If you asked the 20-year-old singer-songwriter what kind of genre he plays, he’ll comeback with a simple response, “I just play music.” And, quite frankly, that’s the truth.

At the age of 14, Hunter Callahan first picked up the guitar because he wanted to sound like Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC. “I wanted to be Slash. But then again, I think just about every high school kid with a guitar wanted to be in a rock band.” Two years later, he joined a southern rock and country band with his older brother. With that band he’s played venues such as The Frederick Brown Amphitheatre. Playing with this group changed the direction of his music, and around the age of 17, Hunter found his niche as a guitarist in a genre of music that was all but dead and gone: The Blues. “The great thing about blues music is that it’s so wide open. As a guitar player, you can say a million different things, while keeping it so incredibly simple.” Drawing influence from artists like B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hunter worked towards being a master of the guitar. And then, the musical direction changed again.

“I started writing a lot of music, but it was just these simple melodies…and I remember thinking, ‘what is this?! I want to be a rock n roll guitarist! Not some one who writes love songs!’ But then I realized, maybe this is how I sound. Maybe this is my version of the blues. Maybe I shouldn’t even say its just blues anymore. There are hints of country, soul, folk, and everything else.” So the songs started coming, and Hunter started doing something else that he had never attempted; and that was singing.
Gifted with a voice that hardly fits his appearance, the combination of his raspy vocals and soulful songwriting has drawn comparisons to John Mayer, Ray Lamontagne, and Bob Dylan.

The start of 2013 saw Hunter become a regular on stages like Eddie’s Attic, opening numerous shows as a special guest, playing in three of the Young Artist Showcases, and earning a spot in the famed Bi-Annual Open Mic Shootout. As well as winning Open Mic contests at Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Social Club, and performing in songwriting showcases around Atlanta. 2013 also saw the recording of his first independent EP, and a performance at the Unplugged in the Park concert series. Another landmark of this year was Hunter’s first headlining show. The sold out show was booked at one of the Nation’s most famous listening room, Eddie’s Attic, and proved to be a foreshadowing of future shows to come.

So the story is just getting started. But with new songs coming, and new doors opening, the story definitely has promise.