ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: 5 FAST QUESTIONS WITH Clare Cunningham

Love live music? Big Machine Brewery and Distillery in Downtown Nashville as well as Big Machine Brewery and Tavern in Berry Hill feature live music regularly. Follow us @bigmachine_downwtown and @bigmachine_tavern for all the happenings. 

Clare Cunningham recently rocked the stage at Big Machine Tavern in Berry Hill with a lively St. Patrick’s Day performance. We sat down with Clare to ask her five fast questions for this month’s Artist Spotlight. 

How did you get started in music? 

Music was in my bones from Day 1. I had a flare for it and knew I was destined to be in the industry very early on. Upon being asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I exclaimed 'A Rockstar'! And I was only 4!  

I do come from a family who loved music and coming from Ireland music is very culturally engrained into our lives there so transitioning into it was very natural for me.  

If you had to describe your music with emojis only, which emojis would you use? 

Shamrocks and rock horns!  

What was the most impactful event in your life that you credit to getting you to where you are today?  

This is a great question. And there have been LOT of events along my musical/life journey to allow me to be where I am today.  

I have endured my fair share of trauma, pain and struggle (who hasn't I guess) and without getting overly personal it has truly shaped the woman I have become today. I am grateful for all the s**t I've gone through because I've grown and continue to grow through it all.  

So, I certainly feel it is my duty to now share these struggles/pain through my music to help give a healing hand to others who maybe facing their own demons. To be the voice for those who feel they can't talk about their problems.  

I think the biggest turning point in my life was at 27 years of age finally admitting I had been suffering in silence for so long and was diagnosed with chronic anxiety and I decided to go seek professional help and it truly changed my life around.  

That aside my parents allowing me to choose music as a career path and never once thinking I was 'wasting my brain' choosing music as a career path. They fully supported me on my journey (and still do) and so without their support I definitely wouldn't be here today. 

We've heard you run barefoot. How does barefoot running help you when you are performing? 

Haha! Yes, word gets around fast on the streets!  

I have the one and only Mark Borchetta (EVP Big Machine) to thank for getting me into barefoot running. We were chatting health and nutrition, and Mark told me he runs barefoot. He taught me about the many health benefits. 

I tried it out and really got into it. I love it. (Although with all the work going on in the streets of Nashville, it has led to some cut up feet which aren’t too pretty!) 

While barefoot running per se doesn't help with performing, running does improve the cardiovascular system which in turn has enormous benefits for singing and breath control. 

Where are you most likely to be found when you are not performing?  

The studio! I am currently laying down my Celtic EP with my amazing team Eddie and justy over at RCA studio on music row! Or I'm in other studio's laying down songs or writing with producers/co-writes.  

And you can also find me most days at Hotbox in the Gulch - huge shout out to these guys! I love it there - I kick box at least 4-5 times a week and do the strength classes also. I also do my own training at the gym and mix it up with running too. I trampoline 10--15 minutes a day also. And I do daily meditations/healing work but this is performed at home typically.  

It's so important as an artist to maintain a healthy lifestyle in order to be at your peak and for mental health. 

Follow Clare Cunningham on Instagram @clarecofficial