Earlier this month, emo legends Dashboard Confessional announced a fall tour, which includes a September 15th stop at The Met. However, the artist on the bill that we’re most excited about is Nashville-based (She’s originally from Wellsboro.) pop-punk powerhouse Taylor Acorn, who will be opening the entire tour. We would highly recommend familiarizing yourself with her between now and then… And there’s no better way to do that than coming to see her this Sunday, April 21st, at The Foundry… Taylor Acorn is currently in the middle of her sold-out, headlining Good Enough Tour (While the tour is officially sold-out, there are currently “Last Chance GA Tickets” for $35.25 and “Verified Resale Tickets” for $46.51.)
Last September Taylor Acorn released Certified Depressant, which The Noise says, “oozes with emotion and showcases the artist’s growth and ability to write deeply relatable works of sonic art,” and had Grammy.com proclaiming, “With powerful vocals that invoke Kelly Clarkson and Avril Lavigne, Acorn approaches pop-punk from a fresh yet uncannily familiar view.” Since then, Taylor’s released two singles, most recently “Greener,” which dropped earlier this month. Earlier this week I got a chance to chat with Taylor Acorn about her latest singles, playing live, and connecting with her fans.
*Joining Taylor Acorn on the Good Enough Tour is LA alt-indie-electro-pop duo World’s First Cinema, who released an expanded, deluxe edition of 2023’s Palm Reader EP (which boasts singles “Holy Water,” “SOS,” and “Palm Reader”) earlier this month on Fearless Records. They’re very good (Line of Best Fit said of their 2021 “Supernatural,” “think Panic! at the Disco meets Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ – it’s fun, funky and spooky.”), so make sure to get there early!
Izzy Cihak: You played a handful of shows in Australia earlier this year. How did those shows go? Any particular highlights? Any chance you got to hold or play with a koala?
Taylor Acorn: The shows were honestly all incredible! The fans brought so much energy and really made us feel at home, which was awesome. It’s also crazy hearing people who live thousands of miles away singing every single lyric to every single song — that was the biggest highlight for me. I got to share my music and do my favorite thing in the world for people who get me. There’s truly no better feeling than that! Sadly, we didn’t get to hold any koalas, but we saw so many and got to hang out with some kangaroos, which was so much fun!
Izzy: You recently kicked off off a month-long US headlining tour. What can be expected of these shows, in terms of setlist, production, and just the general vibe of the night?
Taylor: Picking a setlist for this run was especially hard because we have so many songs now, and so we had to put a lot of thought into it. I wanted my set to almost tell a story, so we tried to do it in a way where everything felt cohesive, like one song can fit in the pocket of the next — if that makes sense. I think it’s my favorite setlist we’ve ever played and I’m so happy with how it turned out, especially the production elements. Ricky, my guitarist, and I put the whole thing together, so being able to do it with someone who also knows the songs and the set allowed us to really have fun with it. I’m super excited for everyone to hear it! We have a lot of energy and just have so much fun on stage and I hope that everyone has the best time!
Izzy: Last year you released your Certified Depressant EP. Have you had any favorite reactions to the songs from fans, whether live reactions or things that people have reached out to tell you on social media or at the merch table?
Tylor: I have! There are a couple that I’ve noticed people really kind of go crazy for. I think a lot of people really like “I Think I’m in Love” and “Certified Depressant.” We have a lot of fun during “Psycho” too, but I will say the fans are incredible and show up to sing every single song, so I’ve been super fortunate in that. The major theme in my music is mental health related, and so I do get a lot of messages from people in that regard. I’m just happy that I can be there for them when they need someone. That was always why I turned to music, so with any of my songs, if I’m able to help them, that’s all that really matters to me.
Izzy: Earlier this year you released “Gray,” the first new music to follow-up the EP. How do you feel like it compares to the songs of Certified Depressant?
Taylor: I think it was a good transition out of that era without being too far away from it. I love “Gray” so much and I was and am so proud of it!
Izzy: And you just dropped “Greener.” How did that track originally come about?
Taylor: So, I had a writing week scheduled with my favorite co-writers, Dan Swank and Emma Lynn White, the very first week of the new year. I think it was actually the day before New Year’s Eve. Emma and I were hanging out and we just decided to go to Books A Million. I love reading poetry for inspiration and that day in particular I grabbed a book randomly and the cover had, I kid you not, the same cover art as my song “Basement.” It was the craziest thing and the very first poem I read was like everything I had been feeling and thinking in my process of healing and that idea kind of started off the week of writing. We wrote “Greener” the second day and I just knew it was going to be what’s next. It feels very me. It’s the entire embodiment of how my life feels at this current moment. I’ve listened to it about a billion times and have yet to get tired of it. It just feels really special.
Izzy: You’ve released a handful of really cool music videos over the past year. What is it that inspires the visual elements of your work? I like that your videos tend to focus on the musical performances themselves.
Taylor: I’ve always really been obsessed with visuals and music videos ever since I was a little kid. I think there’s something so special about being able to bring a song to life in that way. As an independent artist, budgets are really tight, though, and so we really try to make it as interesting and creative as we can despite not having a ton of money to throw into it. I have a really amazing group of people I work with too who all have incredible ideas, and we make it work as best as we can.
Izzy: I know that you’re based out of Nashville, which is home to a ton of our favorite artists. What are your thoughts on the city’s music and arts scene?
Taylor: I’ve really grown to love the scene of music in Nashville. I think it’s evolved so much from when I moved there in 2017. There’s more room for different genres and everyone seems really supportive of each other, which I think is super important!
Izzy: I know later this year you’re going to be playing some huge shows with Dashboard Confessional and Boys Like Girls. How excited are you for those dates? And how do you like playing extra large rooms like that?
Taylor: I think I’m still trying to process that that’s even happening, I’ll be honest (lol). I thought it was an April Fools’ joke at first. I have been such a huge fan of both for years and it does feel really amazing to have bands so legendary trust in my ability enough to give me the opportunity. It’s just crazy to think how full circle life can be and I’m just really excited and so grateful for it all. A lot of the venues we are playing have been bucket list venues of mine for a long time. I love to run around and so I think I’ll have a lot of fun! I’m just so excited and hope the fans like what we bring!
Izzy: On a related note, are there any acts that you dream of one day getting the chance to be on the road with, or even share a stage with?
Taylor: That’s such a loaded question because I have so many! It’s a stretch but I’d love to collab with Goo Goo Dolls one day, or maybe Alanis Morissette. Their music has been really inspiring to me over the years, especially when it comes to this new batch of music that we’ve written. I crave nostalgia and I’m a sucker for the early 90’s genre of alternative rock, so just to be able to do something with either of them would be amazing.
*Get your tickets here.
