Colin has traveled extensively and lived in many different places across the United States and Europe. His dad was in the military, and Colin later joined the military which is why he moved around so much. He grew up mostly in Virginia and Nebraska, then moved to Greensboro in 2014 for grad school. Greensboro is his dad’s hometown and where a lot of his family resides, which is why he now considers it home. He says his travels have influenced his music by giving him a unique outsider’s perspective on many traditions and cultural norms other people may not question as much, particularly in the South. One of his biggest interests in life and music is being able to see the good and bad in things.
     
     Colin moved abroad to England to study creative writing. Along with lyrics, he writes short stories and poetry. He actually just got his first short story published. His upcoming album is based on short stories by Flannery O’Connor, so storytelling is deeply ingrained in him. He thinks North Carolina has a fantastic concentration of songwriters, and it’s a big reason he felt pulled to move here. The music community is very cooperative here, he says, not that competition doesn’t exist, but it’s less about who’s the best, and more about how we can help each other out. He also appreciates the diversity in North Carolina. The more rooted and conservative elements merge with the progressive parts and you can hear it in the music. He says Greensboro has a little bit of everything and is very representative of all of NC.
 

    Music has always been a part of Colin’s life. His mom put him in the church’s musical productions, and he played piano and the trumpet as a child. He moved on to guitar and banjo as he got older. Moving to Greensboro has deeply influenced his music as there is a prevalent Old Time scene here. Old Time music pulls a lot from tradition and the history of Appalachia. He says guitar, banjo, and harmonica are his favorite instruments to play. Harmonica is unique because there is space between notes that you can play with. 

    Hot Pepper Jam is Colin’s most recent album. Colin’s favorite songs off the album are Back in Gate City Again and Cruel Willie, which is an old traditional song he covered. In terms of writing, Back in Gate City Again and Hot Pepper Jam are his favorites. He describes Hot Pepper Jam as “salacious,” and “definitely just about food.” His writing process pulls from old 30s blues music, which uses coded language. He says Bristol City Breakdown is a very fun song. Red Bird Singing is a song that reflects on the ignorance about country lifestyles, ancestor’s lifestyle, the danger and violence in rural life, and also the beauty and peace of it. 
 

    The most important thing about this album to Colin is paying tribute to the history of folk music. Country, folk, bluegrass, and Americana music are often seen as predominantly white genres but this is not reflective of their roots. Colin tells a story of a performance he did where afterwards someone came up to him to say, “You’ve played a lot of white boy music tonight.” He likes to tell people that the banjo is from Africa, and it’s why he put himself holding a banjo on the album cover of Hot Pepper Jam. “This is our music, it’s our music too,” he says, and he hopes to shine a light on the people of color in history and modern times making folk music.