Like many artists I feature, Connor Daly is a gifted songwriter. But that is where the similarities end. He is an expert in classical guitar who did not even learn to “strum” until college. And unlike many country musicians, when he composes a song, it starts with a melody first, and the words come later, which makes his music more poetic but less about him.

Raised in Northern Virginia, Connor Daly spent his youth playing sports and music. He started playing piano at age five, but the guitar became his primary instrument by seventh grade. In ninth grade, he began classical guitar, which he pursued throughout his high school career.

But Daly was also into sports. He was the captain of the varsity track and field team, specializing in discus throw. In 2017, Daly was the Virginia high school (5A) state champion in discus, earning him a spot on the track and field team at George Mason University, where he competed throughout college.  

He began writing songs seriously after his first year of college. Unlike most guitarists, Daly didn’t start with chords or strumming; he started with fingerpicking.

“I started just messing around with the guitar in freshman year of college and then decided to write my first song in the summer of 2018,” he recalled.

After going to a recording studio in 2019, he fell in love with the process of bringing his own songs to life. By the end of his college career, he played local breweries and wineries in Northern Virginia.

After graduation, Daly took his Criminology degree and began working as an auditor for the Department of the Treasury.

“It was a temporary organization that I worked in at the Treasury. They had a sunset date coming up, and I was the last one in and the first one out,” he explained.

After leaving that job, he began seriously pursuing music and building his repertoire of songs. He learned all he could about the music industry and started working on his social media accounts.

As a singer-songwriter who draws inspiration from Jason Isbell, Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers, and Ed Sheeran, Daly has a knack for delivering his songs with tender vocals that exude emotional resonance.

With his style of music being a bit different than mainstream country, the resurgence of Americana greats like Zach Bryan has been a boon to his career. He states the only drawback is “there’s so much competition in that field. It’s hard to get seen and heard.”

Even since I started writing my column, the popularity of raw, acoustic-driven music has increased. The less is more approach is especially applicable in Americana music.

And because Daly’s music is melody-driven, none of his songs are really non-fiction.

He confirmed, “I'm not the type of writer to have something happen in my life, and then I sit down and write a song about it. I love the creative aspect and the idea that a song can be about millions of different things.”

In July of 2024, Daly released his debut album, Colors Fade, which received promising reviews from critics and magazines such as Americana Highways and American Songwriter.

As his songwriting has evolved, Daly explains that his songs “deal with universal themes that everyone can relate to.”

The album opens with the cinematic and orchestral ballad “Ain’t Got a Cape,” a haunting song that conveys “the helplessness you feel when someone you deeply care about struggles with mental health.”

Daly takes the break-up song to the next level with his heartfelt “Wishin’.” The lyrics I’ve never been one for fairytales/ It’s either believing or living in hell So what can I do/ I never thought I’d have to be out here wishin’ for you, he can’t believe that he has found himself at the end of the relationship.

The song “Roots,” about missing a loved one, was not based on Daly’s personal life but on a friend who unexpectedly lost their father when they were in college.

Fiddles swirl as they lift the towering anthem of yearning and hope, “You In Tennessee,” an up-tempo country folk rambler about appreciating the love and beauty right in front of you.

The evolving “Cycle of Us” soars as it mixes hard down strumming with searing lead runs, evoking the circular pattern of a struggling relationship.

Daly’s expert finger-picking and velvety vocals shine in “Fallin’ For My Friend,” a song many can relate to. Whether or not the other person ever finds out about the secret crush is beside the point.

Mary Heather Hickman is the perfect duet partner to accompany Daly in the breakup ballad, “Fake One Tear.” Their chemistry is off the charts when they croon about “breaking up on the same couch where we made love.”

With gentle finger picking and a sad fiddle sawing, Daly compares the change of seasons to the fading of memories that you desperately want to keep in the record’s title track, “Colors Fade.”

The stripped-down “She’s My Summer Sky” features opening rhythms that recall Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” and portrays enduring love.

Colors Face is a melancholy masterpiece. Daly’s themes range from helplessness and pain associated with loss and heartache to the resilience of hope, joy, and love.

“When listeners hear my songs, I want them to feel something,” he stated emphatically.

Daly’s goal is accomplished as his exquisite vocals enrapture and transport listeners with pleasing folk melodies and universal themes.

To quote Holler magazine, “If you didn't know the name Connor Daly before, that ends today.”

I agree. I, too, have jumped aboard the Connor Daly’s long black train. His artistry cannot be duplicated.

Follow Connor Daily on his website, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and all streaming platforms.

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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Colors Fade Track List:
1.“Ain’t Got A Cape”
2.“She’s My Summer Sky”
3.“Roots”
4.“Fake One Tear” (feat. Mary Heather Hickman)
5.“You In Tennessee”
6.“Colors Fade”
7.“Cycle of Us”
8.“Get Used To This”
9.“My Name”
10.“Black and Blue”
11.“Fallin’ For My Friend”
12.“Worked Harder”