It’s not a secret that we’re big fans of Alana Springsteen here at EF – and judging by the frequency of her trips to the UK, she seems to love us Brits too!
After making her live debut here at last year’s C2C, she also popped up at The Long Road last summer as well as supporting Eli Young Band on their UK tour, and released her debut album ‘TWENTY SOMETHING’ in August 2023. Earlier this month, she brought things full circle with her return to the O2, where she hosted the main stage at C2C alongside broadcasting legend Bob Harris and played one of the sets of the weekend at Saturday night’s afterparty.
Whilst she was here, I caught up with Alana about her C2C experience, the response to ‘TWENTY SOMETHING’, working with Chris Stapleton and what’s coming next for her…
Welcome back to the UK!
Thank you! It’s always so good to be here, I love it.
This is your third trip in 12 months – what is it that keeps you coming back over here?
The fans, undoubtedly. I mean, you guys are so passionate about the music, you bring the best energy, and I love just the way you care about the lyrics and the storytelling. You make me feel so loved. Like every time I come, I feel like it’s just bigger shows and people knowing even more of the songs, and it’s just been overwhelming.
Last time we spoke was C2C last year – what are your standout memories from that visit?
Some of my standout memories… Last year I was solo acoustic as part of the [Introducing] Nashville spotlight stage, and the one thing I’ll never forget was how dead quiet it was in the O2. I didn’t expect that, it’s such a big venue and we’re so early in the night, but when I finished playing a song it’s just so quiet, and then it would erupt. That kind of reverence, almost, for the music is something I’ve never experienced before. And last year I was actually playing a lot of new stuff. I hadn’t released my debut album yet, so I tried out some new stuff and I think it made me even more certain that I was supposed to release those songs, the way you guys connected with them.
We’ve talked about the album a little bit already, but what else has been happening for you since we last spoke?
Oh man. Touring like crazy. I got to go on tour with the incredible Luke Bryan, and we had the best summer together. I got to go on my first ever headline tour, the TWENTY SOMETHING tour, which I hope to bring here someday too. We actually did a couple of headlining shows overseas too, in Ireland and Glasgow and all this kind of stuff. It’s just been a whirlwind of a year, to have released my first album, went on my first headline tour and gotten to travel the world and see so many places I never thought I would. I mean I’m from a small town in Virginia Beach, but I always dreamt about travelling, but I never thought I would be able to do it and combine my two loves in this kind of way.
You’ve mentioned the headline tour and I wanted to ask you a couple of questions about that. Firstly, how was that whole experience for you? And secondly, was there anything you took from touring with Luke and other people that you used in your own headlining shows?
I think it was exciting and nerve-wracking and beautiful in all the ways. It’s something I’ve dreamt about my whole life, to get to build my own show, and really be intentional about the set. Just to know that every single person in that room has in some way connected, that’s so special. And I’ll never forget those shows. We made so many memories together. People brought signs, there was a little girl one show that jumped on stage with me and sang ‘taylor did’, and phone lights and people made friendship bracelets. Just so many memories that we’re gonna share together forever. That’s the cool thing, we get to grow. Those people that are in the room on my first ever headline tour are gonna be the ones that are in the arenas and hopefully stadiums one day, if this thing keeps growing. So just to have those core people from day one, it’s cool to experience.
I’ve learned so much from the people I’ve toured with. I think Luke Bryan, he taught me how to have fun. That was one piece of advice that he gave me. We were just talking and he was like, “dude, just focus on having fun and living in the moment”. He’s like, “the second you start overthinking and getting in your own way, is when it all starts feeling like hard work and you start to lose it”. He’s like, “if you just focus on having fun and being there with the fans and being there in the moment, everything else works”. And that honestly is the biggest piece of advice I needed. On tour you’re juggling so many things. You’re travelling, you’re tired, you’re worried about your voice, there’s so many things to think about. But the more you just learn to relax and live in the moment, it helps so much.
‘TWENTY SOMETHING’ has been out for about six months now. What’s the response to it been like?
[laughs] It’s been insane. I mean, to watch how people have connected to these songs is something I couldn’t have expected. It’s such a personal album. You know, there are songs on there that dig into some of my biggest insecurities, some of my biggest mistakes, some of the biggest lessons I’m learning currently. And I was really nervous to put out some of these songs because it really is like baring my soul [chuckles] to the world in a lot of ways. And so to watch people connect and message me saying, “I’m going through the same exact thing right now”, I think that’s my biggest takeaway, is we’re never really alone in anything. And it just challenges me to dig in deep and try to find ways to be even more honest in my music. I’m happy to say that I’m even more empowered and feel more myself than I ever have been, and I think that’s gonna come out. I’m starting to work on the next record and what’s next and the next little batch of music. I’m already feeling that confidence and that powerful energy going into this music, so I’m excited to show people that side of myself.
Are there any songs you’ve been particularly surprised at how people responded?
‘chameleon’ is one that stood out for me, especially here overseas. I think because it’s so lyrically deep, like on the surface it’s just a slow jam, driving song that sounds cool. But lyrically it’s one of the most potent songs that I put on that album. It touches on how much I can shapeshift to be whatever people want from me. I’m such a people pleaser, and in your 20s it can be hard because you’re pulled in so many different directions. You’re trying to make your parents happy, if you’re with a guy or a girl you’re trying to make them happy, you’re trying to make your friends happy, you’re trying to find your place in the world. And the thing that I realised is the most important thing to chase is the most authentic version of yourself, and being more confident in your own shoes and in your own skin and loving yourself is the best thing that you can do. That’s what that song is about. And putting it out and realising that so many people feel the exact same way was sp healing.
There’s been so many songs that have surprised me. ‘taylor did’, the way people found that song on TikTok, just one little TikTok I posted and they were like, “oh my God, I love this!” It’s been really cool to watch what that one’s done too. ‘ghost in my guitar’, I mean, that song, I love playing live. It’s one of my only moments where I pick up my electric guitar and get to play. And it always just is fun to rock out with the crowd on that one. It kind of channels that real badass energy. And yeah, I think it’s been one of those dark horses on the album since it’s come out. It’s actually on Hot Country right now on Spotify, it just got added, so it’s pretty insane.
Speaking of ‘ghost in my guitar’ – how was working with Chris Stapleton on that song?
Oh man. It was a dream come true, as you can imagine. He’s just a legend and obviously has an incredible voice but I think people forget sometimes what an incredible guitar player he is. When I saw him live there was no doubt in my mind that he was the exact tone I had been envisioning for that song. So my team got it to him, and one morning my phone was blowing up, and everyone in my team’s calling me. They’re like, “Alana, be by your phone, Chris is gonna call you. He’s decided he’s going into the studio today to cut guitars on this song”. And I lost my mind. God, I’m just so grateful that an artist like him, at his level, believed in my music, believed in me, believed in that song enough to take a chance and be a part of it. It’s still so surreal to look at it and see our names next to each other.
You also got into the production side of things with the album. How did you find that experience?
I’ve always loved producing. I co-produced pretty much everything on the album. I love being able to touch all those small intricate parts of it, from guitar tones and getting really specific with the way we record my vocal and how close I am to the mic, how far I am, all of those tiny details that change the way a song feels. So to be able to find producers who I can collaborate with and who I can get really nerdy about all that stuff with is fun. You know, writing a song I’ll hear these things, and we’ll be producing as we’re writing a song in a lot of ways. So I love getting to carry through ideas through production, just watch it come to life and uncover different sides of myself through that process too.
Is there a song you’ve written that you’re particularly proud of?
I think ‘amen’ is at the top of that list for me. My bar for myself is “how honest can I be?” and I think that song was one of the most vulnerable songs I put on the album. I put it as track 18 because it’s kind of where I ended up after the journey, after the messing it up and figuring it out and getting it right. After those moments, this was kind of the overarching theme, and I touched on this a little earlier but I am such a people pleaser. Growing up in this small town, not travelling, not really seeing other perspectives, you feel this pressure to live your life in a very specific way. And I think growing up, there’s nothing more important than making my family proud, making my hometown proud, staying true to my roots. But also finding ways to give myself permission to mess up sometimes and make mistakes and live life on my own terms and grow as a person, and grow into the best version of myself. That’s what that song is all about, and my prayer is that anybody that listens to the album has the courage to go on that journey for themselves too. Because it’s made me a better human and taught me so much about myself.
What does the rest of 2024 look like for you? You mentioned new music – is that the focus?
[chuckles] Yeah. Always. Music is always first for me. Actually this came up last minute but right after we finish here in London, right after C2C we’re flying to LA to start cutting for my album. So that’s a little surprise there! I’m really excited to start releasing new music, so be on the lookout for that. I’ll also be on tour with Luke Bryan again this summer, which’ll be so much fun. We’re talking about getting back out here ASAP, planning some more headlining dates hopefully, and starting to build that core foundation, that core group of fans out here in the UK as well. And yeah, just releasing a lot of music. And I’m excited to show fans a different side to me. I’m changing so much and like I mentioned I found so much of myself through ‘TWENTY SOMETHING’ and it gave me so much confidence. You know, digging that deep and doing the work, you come out on the other side a better, stronger version of yourself. So that’s coming out in the music as well.
I was going to ask if you’ve got plans to come back but I think you’ve already answered that…
Oh I do! Yeah, I do. Be on the lookout for tickets. I can’t wait.
Alana Springsteen’s debut album, ‘TWENTY SOMETHING’, is out now on Columbia Records/Sony Music Entertainment.
