Michael Haney Premieres His Comforting Single, “Call On Me”

Based on his own experiences, Michael Haney would likely agree that Nashville is a special place. It can give so much, and also take so much away. But for Haney, it has represented a unique opportunity that he has been taking advantage of for about the past decade.

Today, the Americana singer-songwriter premieres his brand new single “Call On Me.” This is a song that has been at various stages of completion for more than a decade. It’s a gentle, smooth Americana song, a reminder to listeners that it’s ok to reach out for a helping hand. No matter what you are going through, there are people in your life that you can rely on to be there for you. There is such a warm sentiment in the song that it feels both comforting and reassuring.

Discussing “Call On Me,” Haney states: “‘Call On Me’ actually started long before I ever moved to Nashville. I had the chorus and the idea after loosely noodling around, listening to Van Morrison, but it sat unfinished for a few years. As life went on and I began to settle into Nashville, I watched a few close friends walk through some really difficult seasons, and that inspired me to finally finish writing the song. It’s been sitting on the shelf for about nine years now, and it was the last song that I played for my producer Ben Jackson during our production session, and he said something to the effect of, ‘Well, why didn’t you start with this one?’ (laughs)

“One of my favourite moments came during the recording session. After listening to the scratch tape, Tim Marks (the CMA-nominated bassist) asked me to pick up an acoustic guitar and just play the song for everyone. He said, ‘There’s nothing better than stripping a song down to just an acoustic guitar, because that’s where you find the heart of it. This is a good song.’

“Once he felt the groove and everyone locked into what the song was really trying to say, Tim and the rest of the musicians (Billy Justineau, Cory Congilio, Brian Fechino, Ben Jackson) took it exactly where I imagined the sound being. They elevated the emotion, energy and soul of the song, hitting at the heart that inspired me to finish writing it in the first place.

“I wanted it to be a reminder that none of us are meant to carry life’s weight alone—that sometimes the strongest thing we can do is lean on someone else. With so much negativity and division in the world right now, it felt like the right time to release something rooted in hope, encouragement, and simply being there for one another. My hope is that when people hear ‘Call On Me,’ they know they’re not alone, and maybe they’re reminded to be that person someone else can call on, too.”

Since the age of 6, Haney has wanted to be a musician. That was the age when a great uncle gave him a guitar as a gift. By his teens, he was writing songs, but a career in music never quite felt in reach. He had been working as a sports radio producer and host in his native South Carolina in the 2010s. He found himself at a crossroads and realized that he had maybe one final shot to make it in his first love, music.

In September of 2015, Haney picked up his things and moved to Nashville. It’s a move he knew came with risk, but he felt that it was something he had to do. He knew from a cousin who moved to Nashville in the 1980s and found initial success as a songwriter for artists as huge as Reba McEntire. Then, he signed a bad contract, which essentially toppled his songwriting career, and he became jaded with the music industry. Knowing what can happen from stories like these, Haney has tried to take a cautious and informed approach to his own career. But that hasn’t stopped him from immersing himself in Nashville’s expansive musical culture.

Since 2021, Haney has booked “Nashville Nights,” a weekly summertime songwriting series occurring back home in Cayce, South Carolina. The idea behind the series was to bring some of Nashville’s most talented songwriters to his home state. It has been beneficial for both those Nashville-based artists and the music scene in and around the city of Cayce. He has also more recently expanded the series to include local singer-songwriters. It’s been Haney’s way of giving back to his community and sharing the joys of songwriting and Nashville. For Haney, Nashville has represented a unique opportunity for him that has changed his life, only for the better.

Michael Haney “Call On Me” single artwork