Meet Ava Swanson | Singer/Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ava Swanson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ava, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I was born & raised in Bozeman, Montana to a songwriter father and a music teacher mother. Growing up, my parents would write silly songs to soundtrack my brother’s and my lives – songs about getting dressed, making salad, and taking our first steps, to name a few. Music was the fabric of my upbringing, and I soaked it up like sponge. I think I wrote my first song when I was five. Shortly after that I started taking piano and guitar lessons. I was never very disciplined, because I was mostly interested in using the instruments as a tool for songwriting, but I learned enough to play competently. I would jam at home with my family, and occasionally we would perform at parties. There was always a guitar at our family / community gatherings, and I found myself drawn to the musician’s circle at any event. Around the age of 10 I started submitting my songs to a local youth songwriting contest, which offered me the opportunity to record at a very young age. I was hooked. I started gigging at age 13 and never looked back.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I describe my music as indie pop / alt-Americana. I pull influence from folk titans like Joni Mitchell along with contemporary indie icons like Adrianne Lenker, Julia Jacklin, Faye Webster, and Mitski. My songwriting style is tender, image-driven, and occasionally sarcastic. As an artist, I feel like my job is to reflect the world around me through my own individual lens, capturing and commenting on the cultural zeitgeist in which I exist. If there’s anything that I’m trying to communicate with my art, it’s that authenticity and community are the north stars that guide us through this arduous life.

My career as “Ava Swan” officially began in 2021 with the release of my first fully-produced EP, ‘Calling on the Modern World’. At that point, my music career was very DIY, and after the release I was craving a higher level of knowledge and professionalism in the music industry. This led me to pursue a Masters’ in music business from Berklee Valencia. While at Berklee, I landed my first record deal with Disrupcion Records, releasing ‘Molly’ through the label in May of 2022. I also leveraged the abundance of talent and resources at Berklee to record a new EP, titled ‘Good Music’, which I released in the spring of 2023. Around that same time, I moved to Nashville, where I have been launching my career ever since.

Music is not an easy industry. As an independent artist, it often feels like a ‘two steps forward, one step back’ game, where the progress is ultimately evident but not without regular stumbling blocks. I find it challenging to constantly be the main engine of my project while maintaining healthy enough personal boundaries so that my self esteem is not completely predicated on my musical success (or lack thereof). It’s simultaneously empowering and exhausting to build my own creative career, and I’m constantly searching for ways to make it more sustainable. I find that friendship, collaboration, and self-care are the buoys that keep me afloat as I navigate this journey. I’m very grateful to have incredible friends and family who support me in music and also in my life at large; my community is the most important thing to me, and I couldn’t be doing this without them.

In 2025, I will be releasing my debut album. I can’t say too much about it yet, but I am so excited to share it with the world. I recorded it here in Nashville with an incredible group of musicians, and I am extremely proud of how it sounds. More details coming soon!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Whenever anyone tells me that they want to come to Nashville, I tell them to keep an eye on the Ryman calendar. A Ryman show can offer a great excuse to come visit, plus it’s a classic Nashville experience. That said, I love to host people in Nashville any time~ I feel like there’s always something fun to do, and never a shortage of good music. I like to check out the Nashville Scene or the Instagram page ‘Nashville Show To-Go’ in advance of any visit to figure out what cool local shows/events are happening. I’m a big fan of the indie venues like the Blue Room, Basement East, East Room, The 5 Spot, Inglewood Lounge, Bowery Vault, and the Underdog. No matter what, seeing some live music is a key activity when I’m hosting in Music City.

During the day, I like to get outside for long walks at Shelby Park, Centennial Park, or Radnor Lake. There’s also a great greenway for biking that runs from Percy Priest Dam all the way to East Nashville. Lastly, Tennessee has surprisingly epic paddling – I recommend finding a canoe or kayak to take down the day stretch of the Harpeth River. Nashville also has incredible vintage shopping, and it’s easy to make a whole afternoon of just vintage-hopping up Gallatin.

I’m not a huge Broadway person, but I do think it is fun to show any visitor the pomp and circumstance of downtown. I recommend starting early in the day, parking by Nissan stadium, and walking into town via the pedestrian bridge. The bridge provides great views and this visceral sense of ‘descending’ into the honky tonk cacophony, which to me feels quintessentially Nashville. Once in town, I’d start at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, which offers a unique and fairly comprehensive look at the legacy of country music. The museum also houses the iconic Hatch Show Print, a fully operational letterpress printmaking shop that creates show posters for venues like the Ryman Auditorium and Bridgestone Arena. Hatch is absolutely one of my Nashville must-sees, and it’s also a great spot to grab a souvenir. Post-museum, it’s fun to wander up to Broadway and into Robert’s Western World, the only honky tonk where bands play classic country. The music is top-notch, and the food is great- I recommend the ‘Recession Special,’ which gets you a fried bologna sandwich, potato chips, a moon pie, and a PBR for $6. By then, I’m usually maxed out on the downtown frenzy and am ready to head home.

Food-wise, I’ll break it into categories. For breakfast/coffee, I recommend Dozen Bakery, Hearts, Crema, or Dose. For lunch, Mitchell’s Deli, Kisser, East Side Banh Mi, or Mas Tacos do the trick. For dinner, I like Lyra, Two-Ten Jack, Folk, or Butcher & Bee. For a late-night bite, try Dino’s (this is also my favorite hot chicken in town) or Cookout.

Lastly, I’d be remiss to not recommend sticking around for Honky Tonk Tuesday – it’s a two-step dance event hosted by Nashville icons The Cowpokes. Folks from all walks of life come together to dance to classic country, and it truly feels like a uniquely Nashville event.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
One of the most formative people in my life is named Stephani Lourie- she was my elementary & middle school drama director as well as my sixth grade teacher. Stephani taught me to perform through the lens of musical theatre, and it is because of her that I feel so at home on the stage. Once I graduated out of her drama program, I returned for many years to choreograph and co-direct alongside of her. Our mentorship relationship transformed into a deep friendship, which eventually became a family-like bond. I owe Stephani tremendous credit for the person I am both on and off the stage – she is one of my greatest heroes and I’m so thankful to have her in my life.

Website: https://www.avaswansong.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avaswansong

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avaswansong

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/avaswansong

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3csr8WdxqEjHLrVuph12y6?si=IMePV8xrRDCHGMGeLTUj6g

Apple Music:
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/ava-swan/1618831075

TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@avaswansong

Bandcamp: http://avaswansong.bandcamp.com/

Image Credits
Photos by Em Lasater, Mackenzie Ryan, and Renee Cornue