Angela Autumn talks running, social media ahead of Knuckleheads return

Courtesy High Road Touring

Since her most recent lap around Knuckleheads in Kansas City, where last May she opened for Tommy Prine, folk-bluegrass-country singer-songwriter Angela Autumn has released a handful of singles that reflect personal trials, messy characters, and a captivating metamorphosis from a book-your-own-shows independent into a more formal recording artist.

“I have been skewing more experimental, out there, with my recent work,” she said. “So I’m having a little bit of internal conflict right now, as an artist who’s touring.”

Based in Nashville by way of rural western Pennsylvania, Angela Autumn traverses Americana, country, freak folk, and Appalachian bluegrass with a warbling whimsy that matches her persona. Her social media presence is a refreshing mix of live music, promotion, and personal expression, featuring a tap dance for the hills or a short, front-facing camera clip of her banjo and her voice. Visuals for “Millionaire Money,” and  “Garbage” feature bold and colorful figures pasted onto more traditional country landscapes – like a cartoon dropping in on a live-action scene.

“[cover art artist John Holden] kind of creates those grotesque images of a figure, and it’s collage but it’s also nature,” she said. “I love how he just places a subject on top of a forest or an archetypal character over, like, the woods. He lives in the woods, I’m from the woods. That to me is very similar to the way I see my music.”

It’s a fitting illustration for an artist playing folk music against a modern backdrop. As a former distance runner in college, Angela Autumn has applied lessons learned in resilience and self-confidence to help navigate the tattered remains of traditional promotional and distribution channels.

“The one thing I’m doing well is having faith in my art,” she said. “Having belief and trust in the songs, really. Belief in my validity in this space that is ever-changing.”

The Pitch caught up with Angela Autumn ahead of her direct support gig with The Cactus Blossoms on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at Knuckleheads.

Where are you speaking from today?

I am speaking to you from Nashville, Tennessee. Specifically, from the McCabe Golf Course.

What’s going on there? 

A lot of folks are out walking, running, taking in the sunshine and the cold, and looking at their phones while walking.

You were in Kansas City recently, right?

I was there with Tommy Prine, who has become, you know, I went to his baby shower. We’re kind of, sort of friends now. Knuckleheads was a fun experience because that was my first time in Kansas City.

Courtesy High Road Touring

What did you think?

I thought it was a beautiful kind of prairie, river, just a lot of really beautiful elements. The history, the people were cool, stuff that I appreciate as an artist. …  In general, my first time performing in Kansas was when I went to Tonganoxie in 2021 for a tour that I booked basically on my own, which led me to a very small town full of eclectic characters.

Visuals for your most recent works, “Millionaire Money,” and “Garbage,” have a bold, animated feel. Who’s behind some of the visual concepts, and what do you like most about it? 

We usually go with what’s marketable, because everyone around us is telling us what is acceptable for a 20-something female folk artist, which, there are templates for that. I’ve been really just craving breaking those templates. Especially in regard to the feedback I get online, which is where I get most of my connections with my fans. But I’ve had some folks recently coming out with more visceral attacks on songs like “Electric Lizard,” calling them like, anti-Christian. It hurts me because I want my fans to know that it’s coming from a good place, it’s coming from a place of having experienced darkness, but not being a person of darkness. My biggest fear is just being labeled or alienated from earlier fans.

That kind of leads me to my next question: As someone so in touch with their emotional energies, how do you manage the highs and lows of social media’s influence on your mood?

I’ve always seen it as, you have to do your time making content now, at least. That’s how you get the algorithm to recognize you. Now, as somebody working with a record label, it’s almost more important for me now to debut a lot of this music live at real shows than giving people full unreleased songs online. Whereas that was a good strategy at first to really engage my fans and be generous with a lot of my unrecorded stuff I was working on, sharing it the same day, or as I was in the writing process, I think I’m more driven to bring those creations to the live music community, just to make sure we still have a live music community and to make sure I’m not draining myself through social media.

It does sound like you had to reflect on what use it is for you.

Yes, is it useful? Is it harmful? Ultimately, it is how you use it and we have to create our own kind of boundaries with it.

Circling back to the album art: Who is the artist for your most recent singles? Where did that vision come from?

I found this artist out of West Virginia. His name is John Holden, and he kind of creates those grotesque images of a figure, and it’s collage but it’s also nature. I love how he just places a subject on top of a forest or an archetypal character over like, the woods. He lives in the woods, I’m from the woods. That to me is very similar to the way I see my music. Creating out of nature and sometimes feeling like, I’m in nature but I’m not of nature and I’m creating and processing all of this stuff as the focal point and then also experiencing pain and sadness. So I think some of those images reflect the more messy emotions and more messy characters that are in my songs. I love that about his art.

And I also love working with another creative, because it can be like a lonely type of career and it’s way more fun when you are able to showcase other people’s art.

Collaboration can be very rewarding.

Absolutely, it’s one of the fun parts about being a creative. Even doing an interview is fun for me to learn. They say that language shapes thoughts, so it’s good to talk with others.

Speaking of collaboration, what’s the difference for you between the solo and full-band experience? And what can folks expect in Kansas City? 

So this tour, I think the best way to kind of share what I’m doing is just solo acoustic, listening room style. Because The Cactus Blossoms will have a full band, obviously, and I want to focus on the lyrics, my guitar playing, and just how much I’ve grown as an artist, and how the live space allows me to have freedom when I’m playing solo. The freedom to improvise or flow between songs, just tell stories, and really make it a full experience for everyone that’s there. As well as telling a story through the song choices. Putting together setlists is one of my favorite parts of being on tour.

I guess there’s more room for flexibility. 

Yes. And it’s more of a settling type of energy than it is coming right out of the gate and hitting people on the head like at a rock show. … We’re encouraging people to settle into the space and prepare for when The Cactus Blossoms go on.

In a recent interview you mentioned “there was nobody telling me what I was doing was good,” in reference to a new sense of support from your manager and producer. I think folks can relate to critiques consisting of only negative notes. In your words, what are you doing well?

The one thing I’m doing well is having faith in my art. Having belief and trust in the songs, really. Belief in my validity in this space that is ever-changing. We never know which songs will make it on a record, or which songs the audience will respond to, but every bit of kindness from the audience or from online really makes a difference in the artists’ eyes in terms of how they view their work and their impact on the world.

That quote really spoke to me. When you’re trying to get better or push, it feels like the notes are mostly negative, when it could be just as helpful to hear what you’re doing right.

Self trust, just knowing what you’re supposed to do, even if nobody is telling you what to do. Because, maybe no one else has had to be in your position before, and therefore nobody will be able to tell you where you’re supposed to go, or what you’re doing right. It’s kind of up to you to make that plan, work everyday, and make the best of it.

Your participation in the 2016 trend on Instagram is where I learned you ran cross country at Duquesne University in college, which I think is pretty cool. What did you enjoy most about that time, and if you are still a runner, what do you get out of that activity?

Running really taught me about dedication. Running taught me about how resilient we are as humans. Even if you have no sleep one night, you could have the best race of your life. I was watching a movie about Steve Prefontaine, who was a famous American distance runner in the 70s, who set all the American records before his untimely death, and he just said, “Always have guts and race with your heart.” I feel that kind of translates to writing or creating art, and making it over the finish line, and all those good themes that were taught by sports. They really do hold true in real life, especially for somebody pursuing an artistic career where it’s constantly changing and you just have to stay on track.

Talking about trust in yourself, I imagine you have to push that trust on a long cross-country trail. I don’t know what your seasons were like, but it was always very hot during the cross-country season here. Kids were dropping like flies at the finish line.

I love watching cross country races. I think having been a runner, I was still playing music while being a competitive runner and I would always have songs playing in my head, I would be writing songs while running. It’s kind of cool how moving your legs and moving your brain kind of go hand-in-hand.