/ Modified feb 6, 2015 2:07 p.m.

Stairwell Session: Nancy McCallion

Local songwriter digs deep into her own experience to create music that blends traditions

Stairwell Sessions provide a chance for local musicians to talk about their art, and play some songs in an acoustically-rich stairway outside the Arizona Public Media Radio Studio.

Nancy McCallion is best known for her days in the Tucson-based folk band The Mollys. Today, she continues her life-long love affair with music by writing songs and playing often alongside her husband, Danny Kreiger.

nancy mccallion portrait Nancy McCallion
Tom Casey

She still keeps herself emerged in the music world, but said things are different now that she has become a parent and gained some perspective on her career.

"I think in terms of projects these days," McCallion said. "It's not like when I was young and I didn't have a family. Then, everything was music. Now I have to fit it in a little bit."

Her influences include classic American and British rock, along with strong doses of both Celtic and Mexican musical traditions. McCallion says that her favorite songs are those that tell stories, and she recalls being inspired a performance from the band Los Lobos that she saw decades ago at the Pima County Fair.

"I was just blow away, I just loved Los Lobos," she said. "They also mixed the Mexican with the rock and so the idea of this kind of hybrid music just made sense."

Mark McLemore talks with Nancy McCallion & Danny Krieger in this interview plus music:

Listen to the complete music-only Stairwell Session with Nancy McCallion & Danny Krieger:


Nancy McCallion and Danny Krieger Stairwell Session track list:

  1. If It's a Party I'm Staying (take 2)
  2. Lonesome Times
  3. Old Women's Lament
  4. He's Gone
  5. Good Old Days
  6. Will You Forgive Me?
  7. I Came for a Dance
  8. Reckless Child
  9. You're a Stranger Now
  10. Prospector's Lament
  11. This Is My Round

Recorded on October 7, 2013

Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered by Jim Blackwood with assistance from Jamison Waddell.

Nasncy McCallion Danny Krieger stairwell session Nancy McCallion & Danny Krieger
Tom Casey
The Stairwell Session
To listen to more artists recorded live on The Stairwell Sessions, please click here.
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