California-born singer-songwriter Dasha is redefining what modern country-pop can sound like. Raised in San Luis Obispo, she grew up performing in musical theatre and dance before finding her true voice as a songwriter in her teens. Blending the storytelling tradition of country with the polish and infectious energy of pop, she’s crafted a sound that’s as heartfelt as it is catchy. Her breakout album ‘What Happens Now?' cemented her arrival, led by the viral success of ‘Austin' — a sharp, relatable anthem that connected with millions and made Dasha one of the most talked-about new artists of the past couple of years.
Now she’s stepping into a new chapter with her forthcoming EP ‘Anna,' out Friday, October 10. (Our review right here) Currently touring with Kane Brown on the UK leg of his High Road tour, Dasha’s recent show in Birmingham proved why she’s capturing hearts on both sides of the Atlantic. Confident, playful and deeply authentic, her performance radiated the same charm and emotional honesty that define her music — the unmistakable spark of an artist not just breaking through, but built to last. We caught up with her in Birmingham to talk all about it.
Thank you for your time today, especially on a show night, we do appreciate it!
No, thank you for making the effort to come and talk to me.
The past couple of years have been such a whirlwind! We've loved watching your career go from strength to strength over that time. What's been the most surreal or mind-blowing moment over that period?
I think it was my Stagecoach performance that mattered to me the most, being from California. Having been to Stagecoach as a fan and watching artists like Lainey Wilson up on that stage it was the most fucking, crazy surreal thing ever! (laughing)
Jimmy Fallon was also pretty insane. I love his show so much so it was such a big nod to us from a cultural perspective to be seen by that show and they didn't even want us to play ‘Austin' either! We played ‘Not At This Party' on there. That felt like such a step forward in terms of ‘you are a career artist and let us help you build that story.'
This dream run you've been on with streams, shows and attention – when did you start to turn inward again and feel the need to re-connect with yourself, which seems to be what new EP ‘Anna' is all about?
Some of the new songs, like ‘Gimme A Second' and ‘Please Stop Changing' were written right around when ‘Austin' was written. I also wrote a ton of songs when we were putting the deluxe version of ‘What Happens Next?' together too but I shelved some of them because although I knew I loved them, they just weren't right for that project or story yet.
When I realised that I wanted to tell the story of Anna on this EP those two particular songs were perfect for the that project in both sound and meaning. I think I even wrote ‘Please Stop Changing' before I even wrote ‘Austin,' which is kinda insane really when you think about it! (laughing) It's such a little personal look inside my world and my hometown – it's about the bar I go to every year on Thanksgiving with all my friends. The Frog and Peach, right? So cool to get that in a song!
I got diagnosed with nodes in my throat earlier this year, which was really scary because your vocals are everything, right? I took a few weeks off and during that time I got some time to rest and write a few songs and that's when the rest of them emerged.
On the EP you sing the line ‘I've remembered who Anna is.' So, who is Anna and how is she different to Dasha?
Anna is the core of Dasha. There is no Dasha without Anna, you know? As a kid I was so fearless and my friends were always ‘You're so crazy and so weird!' (laughing) and I was so encouraged by my family to be exactly that! I have a big personality and Anna was a part of that, she was alive and well and loved life so much.
As I grew up and then became part of the music industry after ‘Austin' blew up I started to feel myself shutting down because I was so scared of messing up and people not liking what I was doing. It sucked but I started to become smaller, I didn't realise it was happening but it did! It got to the point where I didn't even know who I was anymore – I lost all that makes me me and so when I realised that I needed to get back to who Anna was before Dasha became famous. I feel even more like myself now. I think Dasha is a girl that has been through a lot – she lost herself and then found herself again and is now even more herself than she was when this all started and she's had to choose to be that again.
You talked about shrinking down inside yourself. For a young female artist in her twenties – where does that pressure come from? Is it fans? The industry? Social media or a combination of all three?
It's a combination of all three! It also doesn't help that I'm a chronic people pleaser too! (laughing) I found myself on a global label as a major priority and I just did not want to disappoint them! I didn't want to disappoint my fans and I didn't want to piss anyone off! In the Country world, being a female as well, you're kinda asked in many ways to just fit into a box and I just didn't want to do that! That was stressful so it was a big combination of things.
I think the thing that really put me over the edge was the hate comments online. I now know that they mean you are doing something different and something right so I'm now grateful for those comments and how they've focused and emboldened me but at the time……….. it's hard to hear that much shit getting talked about you.
‘Train' seems to be the emotional core of the new ‘Anna' EP but you didn't write that song. Tell me what you felt, then, when you first heard it.
I first heard ‘Train' during a pitch session and my A&R, Kelly, was, like ‘I wanna play a couple of outside songs for you. I know you don't want to cut an outside song and you've always written your own songs but just hear me out!' I felt like I was 18 again when I first heard it and I was moving from California to Nashville and I was scared shitless. I could hear the trains from my on-campus apartment at Belmond and that struck a chord with me too.
I also really believe in the Nashville system of songwriters, it's the heartbeat of the town. I wanted to make a statement where I show that I am open to cutting outside songs and place myself inside the Nashville scene for that.
So, conversely, are you pitching your songs to other artists as well now?
Yeah! It's not my main priority right now but there are so many songs that I have written that don't feel right to where I am anymore that I think it would be cool to hear them resonating with other artists, it would be the coolest thing ever!
Even in songs like ‘Please Stop Changing' and ‘I Don't Mean To' there's a sense of dislocation from yourself that fits in with ‘Oh Anna!' and ‘Train.' I get the feeling that for the last two years you've watched your friends' lives move on whilst yours has stayed static because of the touring and the shows and your career. Is that a fair reflection?
Yeah, somewhat. ‘I Don't Mean To' has a pre-chorus that I love. ‘I thought it was working but last night I said something so hilarious, could have put you on the floor but you sat there and blink stared, like you were stoned and bored.' I was in the kitchen and had a few weeks off and had started seeing this guy in Nashville. I'd said something that I thought was so funny and he just didn't get the joke at all and it triggered my brain so hard to my ex who I was dating when ‘Austin' was blowing up and it brought me back to thinking, ‘Holy shit! Nothing has changed in a year and a half!'
That freaked me out because life was going on and moving for everyone around me and I was right here, in the same fucking place, still.
How hard is it to date, being who you are now?
It is hard but I will say I think the right person will make it easy and feel very effortless. I've had glimpses of that.
Is that ‘right person' working in the industry, do you think? Would that make it easier if they understand already what you do?
That's interesting. I'm not exactly sure but I think they must be adjacent, at least, because they have to understand what things are like, being out on tour and how insane it is to be in a different place, everyday! Sleeping on a moving bus, being exhausted, the pressures – I think it would help if it was someone who understood those type of things.
You've said that ‘Anna' isn't about chasing hits. What does success mean to you now compared to what it meant to you 2-3 years ago?
Can I be so real with you? Success right now is just all about my own happiness. I've benched that and put it in the backseat for the past two years, I've done everything I've had to to be happy. Get the hit, you'll be happy. Get on Jimmy Fallon, you'll be happy. Play Stagecoach, you'll be happy. And then I realised that the happiest moments are just the most mundane, normal things that could happen to anyone.
As much as I'd love another huge hit and I know I will get one because I believe in my music and I believe in my team, my gut says, fully, that it is going to happen I'm not worried about it anymore. I need the balance of living a normal-ish life at the same time as doing this big career thing. I'm not going anywhere, I just need some normalcy as well. I want to play pickleball with my friends, I want to stay home and cook a steak. Fuck it, you know! I gotta go live and date some boys because that's what my songs are about, right? (laughing)
Have you managed to listen to ‘Life of a Showgirl' yet and if so, what are your thoughts?
I think you can really hear Taylor's voice on this album, which I really love. She's been through a lot these past couple of years and you can tell that she genuinely feels loved by someone, for maybe even the first time. I'm so happy for her and Travis, it's really cute – you can feel the love in the lyrics. I don't think she's ever been this turned on by someone before, either, you can hear that in the lyrics too!
It's so cool, as a woman, to hear someone else's story like that, I'm really happy for her.
If you could send a message back to Dasha before she wrote ‘Austin' what advice or message would you give to her now?
That's a really good question. I would say trust your gut. People are going to be so opinionated about you – right from people close to you to complete strangers. Just listen to yourself and trust your gut. I've learned I have to do that because I became so overwhelmed with all the decisions that I had to make so fast. That's when I got off centre because I was saying, ‘You do it' to people instead of me trusting myself.
I like how the ‘Anna' Ep has a duality to it. There will be a follow up to it, a part two and that will be called ‘Dasha.' That will be coming out next year and that's where you will get the second half of the whole story.
So, you are playing a new song, ‘Memo' in the set list. Will that be part of the ‘Dasha' project then?
You've done your research! (laughing) It will be part of ‘Dasha,' yes and I'm hoping it will be one of the singles. I love playing it live and I can already see the music video in my head too. It's going to be a big part of the ‘Dasha' project!
Check out Dasha's new EP ‘Anna' in all the usual places when it comes out on Friday. If you go to our instagram page you can see a clip of Dasha singing ‘Memo' from that night's show in Birmingham too!
