A lot has changed for local pop artist Chaz Cardigan — and for all of Nashville — in the past few weeks. On March 3, deadly tornadoes destroyed homes and businesses across Middle Tennessee, including The Basement East, the much-loved East Side club where Cardigan was slated to perform April 8. That show was part of a string of headlining dates Cardigan had scheduled in support of his new EP Vulnerabilia. Then, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the live-entertainment industry, along with much of the rest of the U.S. economy, ground to a halt.
That, of course, means that Cardigan’s entire spring headlining tour and upcoming dates supporting British singer-songwriter Barns Courtney are off until further notice. While there was a lot of upheaval in a short period of time, the Kentucky native tells the Scene — via a social-distancing-approved phone interview — that it isn’t the loss of his tour getting him down, but rather the blows dealt to his adopted hometown. The 25-year-old has been pursuing a career in music here since he was 17.
“It’s been kind of hard to disentangle how I’m doing from how the collective is doing right now,” Cardigan says. “Which is maybe sort of a good thing. The last few weeks were just a blur of emotions. But it’s weird. I’m really not even all that depressed or disappointed by the tour canceling or any of that. That all feels really selfish to be attached to right now. I’m more depressed by what happened to Nashville with the tornado and now feeling distanced from everybody.”
If you’ve listened to Cardigan’s dance-conscious contemporary pop music, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that his concern for others supersedes his own personal disappointment. Cardigan, who came out as gay as a teenager, has developed extraordinary musical skills as he’s used music to help cope with negative attitudes and perceptions. He writes songs grounded in compassion and honesty, often grappling frankly with mental health in a way that’s being heard more often in mainstream pop these days, following decades in which it was taboo. “Not OK!,” a Vulnerabilia track co-written with veteran Canadian songsmith Todd Clark, makes the case for the beauty of imperfection and for moving past old mistakes with grace and forgiveness.
“Todd and I had a writing session, and that week I had just started going to therapy,” Cardigan says. “Honestly, it was the best decision I’ve made in my life. But at the time I was just starting to get into the space of unpacking my more toxic behaviors. … So I was looking at my first panic attack, and the time in my life when I was homeless, then living in a band house and getting drunk every day. I was wanting to get out of that. I remember saying, ‘Everybody’s got that something they can’t fix with love or money,’ and Todd was like, ‘That’s the song.’ ”
Rivaling Cardigan’s ability to write an honest and affecting lyric is his knack for crafting an infectious, unexpected melody. On Vulnerabilia track “Being Human,” Cardigan’s vocal follows a serpentine, almost dizzying melody before finding catharsis in a straightforward, anthemic chorus. EP closer “Passinthru” nods to pop-radio hip-hop like Drake’s in its production, but Cardigan’s vocal hews more closely to a soaring indie-rock ballad.
“The Beatles are the top for me,” Cardigan says of his melodic influences. He also includes pop ace Imogen Heap and rapper and R&B singer Kevin Gates among those he looks up to. “I don’t think there have ever been better melody writers than The Beatles. It’s so cliché, but they do these unexpected things — they don’t always go for the easiest option. ‘Here, There and Everywhere,’ ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ — those are really weird songs. And beautiful.”
Vulnerabilia follows Cardigan’s 2017 album I, an LP that quickly broadened his fan base and found particular traction on streaming platforms like Spotify. The success of I eventually landed him on the radar of labels Capitol Records and Loud Robot (a subsidiary of director J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot production company). In an unusual move, the two labels signed Cardigan to a joint deal that combines the muscle and resources of a major label with the invention and agility of an indie.
“I’ve worked my whole life to get to a place where just getting music in front of people and having an excuse to play bigger rooms has been the real win,” says Cardigan. “At the same time, it comes with the responsibility of knowing that now I have to make better work. The only way I keep any of what I’ve worked for is by working harder.”
Like the rest of us, Cardigan isn’t sure when he’ll return to his normal routine of touring and releasing new music (though he does allude to a new project, the details of which are still under wraps). More than that, he isn’t even certain whether we’ll ever get back to that old “normal” — or if we even should.
“I’ve been struggling the same as everybody, but really learning what life looks like when we can’t keep up this illusion of constant content,” he says. “What does life look like when there isn’t a cool picture to post every day, or a great video? There’s always something you’re working towards or a show to promote. What does it look like when we’re all left to our own devices?”
When asked what he’s most looking forward to in the coming months, Cardigan is quick to answer: “Being with people again.”
