Featured Photo Credit: Bex Olesek
Combine carefree vibes with relatable coming-of-age lyrics and you’ve got Nashville based artist, Abigail Osborn.
The singer-songwriter’s refreshingly authentic writing is on full display in her debut single produced by Julian Dente (Chaz Cardigan and Annika Bennett), “Drive All Night.” Inspired by a trip home to Denver, the indie-pop dream “encompasses the feeling of young love, long drives with the windows down, the feeling of being with your favorite person, and never wanting the night to end,” Osborn says.
We chatted with the fresh new artist about her debut single, filming her first music video with director, Ty Combs, and what fans can look forward to next.
How did you first get interested in music?
I grew up in a super musical family and was always intrigued by the idea of writing music, but didn’t actually pick up the guitar and start playing until I was about 15. I played in my church worship band growing up, and the love for it grew bigger and bigger until I started writing my own stuff around the age of 17. Once I became aware of the world of songwriting, a whole new world felt like it opened up. I took a deep dive down into that world and don’t think I ever see myself coming out of it.
Who did you listen to growing up and do they have an influence on your sound today?
I listened to such a wide variety growing up. Interestingly enough, in my early years, my dad introduced me to country classics like The Dixie Chicks, Merle Haggard, and Garth Brooks. Thinking back to it now, I think that even though I’m not writing country music, I picked up on a lot of those artists’ methods of storytelling and melody writing. I think country music has some of the best examples of those things, and I’m really glad I got to grow up learning that.
How does it feel to have released your debut track “Drive All Night?”
I am SO stoked it’s finally out in the world. It’s been a really long time coming. It feels really great to have my first song out be one that exemplifies me as an artist so well, and it makes me even more excited for all that’s to come next.
What inspired your song “Drive All Night?”
I live in Nashville now, but took a trip home to Denver this past summer, and picked things up where I’d left them off with a boy in my hometown. We have lots of history, and our favorite thing to do was drive around with the windows down and listen to music. Regardless of any sort of issues that were going on between us, it all seemed to disappear when it was just the two of us, side by side, driving. The best feeling ever. I always found myself wishing we could make it last forever. Once I got back to Nashville and had time to process my thoughts and feelings, I knew that was something I really needed to write about. “Drive All Night” was born from a culmination of me digging through all those emotions.
What was the writing process like?
It all felt so fluid. There was one day specifically that I was feeling really nostalgic about my trip home for the summer, and brought the idea to my co-writer, Regan Rousseau. Once I started describing my feelings to her, the song sort of felt like it wrote itself. It seems like it’s a pretty universal feeling that we were trying to convey, so we really dove into all the details that would make the song feel as personal as possible, and came out with something that we’re both really proud of, and something that feels really special to me.
You produce the song with Julian Dente (Chaz Cardigan and Annika Bennett). How did you two get connected and what was it like to collaborate?
He did produce the song and absolutely crushed it. When Regan and I finished writing the song, I knew that it was a special one and wanted to find the right person to bring it to life. I had been a fan of Julian’s for quite a while, and actually just reached out to him on Instagram to see if the song was something he’d be interested in being a part of. He was into it and we ended up getting into the studio a few weeks later and bringing the song to life together. He is so awesome at what he does and brought so many awesome ideas into making the song what it is now.
What was filming your first music video like?
It was such a dream come true. I saw the whole vision of the video in my head as I was writing the song, and couldn’t wait for the vision to come into a reality. I called up my friend Ty Combs who is an awesome director and videographer, and he did such an incredible job at helping me craft the story into a video. I couldn’t be happier with the final product. It feels like we captured all the details and the essence of the song so perfectly. It was the first time I got to be the main character in a video as well, and it felt so good to be able to fully embody the song for all that it is and all that it means to me. It brought back a lot of the feelings that influenced the song, and that to me felt like a win.
If you could set up fans in the perfect environment to listen to “Drive All Night,” what do you imagine it looking like?
The ideal setting would be, naturally, for them to be listening in a car with their windows down in the summer. I think songs feel the most alive in that setting, for me at least. There’s just something about the freeing feeling of being on the road with city lights all around you that makes you feel so careless and free. When the chorus hits in “Drive All Night,” that’s the setting I envision in my head.
How do you people feel when they listen to your music?
I want my songs to invoke emotions in people that they didn’t even know were living inside of them. I want them to feel understood and seen for the feelings and emotions that they have, and I always hope to capture that sentiment in the songs I write. Some kind of warm, nostalgic feeling, that makes you feel like you’re experiencing a familiar scenario all over again.
What can fans look forward to next?
So much new music. I am in the process of recording some of my very favorite songs ever, that feel so special to me. It’s been a long process to get here, and I’m just so ready to put all these out there for the world to hear. I have so much to say, and I’m so thankful I have an outlet like songwriting to say those things.
What is one quote that you have heard or that you go by that you want to ECHO out to the world?
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
This quote is one I consistently come back to in my day-to-day life. It’s really easy to get caught up in so many things and lose sight of the fact that our actions and the way we show up for the people around us actually has a pretty big effect on them. I want to be remembered as someone who always went out of their way to make others feel seen and known. The greatest way I can think to do that is through my music, and it’s the best feeling ever when I get to see that in action.