Artist Feature: Amelia Day
We sat down with Nashville-based artist Amelia Day to talk about her artist journey, her upcoming show, and post-graduation plans.
“We have a lot of really cool surprises up our sleeves.”
Are you ready? We sat down with Amelia Day, a Nashville-based singer-songwriter, to discuss why her upcoming headliner at Nashville’s Exit/In is an event you simply can’t miss. The show is set for April 17th, featuring opening act Girls Night, a danceable funk-pop band that Amelia describes as “phenomenal,” just “really lovely guys, in addition to being incredible musicians.” It’s Day’s first time playing the venue, and she’s “over the moon” with excitement.
Amelia describes herself as “mostly a folk artist,” but her music is a genre-blending meld of sounds, a seamless fusion of classic rock, soul-pop, funk, and bluegrass with all the lyrical genius of folk-icons like Joni Mitchell and Brandi Carlile. Whether you’re in the mood to dance or feeling reflective, Amelia has something for everyone. She channels the bouncy, upbeat sounds of Sammy Rae & The Friends in songs like “Skippin’ Down the Sidewalk,” a groovy tune that features jazzy vocal riffs and an irresistible horn line. She opts for a more rock-inspired style in the title track of her 2022 EP, Eastward of Eden, which is characterized by powerful vocals and a killer electric guitar. At her core, however, Amelia is a storyteller, meaning that each of these songs remains “lyrically tied into the folk tradition,” as poetically meaningful as they are sonically captivating. It’s this songwriting that she’s most proud of, a craft that she’s been honing for years. She started writing songs in middle school, back when her genre of choice was “angsty” and her typical source of inspiration was a “tumultuous crush” - the classic, humble beginnings of a rising star.
Now, she’s played at all sorts of venues, from local farmers markets to tiny dive bars to popular theaters (like The Triple Door in Seattle) and classic studios (like Nashville’s own East Iris Studios). Exit/In, however, is a particularly special opportunity. “When I first got to Nashville, [Exit/In] was the venue that I was like, oh my God, what I would give to play here. It’s a classic, and it’s been around for ages. I’m so freaking excited to get to be on that stage that so many other incredible artists have been on already.” She’s not exaggerating when she mentions the “incredible artists” - Exit/In has hosted artists like Billy Joel, The Police, John Prine, Emmylou Harris, and the Talking Heads, among countless other impressive names. As she joins the ranks of these iconic musicians, Amelia will be accompanied by guitarist Nikko Ricci, drummer Sesean Orlovich, bassist Garrett Arwood, and keyboardist Nick Wilson, all of whom she describes as incredibly “lovely and talented,” supporting her in the creation of an electric, “immersive” live music experience.
The creation of such an experience is crucial to Amelia. She’s put a lot of thought into the organization of this show, in particular, whether that’s about the visual aspects, ways to engage the crowd and create a performance that feels like a “conversation,” or the flow of the setlist, which she compares to the organization of tracks on an album. “You don’t want an album to be just a collection of songs,” she explains. “You want it to have a cohesive story and theme, so that’s kind of how we’re looking at this.” The production value of the performance also promises to be powerful. “This is gonna be my best Nashville show so far as, like, production, and as far as tightness of the band. I wanna make it feel like a touring show, even though it’s kind of a one-off thing. I want it to be really, really clean.”
After graduating from Vanderbilt in May, Day plans to spend the summer playing gigs with her band in Seattle before returning to Nashville to continue making music and performing. “I’m just trying to keep the momentum going as much as possible, and in the next year, I’m really focusing on playing as many live shows as I can. I think that’s something that really brings people in, and I want to connect with people who I’ve never met, or who have never seen me live. To be a fan of someone you’ve seen perform is a different connection, for sure.” If you’re looking to see Amelia Day perform live - which, if you like to have a good time, you should be - she might have some exciting announcements coming up…
But for now, be sure to grab a ticket to her April 17th Exit/In show before they sell out! This is a show you won’t want to miss.