This week I spoke with Casi Joy, an unstoppable singer/songwriter who began her pursuit of music at the age of 5. Since then, she’s been writing music, performing, and competing on national television. We chatted about her recent release, Miles and Maybes which hit streaming services on March 31st, 2023, her single “Hey Dad”, and her upcoming performance at the world’s largest barbecue event.

I just want to start off by saying you have a really lovely voice - you’re confident, you know your range, and you're a total natural, which is obvious given the fact that you were a contestant on The Voice. I know it’s been a few years, how have things been since being on the show?

Thank you so much for the kind words, first off! We’ve been going a hundred miles an hour since I got off the show. And, you know, high quality problems. We’re so grateful to be running around like chickens with our heads cut off. But we’ve just been touring constantly, trying to stay relevant and keep being in the know, and in the front of peoples’ minds as much as possible. And of course putting out this new album, you know, just trying to stay in front of people and stay connected with people as much as I can. Doing that through music is the reason we’re doing it.

Do you ever get tired of people associating you with The Voice?

Yes and no. I will never stop being grateful for my time on The Voice, and I am so grateful that people still remember me from the show since it’s been a hot minute. I’m always grateful that people still even remember me from the show! Sometimes people will say, “Oh, I first started following you when you first got your start on The Voice!” and I'm like, well, the start was a long time before that! It’s always super special when people say they’ve been following me since before The Voice. I’m like, “Hey, my man!”

Tell me about your album Miles and Maybes - what’s been the process of making it, and how was it different from previous releases?

The album came out in March, and it was my debut fully original album. I had put out my cover album, a Christmas album, and an EP. It was really time to sit down and come up with something cohesive, so this new album Miles and Maybes is the last three years of my life all put into one little bundle of music. It’s a roller coaster - I think most other people's lives have been just ups and downs and everything in between for the last three years. That’s what Miles and Maybes is.

Your single “Hey Dad” is a sweet, touching song. It paints your father as a kind and strong figure, someone who informed the person you are now. What was the process of writing that song?

So many tears, I can’t even tell you how many tears I cried writing that song. I wrote it with my friend Deanna Walker in Nashville, and she’s got a really special relationship with her dad. He’s much older and had a little more declining health, so we both kind of got to dive into all of our special memories that we’ve gotten to share with our dads. Just getting to go through all of those memories and being grateful that we still have the opportunity to make more. And to finish this song and show it to him while he still gets to hear it, because so many times we write these songs once it’s too late and you wish that person could hear that song. So it’s just really special that my dad is still kicking. He’s playing video games right now with my husband and we just got out of the pool together, so he’s doing just fine!

There’s a lyric I love where you say something along the lines of, “I wish someone could have said something to make you laugh so I can remember that sound.” Do you have a specific memory of your dad you can tell me about?

Oh gosh, there’s so many. That’s a loaded question! I mean the first one that comes to mind is when my husband ended up not being able to fly with me to Canada years ago - I was playing a festival with Buckcherry, so the day before I was like, “Dad you’ve got to fly with me, I can’t go to Canada alone! You gotta get a ticket!” So he came with me and we ended up having the best little adventure together. We got lost on a mountain trying to pretend we were hikers, had the crazy-worst margarita ever, it was so much laughter and a lot of great memories. Grateful for those. My dad is someone I can get lost with and somehow feel safe.

You've worked with Keith Urban and Maren Morris, how did you feel working with such big names? Scared? Confident?

It depends on the show and the day. Sometimes I’ll feel like I’m in the moment like, “Yeah, I deserve to be here”, and other times imposter syndrome will creep in and I’ll say something really dumb. One time LoCash was walking by me - we had just opened for them and they were walking by me and I was like, “Oh, what happened, did you get locked out of your bus?” because he couldn't get his door open and I thought that was the dumbest joke to ever make. Like it was a dumb-and-dumber moment. So there’s always those weird foot in mouth moments, but it’s always incredible to work with your idols and watch your heroes on stage, before and after you, and to watch the example happen right before your eyes. It’s the ultimate training experience, I think.

How has touring been?

Really good! I feel like this summer is the first time things have actually felt like they were back to normal. There were no restrictions anymore and so it felt really good to just throw all those cares to the wind and get back to live music, and get back to what it’s all about, which is being close to people and connecting. Our goal is to spread joy wherever the music takes us and now we can finally do that again. So it’s been really awesome. We’ve been getting back to crafting - I like to craft for my merch table. I’ve been making bracelets and cups for kids and stuff for all the shows so I’m grateful to be back and busy.

Let’s talk barbecue. I saw that you’ll be singing the national anthem at the Kansas City Royals game, which is awesome, but you're also headlining the American Royal World Series barbecue, which is apparently the world’s largest barbecue event. That is crazy! How did you get involved in that?

Yeah, the American Royal is insane! I grew up in Kansas City so I grew up knowing about the American Royal and I went when I was younger, but going as an adult you don’t realize just how big an event it is. I mean, it’s like, just so much barbecue and people are coming to compete from all over the world. It’s the wildest food and it’s a bunch of people drinking beer, making barbecue, and getting ready to listen to country music. What more could a girl ask for?

Are you a barbecue girl? What’ll you be having?

I am a BBQ girl! I’m actually way more into all of the sides though, I love some mac and cheese, some potato salad, but if I’m gonna go barbecue, and we’re talking Kansas City barbecue, I’m gonna go with Gates Bar-B-Q.

Do you have anything planned for the future?

We have a music video coming out soon for “Low Brow Luxe.” We’re gonna be touring like crazy! The tour schedule is on my website, Casijoy.com.

How can fans stay in touch with everything Casi Joy?

You can stream the album anywhere you get your music like Spotify, Amazon, Apple music, or you can get a signed hard copy on my online store, Casijoy.com.

Casi can be found on X, Instagram, Youtube, and TikTok with the handle @Casijoymusic

**originally published to Lovebomb Magazine**