Few artists have navigated as many creative worlds as John Gallagher Jr. Over the past two decades, the singer, songwriter and Tony-winning actor has pieced together a diverse career that stretches from acclaimed Broadway productions like Spring Awakening and American Idiot to TV, film and, most recently, the lead role in the Avett Brothers-inspired musical Swept Away. Through it all, songwriting has remained a constant companion, even if it often took a back seat to his acting career.
That balance has shifted in recent years. Following 2024’s deeply personal breakup album Goodbye Or Something, Gallagher returns with Almost OK (Grand Phony). Where its predecessor chronicled emotional upheaval, this weighty new EP finds Gallagher on steadier ground, documenting the tentative process of recovery and renewal. Recorded at Studio G Brooklyn with producers Oscar Albis Rodriguez (A Great Big World) and Zach Jones (Scene Queen, Honey Revenge), Almost OK grew organically from what was initially a two-song seven-inch release. Backed by a tight-knit group of collaborators who’ve spent years performing together, Gallagher captured the same easy chemistry and dynamism that defines his live shows.
MAGNET’s Hobart Rowland grabbed some time with Gallagher to discuss songwriting vs. acting, well-timed creative momentum and the power of the EP.
The title Almost OK suggests recovery, uncertainty and maybe a little dark humor. What does the phrase mean to you?
It refers to a lyric from the record where I imagine a day when I’ll be pleasantly surprised to feel better. I was coming out of a few setbacks and subsequent depressive malaise when we started recording these songs. The process helped me see that I didn’t need to feel perfect to heal—feeling “almost OK” was enough. Then I realized I could apply that same philosophy to the music itself. I chose to scale things back and make an EP for the first time instead of a full-length album. We recorded it quickly without any second guessing, and I managed to not drive myself crazy by aiming beyond my reach. That’s when it felt obvious to me what the record wanted to be called. I like the idea that the work I do is an act of trying to get closer to something rather than actually arriving there. And, yes, dark humor always finds its way into just about everything I write. It’s an unavoidable part of daily life for me.
You’ve described the EP as “a postcard from a state of being.” Was there a particular moment or experience that inspired this new set of songs?
Much of my career was in flux around the writing and recording of these songs. I’d poured my heart out and bet big on my previous album, but it came and went without making any waves. Then a passion-project theater piece I’d worked on for eight years closed suddenly on Broadway right after it opened. It all left me feeling pretty hopeless about my work for some time. Making this EP was a way of slapping myself out of it and forcing myself to create something I cared about again. When we finished tracking, it struck me that this modest little record didn’t need to be a big sweeping statement that undid all the hurt I was trying to heal from. It could sound like a work in progress, a short dispatch from a sort of halfway mark.
What does writing songs give you that acting can’t?
Songwriting grounds and me and helps me hold onto a sense of self. The agency it affords is also helpful. Just remembering that I can write music by myself whenever/wherever I feel compelled is a big comfort. If I’m wrestling with a theme or an emotion at three in the morning, I can’t summon a film crew to shoot a scene or expect a theater audience to show up and listen to a monologue. But I can sit down and write a song in the dead of night. That’s always liberating. Acting is very much a gate-kept team sport for me. I can’t do it alone—I always need permission to participate. And while I enjoy being a filter through which another writer’s words pass, writing and performing my own music allows me to converse directly with listeners as well as myself.
You first became widely known through Spring Awakening, which had a strong emotional connection with audiences. Do you still carry lessons from that period?
Absolutely. Performing Spring Awakening eight times a week in my early 20s taught me so much about connecting with new audiences and staying attached to the emotional truth of the material. I can’t expect anyone listening to my music to believe what I’m saying or find any resonance in it if it isn’t breaking through and resonating with me personally. Spring Awakening showed me that you never know who’s out there listening each night, so you better show up and you better mean it every time.
Your acting often explores emotionally complicated or isolated characters. Do those same themes naturally find their way into your songs?
For sure. I’ve always found it more natural and gratifying to write music that stems from a place of emotional nuance. I enjoy the challenge of having something heavy to work through. It’s the very same thing that I look for as an actor. Humanity is wild, messy and confusing. There’s a lot to sift through if you’re willing. I’m always down to dive in deep and dig. That’s where the gold is.
See John Gallagher Jr. live.