Rising Stars: Meet Purser

Today we’d like to introduce you to Purser.

Hi Purser, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello, I’m Purser! I was a musical child from the very beginning, always listening to noise or making it myself.

I grew up in a very religious environment, so church choir, piano, and worship band were my musical outlets growing up. I would occasionally write original songs as a young teenager, but for many years, I was conditioned to consider my original songs secondary to the music I was given to perform in church. Of course, those originals remained so precious to me that they felt like contraband.

It wasn’t until I left home for college that I started transferring my time and faith to myself as an artist. I started giving myself permission to express and explore much more than I was encouraged to as a child, and I still feel traces of that high every time I bypass another boundary within myself while making music.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Evolving my relationship with my inner critic has been my most significant challenge so far. I’ve always known I have the ability to make music, but the confidence to call myself a “musician” – and treat myself like one – is still very new.

I’m extremely lucky to have a circle of peers and professionals who’ve helped me develop an understanding of my inner critic’s origin, voice, and reasoning. It’s a deeply joyful thing, learning how to counter and dismiss its concerns with grace and sympathy. Unsurprisingly, a lot of this work intersects with my religious deconstruction and deepening experience of queerness.

If you’re struggling to get comfortable in your own creativity, I’ll happily join the chorus of artists who will tell you “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron will change your life.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I make indie folk-rock music with the coolest people on planet earth. My music centers on tender vocals and tightly-crafted visuals, something like Lucy Dacus covering a Joni Mitchell song.

I’m stupidly proud of my most recent original release, “Blue & Green.” Peter Donnelly did an incredible job with the production and instrumental arrangement, and Sarah Ruth Remington’s violin is chilling.

It’s downright cinematic and it makes me so excited to keep releasing new songs in the near future.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I feel like my peers and I are hungrier than ever for connection through live music after having to go without it for so long, so I find myself especially eager to play really intimate gatherings like living room shows and showcases.

I want to give every person who comes to hear me a chance to make a new friend and get reacquainted with their immediate community. That’s a new intention for me, and I hope it strengthens in the coming years.

Pricing:

• Support me for as little as $3/month at ampled.com/artist/purser!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.pursermusic.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/pursermusic
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/pursermusic
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/pursermusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjQKMxozQSMeyLbQz4FanRA
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1BqQWEnRl5jLqRWKpsnj6L?si=nOhOEMHfRIalGozAo5Grxg

Image Credits
Will Baldwin, Chris Augustinos, and Emily April Allen