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Willow Avalon

Willow Avalon's smoky voice and shimmering, West Coast highway-attuned rock style -- first introduced on the 2021 single “Drivin” -- makes her seem out of another time, like Stevie Nicks reborn at the turn of the millennium. But her quirky, minimal social media presence and lyrical honesty make her fit in well with her singer/songwriter contemporaries. Avalon was born Willow Martin in Georgia in 1998, the daughter of outsider musician Jim White, whose misfit-Americana debut, Wrong Eyed Jesus, was championed by the likes of David Byrne (who reissued it on his Luaka Bop label) and TV writer Vince Gilligan (who included several songs in episodes of his acclaimed series Breaking Bad). But this was hardly a privilege for Willow -- she endured her parents’ contentious divorce and eventually left home at the age of 15. Her unique musical upbringing was littered with fascinating detours: raised on classic country and soul artists from Lucinda Williams to Roberta Flack, Willow learned piano to play at church services, and taught herself to play guitar before she was a teenager. When she was 14, she clinched a local opening slot for Drive-By Truckers; at 18, she signed a publishing deal, moved to Los Angeles, and began work on her earliest professional recordings. Over time, though, she felt adrift. She was stymied by the deal, stuck in a difficult relationship, and had little time to make music while working multiple jobs outside the industry. Taking time during the COVID-19 pandemic to step back and reassess, Willow Avalon self-released “Drivin,” a tune about the end of a relationship anchored by electric piano, simmering pedal steel, and a hypnotic rhythm, and moved to the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood in New York. Gradually, things began falling into place. A song of hers was featured in a latter episode of the cult TV drama Riverdale in 2022; that same year, video creator Caleb Simpson, who showcases unusual apartments in New York, featured her home, which had everything from old typewriters and a series of vintage medical encyclopedias to her pet possum. Though typically social media averse -- she reluctantly uses a smartphone for business, mostly communicating on landline -- the attention she got was hard to ignore and easy to capitalize on. In 2024, she partnered with Atlantic Records to release her debut EP, Stranger, recorded at Electric Lady Studios with co-writer/producer JT Atkins, and attracted attention for songs like “Honey Ain’t No Sweeter” and the title track. Willow wasted little time crafting a follow-up: Homewrecker, featuring lyrically compelling tracks like “Tequila or Whiskey” and “Hey There, Dolly” (addressed to Dolly Parton), was released just six months after its predecessor.
© Mike Duquette /TiVo
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Discography

14 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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