A CHAT WITH RISING STAR GRACE GARDNER
BY KATHERINE CHUNGGrace Gardner, a rising star, embraces a versatile musical style, blending genres seamlessly. Fueled by a passion for storytelling, her unique sound is inspired by her vibrant queer community, dedicated fanbase, and partner. In addition to her role as a singer-songwriter, Gardner actively participates in DIY projects, such as upcycling merchandise for her fans.
I recently had the chance to have a conversation with Grace where we discussed her upcoming EP, the recent release "Lubbock," and her plans. She expressed her appreciation for her new fans, discussed mixed-media concepts, and delved into the intricate process of crafting a multi-instrument EP, “Recovery Mile” set to be released in less than a month. Keep an eye on her social media for updates on tour and the tracklist.
With your EP, “Recovery Mile” just around the corner, what can listeners expect from this upcoming release? And I heard that you are a multi-instrumentalist. How many instruments did you use on it?
It has six songs and an outro with it. I’m trying to break down how many instruments are on this because like there are the basics: drums, guitar, bass, on most of the songs. And some sort of percussion. But then there are like samples and that makes things complicated. Then there are some synths here. Then there are different types of lead guitars. My friend put on electric and basic things like slide guitar. I have a banjo and a mandolin. And a bunch of other cr*p in my collection. Gosh, I feel like I would have to sit down and make a complete list of everything that is on this EP. I think that it would just end up being such a big number because it covers a good amount of genres. There are a lot of different sonic influences on this project. I am so excited for it.
Your new song, “Lubbock” is a collaboration with Caroline Carter. Who do you want to collaborate with in the future? And would you rather collaborate with a queer artist or your musical inspirations?
I think it usually ends up being queer artists, coincidentally because I end up doing collaborations with people who I have written a song with. Then I usually only wind up writing songs with people I am comfortable with. And then it turns out the people I am comfortable with are queer. So it kind of works out backward like that.
Furthermore, Caroline identifies as queer. We wrote that song about a breakup that she went through last year. We both kind of pulled it from several different experiences that we had talked about. And, Caroline and I are both from Texas. Lubbock is a tiny college town in Texas. That was where the person that she had been seeing for so long had cheated on her. Collaborating with Caroline again would be great. She’s an awesome person. Me and my girlfriend have also been writing a lot together, like trying to hone in on what we want from our projects. I’m excited about that. Most of my circle of friends who are collaborators or songwriters are queer. So I wind up writing songs innately from the queer experience, which is great. I have nothing against collaborating with non-queer people. I think that I’ve been more proud and connected to the final project with queer people though.
Are your music videos inspired by the EP and single covers or vice versa?
Specifically when it came to the “Lubbock” cover, we were forming an idea for a music video, at the same time my artwork was due. And so before we knew that the music video was going to focus hard on that gold motif, Caroline and I were throwing around a couple of different things. Maybe we could do boxing or some other sports. Hence why the boxing gloves are on the cover. It represents the “beating all the punches” line.
I’m not sure if it was influenced by each other for that specific one. But I think that when it comes to the EP coming out and my upcoming projects, I feel inspired by multimedia videos. When I see artists do mixed media between live humans, claymation, or stop-motion, I want to do that. People are so creative. The options are limitless. I’m so excited to see how I can further connect my visuals in that way.
I wanted to ask you about the tour since you have been recently touring. Have you had any fan experiences or general experiences that have inspired a song or your artwork?
Oh my gosh! Yes. Absolutely. It’s more so an overarching view. I don’t know if there is one particular experience that has led me to write a song about it. It’s the feeling that I come away with from every show is just insane, the outpouring of love, warmth, community, and togetherness.
It is more of the experience and the acceptance from the fan bases that I opened for last year. That is what has made me sit down and reflect. “Holy cr*p”. Music is so magical. It is so cool that I was able to unite these people and make people become best friends who might not have known each other before. It’s so cute. I’m so inspired by everyone in my community of my listeners. I feel so passionate about all of their lives. I love everyone. “You don’t know what you have done for my art, I don't know how to repay you,” is the feeling that inspires my music.
Going back to the topic of art, specifically in music arts, who would you want to headline with at a bigger venue or festival?
That is a good question. I feel like I am at a place in my career where I am looking at artists bigger than me. Artists who have done things I haven’t been able to yet. I would want to be on the Lizzie McAlpine lineup but I would want to be lower down on that lineup. That out-of-the-blue lineup: Lizzie, Noah Kahan, and Mt. Joy would be cool. That would be a dream lineup. I think Hinterland in Iowa is what it is called. It was just announced. It is this really big beautiful folk festival. That is my answer for a lineup. I don’t want to create it. have been lucky that I have been able to play a lot of my dream venues in the last year. There was a bigger theater that I grew up going to as a kid in Texas, that I got to open for somebody at. I played Music Midtown in Atlanta last fall. There have been some crazy opportunities that popped up. I am excited to see what this year holds.
Grace discussed how her mixed-media art influences her music, merch, and appreciation for other artists. She shares her excitement for the future, mentioning her dream festival and upcoming merch ideas. Follow her socials for updates on the soon-to-be-released EP, "Recovery Mile".
I’ve seen your EP and single covers on Spotify. Are they inspired by something? Because they are all DIY, patchwork, or watercolors. And as a follow-up question, do you like museums or does nature inspire you?
I do different kinds of visual craft things outside of music. I’m a big fan of crocheting. I’m starting to get into knitting, sewing, and fabric art. I have been more in a multi-media mindset the last year. I like to think about how I can take that to the next extreme. With my first EP and singles, I put out there, there were little kinds of multimedia elements. Kind of like one piece of cardboard scanned onto the photo and that is the cover art or something like that.
I want to make it nostalgic and an upgrade. As much as we say “don’t read a book and judge it by its cover,” I will be that person who judges a book by its cover and wants to read it. If a song or record has a cool album artwork, I’ll be like, “what is that about?” I want it to have that extra layer of connection. I want it to feel like a welcoming project. There are a lot of awesome artists who are doing hand-made artwork like Shallow Alcove. They do all of their artwork and show announcements like they had a whole puppet thing on their tour poster. I think some people are kicking a***. I wish I could do that. I think it’s another way of making my art as authentic as possible. In a growing escape from that feeling of being lost. Anyway, I love museums too.
Do you create DIY merch for your shows?
I used to. I was doing a mix of both for a while. I was doing tote bags that I was stamping myself. I used to have this cowboy boot logo that first got me started that I designed myself. And then my friend, Charlie carved it into a leveled stamp. I was using that on a bunch of tote bags for a long time.
I would design my stickers and get them printed and sent to me. I haven’t had the materials for that but I could get as far as designing them. I was designing my shirts but I wasn’t making the shirts. I know that Kate Stephenson does a lot of her own merch making. I know Venus & the Fly Traps have done that kind of stuff too. I think that kind of thing is cool. I think that artists have gotten creative with merch. Isabelle Pless crochets hats. It gets me thinking, “what am I doing this year?”
I just got rid of all my stock last month so I am figuring it out. I know a lot of people are doing upcycling or thrift merch, I think that it is cool. I need to get my time management skills together. It is cool to have something hand-made directly from the artist and not just a screen printer piece.
What do you want to do next in terms of visual art and music?
I think for the art aspect I have been looking into the merch thing we were just talking about. I love upcycling and thrifting. It has been something I have always been passionate about since I learned how to sew and reimagine clothing. I would love to make a unique line of merch or concept of upcycled merch. I would like to go hard on that.
In a music way, I am excited to get on a bigger headline tour this year. And I have been working on my first album, so I am excited about that. I think a lot is developing in the music way that I’m excited about. I have side projects I am formulating. I think this year is going to be a really big one. I think we are going to see a lot of really good changes.
Grace’s Instagram:
Grace’s Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3yRBlQnEPNnucMU0lAaxCt?si=7vrXHz1QRxC4kmjJCCbtxA