Artist Spotlight - Joey Collins
Joey Collins is a passionate, creative, energetic, and talented guitarist, singer and songwriter. Joey can be seen frequently performing around the North Country and just released his first single. HarmoNNY is thrilled to feature him as our Artist Spotlight for November!
Mr. Collins grew up in Northern New York and started playing guitar when he was in high school. Following high school, Joey joined the Navy for six years. He shared that, unfortunately, he did not have much time for music well in the Navy, but all his friends that he was stationed with knew him as a guitarist as he would bring his guitar to play during his downtime. When Joey returned home in 2017, he got back into doing music regularly and now performs full time.
Joey currently performs with Joey Collins and the Creatives, which features his brother-in-law, Stephen Dettmer, on drums. Joey also plays with the local cover band Oceans Below. When you watch Joey perform, the first thing you will notice is the energy he brings to every show. Joey uses his creativity to try to make each song he plays unique with his own twist.
In September 2021, Joey released his first single, “Insignificance” and hosted a single release show at The Lost Navigator in Clayton, NY. Joey has recorded 8-9 songs and plans to release one a month over the winter and spring to feature on a full album next year. You can find his single on all streaming platforms under his band name Joey Collins and the Creatives.
Mr. Collins shared that his writing process typically starts with a guitar part and then he will hum a melody to fit, and finally, he will add in lyrics. When Joey writes a song, it will generally take him a month or two before he can perform it live as he tends to write his songs harder than what he can play. Music is an integral part of Joey’s life. “Anytime I was not feeling great, I’d pick up the guitar and play and learn something. It’s always exciting and new when you can find something new as you’re playing. It’s like a puzzle almost and I just fell in love with it.”
Joey is a big supporter of arts and music in Northern New York as you can find him at many jam nights and other events around the area. Joey mentioned that he had “an awesome experience this last summer meeting a lot of new artists, meeting a lot of just good musicians in the area, and people who...really care about the North Country and making this kind of a musical and artsy fartsy place.”
To find out more about Joey, follow him on Facebook and Instagram. Also, check out the HarmoNNY calendar to see where he is performing next.
