Rising Stars: Meet Ava Connell of marietta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ava Connell

Hi ava, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I started songwriting and performing for family when I was very young. Writing is what drew me into music and i learned to play guitar in middle school. I performed my first open mic at the legendary eddie’s attic in atlanta around that time and started to learn about the music industry. I did not start consistently playing shows around GA and Nashville until I was freshly 17. After that, i began playing every local bar, winery, brewery, or anywhere I could within a few hours from me. I spent nights emailing any venue i could find just to be able to perform in front of a few people. I started in wineries with maybe two people or playing for an empty room on slow nights. I just released my debut single on August 16th 2024 , i’m now 19.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
self doubt is a big obstacle of any art. combining a tough business like the music industry with something as intricate and delicate as creating art makes that trap of doubt into a slippery slope that can either make or break you as an artist. as cliche as it sounds, i believe beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but, it is difficult when you become so focused on making art that will “sell.” That is what Nashville is all about now. There is a formula, a strategy, and ultimately songs are made to be cut, not to express. People are running themselves to extreme lengths to impress industry reps who have never written a song before. That is a very challenging thing to conform to. i began to have a distaste for some of the cultures of the music industry because music isn’t supposed to be stuck to a list of rules and put in a little tiny box. thats not what we do this for. writing for the approval of people in an office will drain every bit of creativity out of you until you don’t get excited to write anymore. you spiral into self doubt of “is this good enough?”, you compare, and you forget why you write in the first place. which to some extent is to connect to other people, but mostly to just create freely. i had to learn where to stop asking for approval from other people. i’m still learning to trust myself and form a strong standing belief in my own talent and judgement because as long as I’m putting out music that I am passionate about, I’m doing what I set out for and I hope that song will resonate or connect with at least one other individual somewhere in the world, in which case, I call it a definite success.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
i write music that i would classify as country due to the definition of “country music means telling a story”. Im from GA, I grew up on it, its a safe space for me, its a natural direction. but i don’t like to limit myself to any genre and I have tried to break out of that classification to see what I’m capable of writing on a free range. i feel like my range and ability to write two polar opposite songs is something i am good at and continuing to build on. i write very vivid painting a picture lyrics and like to describe in visual detail. sometimes I write in a stream of words and just organize and create rhymes later. sometimes a melody comes naturally to the structure of a lyric, or sometimes it takes a little more digging. this way of writing I’m referring to is portrayed in my first single “one for the road”. That is why I loved it so much. It showcased me as a writer. I believe I will and have written a hundred better songs, but it was my raw writing. I think another one of my strengths is my performance. I have always flipped a switch when i get on stage from shy and quiet to confident and energetic. But I truly think what sets me apart is my work ethic. my manager religiously tells our peers that he wishes he had my work ethic at my age. he gives me a lot of credit for making things happen on. i have had the same work ethic since i was 12 and was emailing local parks or venues hours each day asking to perform. nothing has ever felt too out of reach which was quickly humbling lesson as i got older , but has also led me to amazing opportunities that i would’ve never had the chance for if I hadn’t had a little bit of delusion, and I am eternally grateful for that honestly.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I am not a big reader. I don’t really like to watch tv and i don’t have the attention span for movies. I would love to expand my vocabulary and get more into reading but writing is definitely my thing. as far as resources, i would say my peers and listening to the advice of anyone i can has been the biggest help to me. an engineer i worked with on my first solo written demo in nashville a couple years ago told me you could walk into any bar and learn at least one thing from the band playing. and if you learn something from every single one, eventually you’ll really be great. i learn wherever I can and there is an opportunity everywhere you look, no matter how small, write it down , take notes, and devote yourself to growth and being an infinite flow of knowledge, because it truly is power. i integrate music into every aspect of life and write about anything I see, hear someone say, and I try to articulate exactly how I feel, and that’s a musicians brain. i think a flow of creativity doesn’t always need a physical resource. it definitely helps to have youtube videos or other things like that to use to learn about the industry, which is a lot more complex than just free flowing creativity. That artistic side of our job is really so simple and shouldn’t be put to a science. you don’t need a resource (except for supportive creatives on your side who push you) when you are in tune with your message and truly inspired. it’s important to not always seek management and someone to do those heavy lifting business parts for you, but to find a passion in the business aspect of the music industry and learn to do it yourself. then, don’t settle for management or label deals until you find someone who works as passionately towards your goals as you do for yourself. take ownership of it all. don’t ever let a part of your career and yourself blow away in the wind. it can be overwhelming but all I can say is work hard, send that email, send 100 more emails, shake hands, write songs with everyone, learn any instrument you desire, learn everything you can, listen more than you speak and ask questions.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: avaconnellmusic
• Facebook: avaconnellmusic
• Youtube: avaconnellmusicofficial
• Other: ava connell on all streaming platforms