Angela Autumn Will Make You A Believer
The “Rose of Appalachia” on her stunning sophomore album, the art-life, and freedom in motion
By : Josh Kitchen / September 11, 2026
“Sometimes the comfortable things didn’t actually make me happy or help me expand,” Angela Autumn told me ahead of the release of her sophomore album, Believer—out today from Gar Hole Records. The Western (Zelienople) Pennsylvania-born singer-songwriter, now based in Nashville, has been bubbling up with her twangy, hypnotic, slacker alt-rock-infused songs for a few years now, gaining viral notoriety for the semi-autobiographical “Electric Lizard” (which finds its way onto this record).
Dubbed by those who know and love her as the “Rose of Appalachia,” Autumn does indeed sing from a place of rural authenticity that people from that part of the country immediately recognize. It’s all there—the resilient spirit, the hyper-local communal love, and enough old-world folk and country elements to make the late, great Dolly Parton proud. But what sets Autumn apart is her willingness and need to expand her musical horizons beyond just where she’s from, and her devotion to the art-life—a philosophy on living David Lynch described as “catching ideas, and translating them to one medium or another.”
Autumn is currently catching ideas in her van, where she lives and works. She tells me she’s not a pure van-lifer because she’s “going to gigs, songwriting, approving mixes and stuff. I’m working on the road.” But she uses her van to commune with the country that inspires her, never content with staying in her native Pennsylvania. “My hometown is so beautiful, but it was never going to be it for me.” And that’s the spirit that inspires her excellent sophomore record, Believer. When Autumn sings, “When there′s no more money/And no more fame/I’ll be living/Inside these chains,” on album highlight “Heavy Tobacco,” you fucking believe her. “This is worth it, and I’m going to continue to believe in my art,” Autumn tells me is one way to think about this record.
I find following Autumn on social media to be an enriching complement to her music. She is remarkably open in sharing the life she lives, whether through stories from the van, free-form dance routines set to tracks from the album, or behind-the-scenes glimpses of her videos. A recent trip to an art supplies store in Marfa, Texas, revealed so much of who Angela Autumn is as an artist: “My need to create is so much broader than my need to feel financially secure.” A recent post from the “Mountain Stream” video, which finds Autumn dancing alongside her stripper and dancer friends, drew criticism from a couple folks who weren’t so cool about the “adult” nature of the video, one user saying, “I don’t like it, the stripper pole and ass out. I’ve been to a couple shows, but won’t be coming if this is the new thing.” In a stinging response, Autumn replied, “I have literally never seen you at a show.” A lyric from “In My Alchemy” comes to mind: “Even after everything you do to me / I’m talking about the power of my alchemy.”
“I gotta be a believer, to take a ride,” Autumn repeats on the title track of Believer, and it’s a line that encapsulates everything about her—both literally and figuratively. What you see is what you get with Angela Autumn: an artist who’s constantly in motion, hell-bent on making art out of this one good life.
By all intents and purposes, it feels like you live the art life. In a recent post on social media, you said you're not stingy when it comes to buying art supplies and tools to express yourself, because "your need to create is so much broader than your need to feel financially secure." I think that's such an incredible reflection of who you are as an artist. To me, it brings real authenticity to this music. The album is called Believer, and I totally believe you - who you are, and what you're singing about.
Angela Autumn:
So I was in Marfa, Texas, just traveling between two different tours, and I decided to travel by myself through places I had never seen before because I just love seeing and trying new things. There was an art store in Marfa, and everyone talks about Marfa, but I had never been. So I was like, okay, cool, I'm gonna go get a coffee. I had just woken up from sleeping out of the van. You don't really feel that great. You're trying to mail your merch at the local post office and get a feel for the locals.
So I went to the coffee shop, and I knew that I needed to get a sketch pad. They had really nice art supplies there, and I think I needed the sketch pad to help me with another project. I read The Artist's Way years and years ago, so I'm already in this headspace of, if you just contribute and feed your art, you'll be okay. But I get why that's a really difficult idea for some people, and my life isn't the most comfortable. There are also sacrifices I've had to make and realize that sometimes the comfortable things didn't actually make me happy or help me expand.
In your music, you're representing this kind of old-world tradition of music and songwriting and storytelling, but in this modern, feminist, femme-forward way. They call you "Rose of Appalachia." I think that's another thing that makes your music so interesting. You come from that area with this expertise, and you're expressing yourself this way.
Angela Autumn:
Yeah, it really runs super deep for me. I used to be pent up in my house in Pittsburgh, where I lived, and it'd be zero degrees, writing songs, just hoping they would get me somewhere. And I'm super visual, so basically where I grew up is just really impressed in my mind, and it still is a big part of my songwriting—where I grew up and just rural life and all of that.
But I think it's also coming into the cities and realizing they are just their own energy. I'm definitely one of those people who straddles those different worlds and places.
On this album I hear so much push and pull of different ideas, whether they be geographically or personally. If you're talking about just the country, there are references to the desert versus the mountains. In songs like "Sage Bundle" and "Garbage," you're mentioning the desert, and obviously "Mountain Stream," and "In The South," you mention mountains and rivers and water. I think it's such an interesting way to talk about those divides and how there's so much of that in all of us.
Angela Autumn:
I think that there is a lot of that, just because I really began heavily touring two years ago, and that's kind of right before this record started becoming a thing. That's when I wrote "Electric Lizard" and "In My Alchemy." I was in a place in my life where I was pretty heartbroken and stuck. So, in a lot of ways, I like to say this is a breakup record too. And then it's me knowing and hoping that I'll find belief again, and then having the faith to do so.
But I was pretty mired at the beginning, and then I started touring around 2024 and got to see all these things. A lot of the songs, like "Sage Bundle," were written while I was out on tour. So thanks to all those bands that had me open your tiny little shows, having me chase their van and sleep wherever I could, because otherwise I would not have written some of this music.
There's also the idea of change and transformation on this record. Literally in a song like "In My Alchemy," but then, you know, on "Mountain Stream," "all I need is a mountain stream." That's so much more than just needing water. To me, it represents things like absolution and renewal, but then a mountain stream is fresh and pure and of the earth. I love that idea of that part of yourself from home and then expanding it into other parts of yourself.
Angela Autumn:
Yeah, like the other parts of the world. I guess I'm a Sagittarius, so we're just like, "Oh my God, I gotta see everything." And it really is true. I really got to see everything, and I feel actually at a moment of contentedness. But I don't always think about these things. I don't always think about, you know, what does a mountain stream mean? I quite literally think I was just singing the song. It kind of came through me, and it was a little bit disturbing when that song came out because the voice that was presenting was very low and twisted, and my guitar was in this super detuned, and I was just in my room like, "Oh my gosh, what am I singing about?" So I'm super happy "Mountain Stream" made it to the stage that it's in now because it was very raw.
Ooh, I want to hear the dark version, the scary version.
Angela Autumn:
I have it. It's just a demo. It's just a demo. So much of what I do is we get these impressions. It's not like being a painter where you go to the wall and you paint your painting. We have these songs come through us as songwriters, and then you have to nurture it, hold on to it, keep that feeling in your mind until it's time to press record.
So it was months and months and months later. I knew I wanted to record "Mountain Stream," and then trying it out and getting what we got—I'm really happy with that.
I'm glad you are because I heard that song and it just blew my face off. And then I saw the video, and I just love the fact that you chose to make it all about the empowerment that you can find in dance and self-expression. It actually made me laugh a lot because I was going through the comments on some of those posts, and there's that real stubbornness of some folks. I gotta bring out this one.
Angela Autumn:
Yes! I haven't done this yet with somebody else. We need to process it.
You posted, I think it was behind the scenes or some part in the strip club, and someone was like, "I don't like it. The stripper pole and ass out. I've been to a couple shows, but won't be coming if this is the new thing." And then you clapped back and just said, "I have literally never seen you at a show." I was dying.
Angela Autumn:
But did they mean, like, I've been to a couple of shows in my life that are not Angela Autumn shows, or did they mean they've been to my shows? Because, dude, I get it. I get the visceral reaction. We all have aversions to what's not conventional.
Like I said, it wasn't even testing the boundaries. I just knew who I wanted to include, and as more people asked me, "Can I be in it? I have this friend that's a dancer who wants to be in it," I said, "Sure, come and let's do it." I don't think people realize it's not trying to be provocative in really any way. It's just me trying to show people what my life is and how I feel. I think if more people explained that, they'd be like, "Okay, cool."
But that comment was so funny. I've literally never seen you at a show. I never did.
And I'm glad that you say that. That is just a real representation of who you are and the people we choose to surround ourselves with, and the communities that we help create and nurture and want to take care of and fight for. Because another great thing about this song is it has a sick fucking groove that you can just throw ass to. Anybody can, I sure as hell do.
Angela Autumn:
And they do! I've seen it. I've seen it happen, and I'm like, "Whoa!"
And this is an album full of dope, sick grooves, like "Heavy Tobacco," "Sage Bundle," "Jesus Heist." You post so many great videos of you dancing, experimental, freeform dance, and I see it and I hear it. It just clicks for me because there is so much freedom and power in movement like that.
Angela Autumn:
Yeah, it's totally part of playing an instrument, to be able to feel your body. And maybe it was just an experiment of, how can I be more free on stage too? Because you get locked into execution rather than, how can I use the power of my body to have a better performance?
I'm not a performance coach or expert or anything, but I think it is something I'm learning about. And people like to dance. They like to see me dance. I don't really know why. I think it's probably just amusing, and I like to do it, so it all works out in the end.
The Appalachian stomp—this music that you grew up with and surround yourself with—it's all been about movement like that and freedom for centuries.
Angela Autumn:
It really is. It's really wild. The people are wild.
I feel like all parts of those human emotions are found on the record. And there are these feelings, like on "Bleach Bug." I love, "Greatness is calling, greatness she is balling." I think it's a really cool feeling to say that and just kind of mood-board that, manifest that, Again, the record's called Believer. On the title track you're talking about believing it despite these hardships or everyone telling you you should give up.
Angela Autumn:
I think at the time with "Bleach Bug," I did not feel great at all. I was mood-boarding, like you said. And now the really cool thing is being in a season of wanting to write more and dig into these topics more and where they come from.
I think a lot of it is based on the hardship of where I'm from and the people, but also envisioning, what's an American dream that makes sense for me? In another interview, I said that we can choose to believe in anything. We can choose our negative beliefs, and we can be like, "I subscribe to this negative belief about myself," or you can subscribe to the art-life belief of, "This is worth it, and I'm going to continue to believe in my art." And that's another way to read the title of the record.
You live in your van. You were living in a house earlier this year, and you got back into the van life. Your house has black mold—I saw that and was like, oh my God. Are you okay now?
Angela Autumn:
Yeah. The thing that's so insane is that I really loved where I lived. It was like a Tower moment for me. As soon as I got back out on the road, I felt a lot better. My symptoms went away, and so I had to leave. It's been really amazing to be able to grieve that and say goodbye, and then kind of get on my own chariot and be with my vehicles and be traveling consistently doing this, and to realize that that's enough for now. Van life is a different sort of path.
You mentioned you have this desire to see the country. I think people often think about the United States as one big thing, but most people here have never been to more than five states, if that. We live in such a vast place that it's like a foreign country. There's so much to discover and live and experience, and I gotta imagine that having that agency now, that you have this van where you can go see it, must be very empowering in a way that you didn't feel before.
Angela Autumn:
Yeah, it takes a lot of endurance, I think, and there was a lot of fear as well. Sometimes it brings up fear, and sometimes you have to do things that you were told you'd get in trouble for when you were a kid. I've definitely leaned into my mischievous side to find places to stay and sleep out on the road.
What's that line in "This Land Is Your Land?" "On one side of the fence, it says, "Do not trespass."
Angela Autumn:
Yeah. There's this cool percentage that most female solo travelers—because people are always like, "What's that like? What's that like? You must be so scared." Because I'm doing this in conjunction with music, I'm not just a van lifer. I'm a van-lifer musician. So all my gear is there. I'm making content on the road. I'm sometimes doing work on the road, going to a gig, songwriting, approving mixes and stuff. I'm working on the road.
So I'm not just a pure van lifer, but people are like, "What is that like?" And I just say, well, I'm a female solo traveler. Sometimes my band is with me, but other times it's just me, and I don't think people would do that if they weren't comfortable being alone. If I was uncomfortable being alone, I would not choose to see really remote parts of the country by myself.
If you had those fears and feelings of self-doubt, I don't think the music would sound as confident and assured as it does.
Angela Autumn:
It kind of cooks you a little bit. It's really immersive. Our country is, like you said, it's got four different deserts. It's got five different mountain ranges, six maybe—15, 20 mountain ranges. There's a lot out there.
And that's gotta make traveling and touring all the more exciting because you get a chance to go see that stuff and see places you've never been, and kind of ingratiate yourself with the people who come to see you. That's their world, and now you're entering it. To them, this is no different than the day before, but for you, it's this whole new thing.
Angela Autumn:
Yeah, why do they choose to live in those places. I can only see a small, tiny little light through the crack of, why do you live here? And sometimes they show me. But my mom, who lives in Pennsylvania, she has no desire to see anything, to travel. It's just not in her makeup to go and see different things. And I'm driving to California again, and she's like, "All right, cool. I'm gonna stay here in my house, in our house where you grew up." It's wild. It's wild to me. And my hometown is so beautiful, but it was never going to be it for me.
I think that dynamic between you and your mom is so fascinating. But I also think there's a lot of value and beauty that can be found in those feelings of, "I know what makes me happy. I know what home is." But, that's different for you.
Angela Autumn:
Yeah. She's a creator in her own way and creates and feeds this specific part of the universe, and I'm a mobile creator. So I'm like, "All right, I'm gonna bring it to y'all. All right, let's get down." That's why I said in one of my posts, come out to a show and do a little dance with me. I'm going to bring it to you. We're gonna travel, and it's gonna be great.
The traveling, Appalachian stomp show.
Angela Autumn:
That's exactly right. And I hope that's what it is. We can only speak what we want to happen.
Ultimately, what this all gets at, I think, is this kind of unending desire for the feeling of freedom and pursuing that agency for yourself. I think this is definitely an album that speaks to those things. "There are no books by my bed. There's a rifle instead. It's the one you had when you were a kid." I mean, that's kind of everything to me. That's such a killer line.
Angela Autumn:
That was what happened. Keeping certain things. I think that line, for me, was showing the line between comfort and safety and how some people are reading their books by their nightstand and chilling and regulating their nervous system, and others are also regulating their nervous system differently.
For sure. Those different feelings of security and peace. And it's just a kick-ass line.
Angela Autumn:
When I found out that he was like—the guy that ended the song—he was like, "Oh, I grew up with—that was the rifle I had with my dad." And I said, "Yeah, it was. Now you're seeing it again."
You're playing an album release show in Nashville on the 11th when it comes out. Talk to me about that.
Angela Autumn:
Yep, I am. I'm trying to not think about it too much because I live in a town of killer crushers, shredders. But I know it's going to be great. I'm starting to make the set list. It's really surreal to have my own type of stage, to set the stage, share all these songs, kind of do what I want to do. It all feels very new and really expansive and cool.
In a town of crushers, you're one of the crushers now, man.
Angela Autumn:
Thanks. Yeah, in a different way, you know. I think I can share these stories and bring some different people from my life together, and that's gonna feel really amazing when it happens.
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