Today we’d like to introduce you to Clare Doyle.
Hi Clare; I’m so excited to have you on the platform. Before we get into questions about your work life, how can you bring our readers up to speed on your story, and how did you get to where you are today?
Well, I grew up in St. Paul. I started singing as a little kid – my mom says I would hum made-up songs and words when I was two. Growing up, there was a lot of music in my house – my parents and older siblings had their musical tastes floating around; my dad played guitar. I pursued music wherever I could – choirs, musical theater, piano and voice lessons, bands formed with the other kids on the block, wrote letters to the heads of record labels listed on my CDs asking for a record deal, and I played an open mic or two with my dad. He was my accompanist, so when I left for college, I had to learn to accompany myself. I taught myself to play guitar on his telecaster in my dorm room, and soon after, I figured out I could write my own songs. I wrote three or four songs and started planning a move to Nashville to pursue music.
But I had a really brutal inner critic and convinced myself I had no business making music. So I graduated and started another career – in event and festival production. I lived in New Orleans when the pandemic hit and wiped out more than a year of event work so I had to move back to Minnesota, leave the city and work I loved, and try to regroup. My sense of self was completely wiped out during that time. But in that space, I rediscovered music. And I also got sober. I had been dealing with addiction since I was in my teens. I started writing for the first time in ten years, and eventually, as things opened back up, I started playing shows. I played my first show in February of 2022 and almost didn’t play it. I was so nervous. Holding down the strings on my guitar was hard because my hands were shaking so badly. And then, thanks to an incredibly welcoming and supportive music community, I got opportunities to keep playing more and more shows, make friends, record some singles I released last year, and start reclaiming my artist self. At the end of last year, I was named one of First Avenue’s Best New Bands of 2023 and an Emerging Artist of 2024 by Music in Minnesota.
It wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Well, it has, and it hasn’t. I’m very privileged in many ways, which has smoothed the road for me and given me a head start and advantages that others don’t have. But I’ve definitely also struggled. I dealt with addiction for 15 years, which folks don’t realize isn’t just a series of hangovers and withdrawals and bad checks – it can severely damage your sense of self and your development as a person. And I deal with depression and anxiety, which is challenging. Honestly I think the biggest obstacle to pursuing music was my own beliefs about myself.
Thanks for sharing that. So, tell us more about your work next.
I’m an artist – primarily a vocalist and songwriter, plus some poetry, and I play enough guitar to get by What sets me apart is my lyricism. I try to let my writing be raw and honest.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m trying to anchor my plans in art making instead of hitting benchmarks. It’s too for me easy to get caught up in the business/admin side of things, but that’s different from where the music comes from and not the headspace I want to be in. I have some big plans for this year, though – I’ll be recording and releasing more music, going on tour, and focusing on cultivating creativity.
Contact Info:
- Website: claredoyle.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claredoylemusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088688079991
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@claredoylemusic?si=tWNU5KFluOqOyRBQ
Image Credits
Emily Dunker, Taylor James Donskey, Adam Nantz, Sammie Jean Cohen, Nick Greseth
