We were lucky to catch up with Erin Clare recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Erin Clare thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

I am so much more than Can’t You See by the Marshall Tucker Band. I want the world to see what I am truly capable of. Often, I am met with empty promises and my words falling on deaf ears, but I feel a change in the air coming. All it takes is one person to open that door, and trust me, I am knocking my heart against it.

My craft goes far beyond flute solos. Have you heard me rip a guitar solo or improvise a completely new flute part you’ve never heard before? I listen to a song, and some of them have a flute part hidden inside, glimmering in my mind. Like crystals in a cave, I just have to mine them. These hidden melodies are embedded in the music, waiting to be brought to life. I carry a deep respect for the flute players who came before me, honoring the tradition and mastery they created while exploring new possibilities for the instrument.

People often try to put me in a box, but I was never meant to be contained. Like many creatives, that stifles my light. I move freely through the music with confidence, and you will be taken by the mystic.

Erin Clare, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Erin Clare but I go by EC. I am a 26-year-old electric flute player based in Nashville, though my journey often takes me far beyond the city. At this point I’ve been playing flute for 15 years. I am actively gigging in the Nashville scene and have performed at shows such as Space Prom and Possum Fest, and Lost & Found, all highlighting independent artists. With a degree in music performance from the University of Southern Mississippi under the guidance of Dr. Danilo Mezzadri, my roots are classical, but my rock and roll took over. I have been playing by ear since I first touched a piano at the age of six, and today I write dreamy, ethereal music that feels less like a song and more like a passageway, lifting listeners from the earth into the ether.

The first song I wrote and released was Pipe Dream, recorded on GarageBand on my iPad. My second song, Easy Breezes, was created using whatever equipment I could get my hands on at the time. Since then, I have released an EP called Enter Visions of Light, a collection that constantly loops into itself, as well as a Christmas collection. I released Valley Sol on the summer solstice in 2023. This EP is inspired by the desert, following a single day from dawn to dusk, capturing the shifting beauty of the landscape. I lived in Las Vegas and was deeply mesmerized by the desert’s magic, and I knew I had to write an EP about it. It remains my favorite work so far. You can stream all of my music wherever you get your tunes.

My inspiration comes from nature and from dreams. I first found my footing on social media by following bands on tour, playing outside venues for the fans camping out overnight. I love when music creates community. Those early moments showed me the magic of connection, how music can bloom anywhere, between anyone.

Now, whether I am performing original music, collaborating with other artists, or simply jamming with friends, I see every note as an act of alchemy. It is still the most extraordinary thing to me, to breathe air into an instrument and let it come out as music, as something that makes people feel.

I am proud of my hard work, and when I get to see it pay off, it is incredible. I am still learning how to not be so hard on myself. Being a competitive flute player who spent ten years in competitions, it is easy to pick apart everything. That can kill part of the art, though. I am constantly balancing polish and creativity, rebuilding solid brick walls with some breeze blocks so creativity can flow through perfection. Mindset and vibration guide me.

I gig, I do studio work, I have original music, I perform at weddings, and I hope to play at Renaissance fairs soon, that seems fun. I got my start on electric flute through the inspiration I felt from the music of Greta Van Fleet and Fleetwood Mac. Along the way, I have met incredible people through their communities and the Nashville local music scene, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunities that have grown from those connections. Through it all, I continue to explore, create, and share the music that only I can bring into the world.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is to spread harmony. I have always felt that the flute was a gift placed in my hands, almost as if it chose me as much as I chose it. Wherever I bring it, it seems to unlock something hidden, weaving itself into music like the missing ingredient people did not know they were waiting for.

I see my path unfolding like a vision. In the near future, I am opening doors by joining other artists on stage, and each experience feels like a glimpse of what is to come. I dream of taking the flute across the world, playing with bands of every style, carrying its voice into studios, and leaving echoes of it in every genre. I know the road has trials, but I welcome them, because to walk that road is to live the prophecy fully.

Already, the flute has led me into unexpected worlds: singer-songwriter ballads with people like LJ Dallas and Alissa Ferrari, neo-soul grooves with Isabelle Mettle out of London, and rock and roll anthems. Each collaboration feels like a different spell cast, never to be repeated, and I am honored every time I get to help bring something new into existence. My calling is to keep reshaping how people see the flute, and to expand the palette of what it can awaken in music.

I trust that the journey keeps unfolding as long as I speak my truth and reach for what I desire. Closed mouths do not get fed, and so I keep asking, keep stepping forward, and keep following the vision that was placed before me. Plus, I get good song ideas out of these trials and tribulations.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I am a classically trained musician with a degree in music performance, but today I am an electric flutist specializing in rock and roll. Growing up, my dream was to become the concert piccoloist for a Disney or Pixar film score, especially if they ever created a live-action Pocahontas. That is still a bucket-list audition I would never pass up.

After graduating, I felt a different pull. I had always dreamed of being a rock star, so I asked myself: How can I merge flute with rock in a way that feels authentic to me? I did not want to follow in the exact footsteps of someone like Ian Anderson. I wanted to create something new.

That was the real pivot. I started experimenting with guitar effect pedals and figuring out how to push the sound of my instrument beyond the classical world. Before long, I was writing new intros and flute solos to existing rock songs and even creating original material of my own.

Instead of being intimidated by the fact that it has not really been done this way before, I leaned into it. That risk has opened doors I never imagined, and I am deeply grateful for every opportunity it has brought. At the end of the day, I am only in competition with myself. Every time I pick up my instrument, I get better, and I keep carving out my own lane.

I like to think of it this way: my flute is my machete, and the music industry is a jungle. I am cutting my own path through hell or high water.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.erinclareflute.com
• Instagram: @erinclareflute
• Other: Tiktok: @erinclareflute

  I am Erin Clare on Spotify and Apple Music

  My linktr: https://linktr.ee/erinclareflute?fbclid=PAdGRleAMuhIRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABp8ldccLsyvBIO926fs-58ISGXoIJzv_wdpqh6lv14MJ2kATlA0pweEnHfWlC_aem_xZG_-wShIv6YQGpzhNdv0g

Image Credits

Von Reisch Photography @VonRphoto
K.Ford Creative
Kylie Co Photos