Introducing: Mickey Callisto

Fresh off a whirlwind European tour supporting CMAT, singer-songwriter Mickey Castillo is ready to take center stage with his bold new single, ‘Take It Easy’—out on Friday via Ripe Records. Hailing from Sunderland, Mickey’s rise from a council estate to festival stages across the UK is nothing short of extraordinary. His music fuses rock, pop, and choral influences into anthems of ambition, self-compassion, and unapologetic self-expression.

With a growing reputation for electrifying live shows and backing from BBC Radio 1, Amazing Radio, and RadioX, Mickey is proving he’s a force to be reckoned with. His debut EP, ‘Man on a Mission’, is set to drop later this year, but for now, he’s inviting fans to step into his world—one fearless, feel-good track at a time.

"Take It Easy" blends ambition with self-compassion. What inspired you to write this song, and how does it reflect your personal journey?"

The song is about ultimately being self made and escaping an environment that hinders your aspirations and dreams. But ultimately the message also is that even though life can be hard and we can face setbacks we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves for feeling pessimistic or like a failure - hence the name take it easy 

You've performed at major festivals and shared the stage with artists like CMAT and Rebecca Black. How have these experiences shaped your sound and stage presence?

The support slots and festivals have helped massively. For me the bigger the crowd the better the reaction as I feed off the crowds energy and vice versa. No crowd is too big and I feel that even if I played Wembley stadium right now I would smash it out of the park.

Your music has been described as a fusion of rock, pop, and choral influences. How do you approach blending these genres, and what do you want listeners to take away from your sound?

I want my listeners to go on a musical journey throughout the song. I’ve always been a Maxamlist and tried to include as much fine details in my music so that the listener can hear something new every time. The listener can form their own interpretation of the song but ultimately they should feel uplifted. My sound isn’t just attached to one area. I’m a very versatile songwriter and have an array of music to still give the world.

As a queer artist in the music industry, how do you navigate self-expression and representation in your work? Have you faced any challenges along the way?

As I queer artist I feel so took back I have had a positive influence on many other queer people. However I don’t want to be put in the category of my music being just for queer people it is for everyone of all walks of life to be able to express themselves freely. In the song Homospace, the word Homo for me means we are all the same and we should all unite as one.

Your upcoming ‘Man on a Mission’ EP is highly anticipated. Can you give us a sneak peek into what fans can expect from this project?

Man on a mission can be interpreted in many different ways. For me personally it’s me on a mission to bring everyone together from all backgrounds of life. For me we live in a world where we are becoming more unified in our own divides which for me isn’t as good as being open minded about everything. But additionally , it’s about the fact everyone is on their own mission in life whether it is exploring their own identity , building a career for themselves or just the difficult thing of getting through life in general. But whatever your situation is , it’s important to remain positive, open and surrounding yourself with each other to help us get through it.