Parenting Panel with Collin Derrick

Collin Derrick is no stranger to the art of reinvention. From his early days touring the Southeast with the prog piano trio The Fire Tonight to his current role as a solo artist blending retro charm with modern indie pop, his career explores versatility and creativity.

As a producer and mix engineer, Collin has collaborated with Grammy winners Jeff Coffin and Nir Felder, as well as prominent artists like Offset and 2KBABY. His work spans genres and mediums, from synth-driven singles like “You’re Magic” to ambient tracks placed with Apple TV+.

In recent years, Collin has carved out a unique niche in holiday music, infusing the season with quirky, heartfelt energy.

His latest release, Christmas, Vol. 2, builds on the success of his 2021 debut holiday EP, delivering fresh tracks like the jubilant “Holiday Hallelujah,” the soulful, Wurlitzer-driven “December Deja Vu,” and the Motown-inspired “Maybe It’s Me.” The EP strikes a delicate balance between joy and reflection, capturing the magic and emotional complexity of the holidays in a way that feels both timeless and contemporary.

But there’s more to Collin than his music.

As a devoted father, he draws inspiration from his family life, finding creativity in the chaos of parenting and meaning in everyday moments.

We got to sit with Collin and find out more about his musical journey, his creative process, and how his roles as a parent, producer, and performer come together to shape a unique sound.

How many children do you have? And what are their names and ages?

I have two kids: Mac, who is 8 and Eveleen (pronounced Ay-Vuh-Leen), who is 5.

In what ways has parenthood helped your creativity, if any?  

It’s actually helped with my focus more than anything else.

When I was the only person who would directly benefit from a successful career in music, I found that I just didn’t have much ambition as a single person or a child-less spouse.

When my oldest was about 1 year old I imagined them as an adult coming across the music that I had made as a younger person, hearing how good it was and asking me, “Dad, why weren’t you more successful?” I knew I’d say things like “well, you know - I tried …. It just didn’t work out” and that I’d have to live with knowing that I didn’t try as hard as I could have.

That was when I realized that I wanted to pursue my creative endeavors even harder than before because I owed it to myself. So I don’t make nearly as many excuses now for why something isn’t working.

I’m much more likely to focus on solutions rather than throwing my hands up in defeat after every little road block.

What has parenthood taught you about yourself, your music, or  your creative process?

I have a Bachelor’s in Music and a Master’s in Audio so I can over-intellectualize just about anything as it relates to music.

One of the things I’ve realized with having kids is that the songs they like are almost never the “best” or “most interesting” songs - they just like the ones they can dance to and easily sing along with.

It’s helped me tremendously in not being so precious about how impressive a song is but rather trying to make music that is as fun and accessible as possible.

How do you juggle your family and your career? Who’s your  support system?  

It is not easy! Having a day job (which, thankfully, is musical) and a family and pursuing my own music in my “free time” makes for a very full, often overwhelming schedule with little-to-no brain space for anything else.

It’s forced me to be more creative and flexible with the creative process. I try to wake up early to get creative work in before anyone else is awake and then I will listen to demos during my commute and write/produce in my head while driving and then send myself an email with all the changes so I can maximize my productivity the next time I have a minute to actually sit down.

As for my support system - 100% I have the most amazing and supportive partner.

She helps me make space to focus on creative things and, honestly, without her telling me for years that she believes in me and in my music I’m not sure I would have ever gotten to where I believe it myself!

My mom has always been incredibly supportive as well and it really helps that my youngest, Eveleen, is my biggest fan.

Just yesterday we were driving to church and she requested Christmas music and when I put on the radio she said, “No! Daddy Christmas music!” then proceeded to sing along with every song. I was so happy I thought my heart might explode!

What’s one thing you wish someone had told you before you  became a parent? Any advice for others?

Kids are messy. 50% or more of your time as a parent will be spent cleaning up spills and messes. Messes happen. Try not to get worked up over the spilt milk. Still trying to take my own advice on this though!

Have you ever written a song for or about your kids? If so please  share a description and a link.  

I started writing a song that was intended to be for my partner about how hard it can get but how I’ll always be there.

At some point during the writing process I realized that I could sing this to my kids as well because the language wasn’t romantic, just about being there through the hard times. It’s stylistically different from what I normally do (a little folky with some bluegrass influence), which is why I haven’t released it yet, but I’m hoping to do that sometime soon!

The song is called “As Long As I Live” and you can listen to it here:

Not every artist parent incorporates their children into their music - if you do not is this a conscious decision? 

I absolutely love this question!

I’ve had a number of examples from friends where their parent was so passionate about something that they sucked all possible enjoyment out of the experience with their crushing expectations.

I would love for my kids to want to learn and participate in music but I want it to be on their terms as much as possible. I’ve made some silly little songs with them but, on the Christmas songs, I always bring them down into my studio and ask them some questions related to the song and include their speaking in a version of the song that I give to my partner.

The first time I released Christmas music in 2021 I released the versions of the songs that had my kids speaking. In South for Christmas you can hear Eveleen (who was 1 at the time) respond to the question “what do you like about Christmas?” with an audible fart and then the comment “I went poo poo”.

Listen here! (the magic happens at 3:47)

In short, I’d love to share music with my kids but not at the expense of their love for music so we’re doing it pretty slowly and at their pace and interest, which has been working pretty well so far!

Collins Derrick’s new Christmas EP “Christmas Vol. 2” is out now, including the track “Holiday Hallelujah”.

Connect with Collin Derrick: Instagram / TikTok / YouTube Music