The Life of an Up-and-Coming Nashvillian Artist: Daisy Tingley

By Finn Slayton

Before she stepped on the stage, she huddled close with her friends. She looked out at the curtains and could only imagine how many people were there. But she knew she could do it, because she’d done it so many times before. Daisy Tingley, while not born in Tennessee, helps Music City live up to its name. Since she was young, she’s been a guitarist, and a singer even before that. In her free time, she likes to eat sushi, be with her dog, and listen to music.

The following interview has been condensed.

Daisy practicing in her room. Photo by Emily Tingley.

How does it feel to fulfill your dreams of being an artist at NSA?

Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to be a musician, so that’s great and I've recently gotten into filmmaking.

Are you a Nashville native? 


No, I'm not. I'm from California. I'm from a little town called Temecula. 
And I moved here in October 2020, because my dad got a job offer here.

How long have you been playing guitar? 

I've been playing guitar since 2021. So about four years, and I've been singing since I could talk.

Daisy performing at NSA. Photo by Emily Tingley.

Are you affiliated with non- NSA productions? 

Yes, I have gigged around town. I've gotten a couple opportunities to open for some small artists around and I've played at places like the Bowery Vault, the Ryman, Third and Lindsley, and I'm hoping to play a bunch more. 
And I've also done a couple of theater productions outside of NSA just Community theater, so I’m trying to perform as much as possible.

What came first, choir or guitar?

 Actually, I didn't start in choir until I joined NSA. I've always been a singer, but I didn't start singing classical or choral music until I joined choir conservatory at NSA along with guitar. 
So technically, I started playing guitar before I started doing choir singing, but I have been singing my whole life.

Do you prefer choir or guitar? 


I definitely prefer choir. Just because I think that I get more out of it. 
And guitar is something that you only really go as far as you want to go. And there's a bunch of different styles that you can learn and play, and I have mastered, in my opinion, the style that I want to play. That's not to say that I don't have stuff to learn because you always have stuff to learn. 
But I have no desire in being a lead or a solo guitarist. And so I think that I've kind of hit a spot in my guitar career. I don't feel like I'm getting much out of guitar class because I feel like I know what I want to do and I've gotten as good as I need to be in order to make it as a musician. There's more to learn and more that I don't know because I'm so new to it. 
So I think that’s my answer.

Did somebody inspire you to get into music? 

Both of my parents are musicians: my mom is a singer, and my dad's a guitarist. I grew up Christian, so my parents both did worship leading, my mom was the main worship leader on the team. My dad has played gigs with Tori Kelly (An American singer- songwriter with many accolades including 3 Grammys) and a lot of other artists; he’s just gigged around, and he’s gone on tour a couple of times.

He's an amazing guitar player. And my mom is an incredible singer and grew up doing theater and choir. 
And both of my grandparents, on both of my parents' sides.

Pretty much my whole family is musical, so I was just kind of born into it, sick in my blood. And starting with singing in theater really launched me into, I think, like the musician that I am today.

Did you have any programs or clubs that you worked with? 


My first gig would be that big moment when I put my foot in the door and launched my career as a musician. My dad's a general manager at a guitar shop called Novo guitars. And he worked with a musician, and her name is Maggie B, and he sold her a guitar and told her about how he had a daughter, me, at the time. 


I was 11 years old, and I just started writing music and playing guitar. And I'd written about four or five songs that I hadn't played for anybody, and she was like, "Well, I need an opener for a gig at this little bar called Third and Lindsey.” She said, if she wants to open for me, I would love to have her. 
And he said, "Do you need to hear her play?” And she was like, “No, like, no, no, no big deal. Like, just have her bring a couple songs.” 
And I thought, “Holy crap!” So, I went on stage and kind of freaked out but got through it. There's a video of me...

That was the big moment when I played those songs live for a real paying audience that I was like this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

Are you working on any new music right now? 

Yes, I released a single called "If I Only Knew" under the name Daisyland last year in May, and that was more representative of the artist than I was at the time. 
And now I'm a little bit more into an indie rock influence and a little more upbeat, and I'm hoping that by the end of next year, I will be releasing an EP of songs that I've just recorded by myself in my bedroom that I've written. So hopefully next year.

Daisy performing at NSA. Photo by Emily Tingley.

Do you have a favorite memory of California? 

It's funny looking back because when I was there, I didn't realize it, but I was living in a bubble. Like, here in Nashville that was such a culture shock to move here because this environment is so broad and there's so much diversity; So many different groups of people, so much stuff to do. The nature of California, especially the place where I lived.

If you go to San Diego or LA or San Francisco, it's beautiful and it's like a melting pot of different people, but I would say where I lived, Temecula was very boring. 
But I would say that my core memories of living in California, that I really enjoyed, and the things that I miss the most are the school that I went to. It was called Sycamore. It was a little charter school, and I really loved it. 
The teachers were really sweet. And also the theater company that I did, called CYT.

Do you want to move back to Temecula?

Oh, God, no.

No, no. I haven't visited California since 2021, and I don't plan to go back. I would like to go back maybe if I was touring or if I was doing some kind of film thing there, but I would never want to live
in California, especially not Temecula, because it's just so confined. I was bubbled. I was in a bubble. 
Yeah, and now that I've seen the world, or I guess a bigger part of the world, I feel like I could never go back.

Do you like Nashville? 


I love Nashville. I didn't at first. I thought that it was really overwhelming, and there was a lot going on, and I thought that the only thing to Nashville was just Broadway. 
And I said, “I don't want to live here.” And I was super upset because I missed my friends. And I also moved in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. So, I had to be homeschooled, and I couldn't make any friends. I joined a soccer team when I first moved here, I was terrible. But just to make friends, I was so lonely.

The longer that I lived here, the more that I, like, fell in love with it, like, I don't think I want to live here for the rest of my life. I want to move to Boston when I go to college, but I appreciate Nashville for what it is. NSA is one of the best parts of living here. It’s really cool that I get to do my art every day and be around people who care about their art as much as I do.