Alannah McCready has made a lifelong habit out of pouring her heart and soul into every task she puts her mind to. The Minneapolis native discovered her expertise as a hockey goalie at skating camp at the age of 10 when she stopped all but two shots from entering the net, proudly telling her father, “I think I might be good at that.” But it was her mother who imprinted her with a love of country music that she grew up on in Oklahoma, the young McCready learning how to sing by watching the techniques of Trisha Yearwood and Martina McBride. Throughout her youth, McCready maintained her skills in both music and hockey. After high school, she attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was part of two NCAA Women’s Hockey National Championships.

After graduating from college, McCready headed to New York and launched a career in sports public relations for a sports management company, running nearly 20 NFL players’ daily lives. But as much as the job came naturally to the multi-faceted talent, music remained heavy on her heart until one day she had an epiphany that it was now or never to pursue music professionally. With a sense of urgency in place, McCready leaped and turned her attention to music full-time. She soon headed south, devoting several months to recording her first album, Love Hangover in Nashville, which came in the aftermath of years of tumultuous relationships that left her feeling hungover. During one of the recording sessions, McCready arrived at a crossroads, asking publisher Dan Hodges point-blank if he believed she had what it took to be an artist. This conversation gave her the confidence to continue pursuing this career.

Love Hangover and follow-up album Ricochet Heart set McCready on the path that’s led her to her recently released EP Back To Me, which released in May 2022