to chew on and savor, that ask something of their listener. These songs are proof and reminder: you don’t actually have to go anywhere at all to, you know, get somewhere.
That’s not to say the subject matters within this work are by any means easy or expected. Clementine follows a gun-totting mother up near the Taconite mines of Northern Minnesota. Deals go horribly wrong on the street corner in Lake Street Hustle. The cosmic, primordial soup mixes with wildflower seeds in Some Reason. These epic tales swirl alongside summertime swimming holes, interstate drives, fishing trips with Dad, and unlikely marriage proposals. All of it, grounded and cohesive in the hands of a locked-in rhythm section (Chris Grey on drums and Lauren Anderson on bass) playful lead guitar (producer Erik Koskinen) the warm hum of an organ (Frankie Moscow), and of course, Luke Callen’s confident finger-picking and weathered vocal delivery.
This no-frills arrangement style is like a drink of water for those of us who crave something real and honest to listen to. The sonic palette pays homage to a whole plethora of elements endemic to the American music tradition without feeling derivative or landing too hard on any one side of the genre question. Sure, fans of John Prine, The Band, or Randy Newman will undoubtedly hear traces of Callen’s biggest influences, but there’s a modern assessment within the music that is the distinct voice of an artist coming into his own and sharing stages with fellow pickers and balladeers like Charlie Parr and Margo Cilker.
This album is Callen’s strongest recorded work yet – but even so, his work isn’t the type to get puffed up or ahead of itself. “The highway begins where it always ends/on the same goddamned street” he sings, a throwback to the title of the thing, which seems to be said with a wink and wiley understanding of the world in which we live today. Ultimately, Callen never strays from this central theme: our ordinary lives are noteworthy, and that miraculous, strange, beautiful things are happening around us all the time. We just need to take a seat, stay a while, and insist on using our attention for good. The album lands in the streams on February 2nd, 2024.