Avery Anna, an Arizona-raised singer-songwriter and Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards first-time nominee, who recently released an EP titled “forgive, forget.,” will bring her “Girl of Constant Sorrow Tour” on May 8 to the Rave in Milwaukee.
The rising star’s career was launched back in 2020 during the pandemic after her cover of “Say Something” by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera went viral on TikTok. At the time, she was still finishing high school.
Warner Music Nashville signed Anna in June 2022, and later that year, she would make her debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage at the age of 18.
Anna’s debut album, “Breakup Over Breakfast,” in which she co-wrote all 17 of the album’s songs, was released in 2024.
In 2024, Anna also released a song with frequent collaborator and fellow country rising star Sam Barber titled “Indigo” from his debut album “Restless Mind.” Anna co-wrote and sang on the record, which is approaching 400 million streams on Spotify and peaked at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Anna blends country, rock and pop genres in her music, which often covers topics of relationships, addiction, domestic violence, depression, body image and faith.
In an interview with the UWM Post, Anna recommends “Blood Runs Thicker,” “GRAVE,” “Narcissist” and “Indigo” as a few of her songs and features that new listeners can check out to get an understanding of her music.
UWM Post Exclusive Interview with Avery Anna
Ethan Ainley: The first thing I want to say is congratulations on your Academy of Country Music Awards nomination for New Female Artist of the Year. How does it feel to be nominated for the first time at the ACM Awards?
Avery Anna: Thank you so much! It’s very surreal, and it’s such an honor. And never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that was going to be me. You know, growing up and listening to country music and watching the awards, I just never imagined that I would be a part of all of that. So, it’s such an honor, and it’s really cool.
Ainley: A couple of days ago, you performed at the inaugural Freely Fest in Nashville. What was that experience like? Can you talk about some highlights from that performance, since it’s fresh in your mind?
Anna: It was such a cool concept for a festival, and it was such a diverse lineup. And my music is completely different from T-Pain and The Killers. It was cool to be a part of something where people gathered together to create unity and stand up for something good. I just thought it was cool that I was able to be a part of that. And definitely the highlight of my night was listening to The Killers play “Mr. Brightside.” I performed my new song, “Blood Runs Thicker,” in Bridgestone Arena for the very first time. I’ve never played there before, so that was a big highlight too.
Ainley: Currently, you’re on the “Girl of Constant Sorrow Tour.” When you were going about getting ready for the tour, how did you craft your set list?
Anna: It was actually hard to decide what I was going to play, because so many fans are very attached to the “let go letters” album songs. I just decided that I was going to create the set list to be kind of a story and an experience. The whole objective of the tour and of the tour’s title, “Girl of Constant Sorrow Tour,” is perseverance and, throughout hard times in your life, throughout struggle, pain and sorrow, to just keep going. Talk about that from time to time and just gather together and listen to some music to have a good time, cry and rage if you need to. So, we’ve got lots of new songs off of the new EP [“forgive, forget.”] on there and some old ones, and some really fun covers that I feel like really give everyone a chance to just let it all out.
Ainley: Speaking of covers, you’ve often gone viral with your covers, starting with “Say Something,” which helped kick off your career. More recently, the Ozzy Osbourne cover went viral. How do you go about deciding on a song you want to cover?
Anna: Honestly, I feel like I would cover any song any day. I love covering songs. And I kind of just go with whatever I feel like. I love Ozzy Osbourne. I grew up listening to Ozzy Osbourne. I just really wanted to do it. I love rock and people didn’t really know that about me until I covered that song. Everyone took it as a surprise that this five-foot-four blonde girl was singing Ozzy Osbourne, you know? But it’s been really fun and it’s been a good song to connect with a lot of new people. I know my dad likes it, so it’s super fun.
Ainley: When you’re putting together a cover song, how much of it is honoring the original and how much is bringing something of yourself to the cover?
Anna: I feel like it’s 50-50. I don’t ever like to cover a song and try to do it exactly like the record because no one can do a cover of an Ozzy Osbourne song better than Ozzy Osbourne. I had to put my own little twist on it. I like to make it a little bit different.
Ainley: As a fellow Pisces, the title track of your newest EP, “forgive, forget.,” felt very relatable and strongly Pisces-coded. I’m curious, what’s the real-life inspiration behind that song, and why did you choose it as the title track?
Anna: I love that you love it. That one was probably the hardest one to write. I wrote it by myself, and it was just really personal to me and to my life in the past couple of years. I feel like I’ve had a lot of songs to reflect on how someone has hurt me or how I’ve hurt somebody else, but not so much on the forgiveness aspect. I think that’s the part that really sets you free. It was very healing to write. I have had some personal experiences in my life that I felt like I needed to put into music. That’s the only way that I process things. With “forgive, forget.,” I wrote it, and then I decided that it was going to be the title track. After all the songs, like “Blood Runs Thicker” and “Man Downstairs,” and after all the ups and downs, all the big emotions that are felt throughout the project, it was good to end on themes of letting go and forgiveness. I’m trying to put that into practice in my own life, so I thought it was important to share.
Ainley: In your sophomore album, “let go letters,” you took inspiration from letters given to you by fans. What was the writing process like, and did you find yourself connecting to fans on a new level?
Anna: It was a really, really deep and emotional process, but it was also very healing. Not just for me, but I think for the fans as well. In my first couple of headline shows, I remember watching people sing along to like “Narcissist” and “Just Cause I Love You,” and those songs were hard for me to release and hard experiences for me to go through. When I watched other people singing along, it was cool that they knew the words and everything. I was kind of sad that they could relate. So, I invited people to write down just one thing they wanted to come up at the shows because I get to do that with songwriting. As I read them throughout the years, I don’t know, it’s just crazy what people will say when you give them the opportunity to speak and to let go, and anonymously as well. People wrote down their deepest, darkest sorrows, struggles and hard experiences that they’ve gone through. Some of them were deep and emotional, while some of them were very light-hearted and fun. It was life-changing for me to listen to people’s stories, thoughts and their emotions in the most vulnerable, honest and pure state. I always would say in interviews that I would never write about someone else’s experiences, and then I did an entire album about other people’s experiences. It changed me for sure, and it definitely created this whole community of people who were there for each other and would listen to each other. That was a beautiful thing, and it carries through the shows to this day. I’m so grateful for it, and it was such a good experience.
Ainley: Last year, you gave a vulnerable TEDx Talk and performance talking about the concert experience in relation to healing amongst fans. How did that TEDx Talk come about, and what did you take away from that experience?
Anna: TEDx actually reached out to my team and asked if I would want to give a TEDx talk. The first time that I heard of it, I was just so taken aback. I mean, I’m a yapper, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t know how good I am at public speaking. That’s why I really just stick to singing. They wanted me to talk about my album concept and the idea of people coming to a concert to let go. I’m so passionate about this subject and about all the touring that I’ve done with that album and all the beautiful letters that I’ve received from people. I felt like it was important enough to just go for it and put myself out there and do the public speaking thing. It was a really good experience, and I feel like I did well at connecting with people and speaking my mind in an organized way. To this day, I think that people still go back and watch that TEDx Talk and are moved by it.
Ainley: Have you continued that concert experience concept with this tour? Do fans still bring you letters?
Anna: Yeah, they do. People bring me letters even to shows that aren’t mine. If I’m opening at a festival or opening for another artist, people still bring them. They bring them to my headline shows, and people know that they can do that there. I still read them, and it’ll probably be something that I will do for the rest of my career.
Ainley: The concert letters are such a beautiful idea. As more people have these viral special moments in their concerts, I think that this is different. It’s a deeper and more personal way to connect with your audience.
Anna: I get to write songs and have that release as a kind of coping mechanism. So, it’s cool to give that opportunity to other people.
Ainley: What’s so far been the most connective part of your performance on the tour? Is there a specific song that you really connect with the audience?
Anna: I feel like “vanilla” and “GRAVE” are really big ones that connect with people. Lots of girls are crying and screaming the words along to those ones. And I’d say “Mr. Predictable” is a big one. “Indigo,” “Narcissist,” and a newer one that’s striking a chord with people is “Blood Runs Thicker.” That one’s been really fun too.
Ainley: In some recent interviews, you’ve talked about and teased finding new creative ways to share your story. Are there any details you can provide on what this means?
Anna: Yeah, I think the creative mind goes beyond music. Whether that’s in the film industry, in acting, in painting or anything like that, I need to be very creatively stimulated all the time. I can’t just stick to one thing. I’ve been messing around with the idea of branching out into the other sides of the industry, which is really fun.
Ainley: You include a lot of butterfly imagery in your art. What is it about the butterfly you feel defines you as an artist?
Anna: I know it sounds cliche and corny and cheesy, but I love butterflies. I’ve loved them my whole life. I kind of feel like they’ve been a wink from God for me. Anytime that I’ve been struggling or needed a little bit of encouragement, I feel like I always see them. There was this letter that I received in the “let go letters” that really solidified this for me. Somebody had written about how they were letting go of self-harm. It reminded me of this God wink, this butterfly imagery, because I learned about this thing called the Butterfly Project. It’s basically when you feel the need to self-harm, you draw a butterfly on your skin, and it’s supposed to represent somebody that you love. It’s kind of symbolizing, like when you hurt yourself, it’s also hurting the people who love you. Beyond self-harm, when you doubt yourself, you’re doubting all the people who support you as well. Including all the time and effort that everyone puts into helping you grow. For me, it’s a big faith thing. The Butterfly Project idea has helped a lot of people get over self-harm, and it was only one letter that wrote about it, but I just felt like I needed to speak to that person. Even though there was only one. So, I wrote the song “butterfly project.” It’s just kind of inspiration to look for the butterflies, or look for the good things in life, and just keep on going. I tied along this little God wink secret that I had between God and me for a long time. It’s been a fan favorite now, and I think people are starting to understand the butterfly thing a little bit more. I’ll just always love butterflies. I love them.