Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Aly Rowell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Aly , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

I grew up playing gospel and church music semi-professionally, but it wasn’t until last year that I received any money doing my own stuff. At one of my early gigs, a very kind audience member actually vemoed me $500 toward my record. I was absolutely floored by his generosity- I had no idea people would resonate that deeply with my art. Whenever I need to remind myself that I can do this artist thing, I look back at that venmo note.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Bios are interesting- there’s a certain pressure to present the cleanest parts of who you are in an accessible way. Below is the dead opposite of that sentiment.

I grew up in Orange County, a brown girl in a middle class, white neighborhood in the mid 00s. In a lot of ways, I feel like my life is an intersection of sorts- not quite one race, or one age group- I didn’t (and don’t) even have interests that were neat and predictable. My parents, though wonderful people, are not artists/creatives, so I’d pay attention to what the artists around me were engaged with. My personality and tastes were eclectic- I watched indie films, listened to showtunes and ‘50s big band; I’m extremely extroverted, having a lot of bold, firm opinions, and possess a crushing curiosity that isn’t proper for a daughter of an immigrant. I intersected a lot of different circles that I felt may not have gone together. I grew up writing stories before I ever wrote songs, and I constantly wondered how my life would turn out.

I started out in church music, playing gospel and contemporary Christian music. I had some incredible music mentors that really helped me craft my artistry. By this time, I was coming of age and decided to take a year off to do a music program before college. That year changed my life in all the right ways, and I met deep friends that listened to good music and taught me how to really listen to songs. From there, I wrote a lot of music, keeping almost all of them to myself. It wasn’t until last year that I knew it was time to start releasing music and playing shows.

There’s quite a bit of intersectionality and weird parts about me that I’m still figuring out, and you’ll probably hear that in my music. At the end of it all, I’m just trying to be honest and write songs that resonate with people’s lived experiences.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I love art. That’s the reward, that’s the prize for me. Art itself, the joy of creating and sharing. So much of modern creativity is a capitalist venture, an eternal shout into the void of flash fame; as an artist, I can be free from that burden, because art is primarily about the human expression, the true and the beautiful, and sharing it in community.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I honestly want to create art that resonates people. I don’t want to write about things or write in a way that is popular or trendy; if they somehow overlap, that’s great, but it’s not my goal. My goal is to write generally what resonates with me; chances are that there’s probably someone else that feels similarly.

Re: My quarter life crises lasted a couple years. My song, Twenties, is about that experience and how you’re more than what your birthday is.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: alyrowellmusic
• Youtube: alyrowellmusic
• Other: TikTok- alyrowellmusic