Mar 11, 2026
Park City High School alumnus Cam Gallagher moved to Nashville four years ago to pursue a master’s degree in music performance at Belmont University after he entered a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies at the University of Utah.  The saxophonist and band leader’s new record, “Cam Gallag her The Tasty Soul” EP, the follow-up to the band’s 2022 debut, “Fuk Out,” is now available on all streaming platforms and is what Gallagher calls a musical document of that move. “I started writing the songs in 2023 during my second semester in Belmont,” he said. “I began to compile the compositions and get little tunes together.”Gallagher’s inspiration for making the record came at him from all angles. “It was a mixture of being in a new place and being unfamiliar with Nashville,” he said. “It was about how to cope and adjust to a new space as well as knowing how Belmont is a great school for music. I grew up in Utah, and that’s all I have known. And then I moved to Nashville to pursue music. It was time to see what I could do to settle into Nashville, and what better way than to write songs?” Other influences included Gallagher’s peers and professors. “I was always being encouraged and welcomed to write music and write with other people,” he said. “(The professors) gave assignments where they wanted us to express our artistry. They would give you little challenges like bringing in a new tune at the next class, and it had to be original.” One of the six songs on the album is called “Boogieman,” featuring Esi and Chase Baird, which Gallagher released as a single in October 2024. “I was listening to a lot of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ album and a lot of D’Angelo, so I had this idea that I wanted to write a song in the style of neo-soul and funk-fusion,” Gallagher told The Park Record at the time. “At the time, Halloween was approaching, so all of this would be cool to write it in the spirit of the ‘Thriller’ monologue.” “Cam Gallagher The Tasty Soul” is Gallagher’s new record. The six-song EP is available on all streaming platforms. Credit: Photo courtesy of Cam Gallagher The other five songs on the EP are “Grooveational-Pull,” featuring Sheldon Smith and Mike Valeras, “Hot Coffee” with Esi and Owen Fader, “Turn It Up,” “Sweet Tea” and “The Stroll” with Kris Johnson. “We have about 20 to 30 songs that are in the process of being mixed and mastered on top of a ton of tunes — new songs — that I have written,” Gallagher said. “So, we have about a Rolodex of 40 to 45 songs that haven’t been released yet. But I felt like it was time to release these specific six songs because it shows the transition of moving to Nashville from Utah.” They were the first songs Gallagher wrote when he moved to Nashville. “I remember writing the song, ‘Sweet Tea,’ on the airplane when I was traveling back to Utah for a show at the Hog Wallow,” he said. “I wanted to kill some time.” The songs were recorded at Broken Door Studios, co-owned by Gallagher’s friend, John Lawrie. “John runs it with a bunch of friends and people we met at Belmont,” Gallagher said. “He created this little scene for a lot of our community to record at. John is a keyboard player on the songs, and he helped mix and master the record as well.”  The songs were recorded in one session on April 20, 2024. “We had the general blueprint and skeleton of the songs, and we took our time,” Gallagher said. “We added dimensions as time went on. We would do spot checks and maybe add some synths and keyboard effects, and we would add some guitar layers.” Playing the songs live also helped shape what they would sound like in the studio, according to Gallagher. “I think that’s why we sat on this music,” he said. “We wanted to cherry pick what we were doing live and implement that spirit onto the recordings. And we’d play with guest artists.” Trumpeter Kris Johnson, saxophonist Chase Baird and vocalist Esther Okai-Tetteh were among the guests, who joined core band members — keyboardist Hayden Thomas, bassist Sam Spheeris, drummer Tieraney Sage, alto saxophonist Jacob Yim, trombonist Johney Green and guitarist Vincent Bonelli, said Gallagher, who plays a monthly residency with his band at a venue called The Underdog. “We do live improvised genre-fluid music and have a revolving door of musicians who sit in,” he said. “It focuses on the sense of camaraderie and community of creating music with one another.” Releasing the EP is “everything” to Gallagher, a Woody Herman Jazz Award winner who graduated from Park City High School in 2017 and from the University of Utah in 2021. “It shows a really cool chapter of my life, and it’s very personal to me,” he said. “It feels like this was finally declaring Nashville as my home. In my heart, I’m a Park City boy, and this symbolizes the next chapter of my life. So, I will always listen to this and think about the fun I had making this record with my friends and the cool transition of the move.” Gallagher remembers how busy he was at that time. “In my first year in grad school at Belmont, I had been booked out to play every weekend from January 2023 to December 2023 in Utah,” he said. “So I would attend classes Monday through Thursday then catch a flight to Utah at 6 a.m. on Friday morning. I would play a show that night and Saturday and then fly back to Nashville on Sunday. I’d do all my homework, then write some music and repeat the process. I did that for a whole semester. Maybe it was madness and insanity, but it was really cool to do that. So, when I hear this record it makes me think of those times.” The EP has shifted Gallagher’s mindset. “I feel like I’ve come into my own as a citizen of the world, and I feel like I’ve come out of my cocoon a little bit,” he said. “It’s crazy, but kind of beautiful. I feel like I’m in the right spot. I have enjoyed every moment being here, and there’s been a lot of growth as a human and as a musician. I’m also writing a ton, and they will all be released eventually. I’ll go song by song and then get the next record popping and involved.” Gallagher’s schedule in the next few months includes a return to Utah in September. “Some dates, so far, are flexible, but we are playing Sept. 3 at Lake Effect, and Sept. 4 at the Salty Toes Festival that will be held in the Salt Flats,” he said. “Then we’re playing Sept. 5 at the Hog Wallow.” Gallagher The Tasty Soul are also scheduled to play the May 6 at Jam in the Van in Los Angeles. Jam in the Van is a solar-powered and mobile studio in a converted van that is known for recording live and intimate sessions. “I’m really excited about that,” he said.  In addition, Gallagher is also talking with his friend and fellow Park City-based singer-songwriter, Wyatt Pike. “We are planning to put a show together, and my band wants to work with Park City High School and maybe do some master classes and work with the students,” he said. “Things are happening. It’s kind of cool.” Gallagher is also seeing some of his Utah buddies moving to Nashville. “They’ll come out and spend a week with me, and all of a sudden they’re moving here,” he said. “So, it’s nice to have a slice of home here.”For information about Cam Gallagher The Tasty Soul and the self-titled EP, visit camgtastysoul.com. The post New EP adds flavor to Cam Gallagher The Tasty Soul discography appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less
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