Q&A: AVERY LYNCH ON SELF-DISCOVERY, INTIMACY, AND THE MAGIC OF CONNECTION
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY DANY MIRELES ☆
For Avery Lynch, music has always been about uncovering her voice. First, as a kid in Pennsylvania, downloaded free iTunes tracks every Monday, and now as a Los Angeles-based artist, crafting songs that balance vulnerability with pop brilliance. With her brand new EP “Glad We Met,” she steps into her most intimate era yet, co-producing this project and leaning into stories of heartbreak, self-acceptance, and the surprises creativity takes.
In a conversation with Luna, she opens up about the shift from East Coast beginnings to West Coast artistry, the fears and joys of live performances, and why she’s finally ready to embrace her voice on and off the record.
LUNA: Growing up in Pennsylvania and now living in Los Angeles, how have these two places influenced your music and perspective?
LYNCH: Growing up in Pennsylvania, it's a very different kind of scene than it is in LA. My entire music influence was what my parents listened to and what I would find on iTunes. I was a kid who loved iTunes gift cards for every holiday and birthday, and every Monday, I would download the free song I liked. I had a reminder on my iPod to download the free song. And I found all of the things that I feel like really made my foundation. I grew up listening to classics ike the Beatles, Billy Joel, Sarah Barelas, who's a huge inspiration to me, all of my parents' music, like Elton John, a bunch of very, like, instrumentalist and vocalist artists.
LUNA: The song “The Boys Don’t Know What They Want” feels relatable for many people. Did you expect it to connect with a wide audience when you released it?
LYNCH: Honestly, I kind of knew that song was going to reach the audience because I posted it right after I wrote it, I did my classical singing video, and it reached a lot of people, and a lot of people really liked it. It was one of those moments of, ‘Oh my gosh, please—when it comes out, just work, please work.’ And it did, thank God. So I knew, but you never really know, like, a lot of the time it's really unfortunate you have a song that catches on Instagram or TikTok, and then it just doesn't work. And that's happened to me a couple of times, and it's one of every artist’s worst fears. It's just exciting when it does work out. But that one, I actually did know that there would be a reach.
LUNA: The song “Lasting Effects,” in which you sing the lyrics “and I found out that I like the voice from my own mouth,” feels powerful and special. Can you talk about what it meant to capture that moment of self-acceptance in this song?
LYNCH: I wrote this song about a situation that happened six years ago. It was when I was breaking up with my ex, and it was the situation I was in while I was breaking up with him, where he said, “You're never going to find anybody like me. No one will love you like me, or no one will love you like.” But I wasn't an artist yet, and I didn't make music like that. I just wrote songs. I was a musician, but I didn't post anything. I didn't have any songs out.
Fast forward to 2024, and earlier this year, when I was writing this project, I went back in time to that time, and thought, I can write about this, and I want to make it fun, obviously. Because I hadn't talked to this person in so long, my life had completely 180 since being in that relationship. So I already kind of felt that I got that confidence in my own voice.
LUNA: Diving more into your EP, Glad We Met, is the first project you co-produced. How did stepping into that role change the way you approached the songs?
LYNCH: It made everything so much more fun and way less stressful. In a lot of my other projects, I’ve technically co-produced in the sense that I always record and edit my own vocals at home. I’ll also record the piano and send that over so they have what they need to build the rest of the song around. But beyond that, I was never really part of shaping the production beyond giving some notes here and there or a general direction of what I was looking for. In those scenarios, you’re essentially handing off your song—you know the vision, you know how it should feel, but you have to hope the other person is on the same page. It’s such a difficult situation because it takes a lot of time, it costs money, and you want your song to sound exactly the way you imagine it—but you can’t always make that happen. It can be really stressful.
For this project, though, it was different. I finally worked with Jordan, my boyfriend, with whom I live. He produces most of my stuff in general, but up until now, he hadn’t fully produced any of my projects. When it was just the two of us, we usually kept things pretty stripped back and relied on outside producers for the bigger, more built-out songs. But with this project, we thought, you know what? We’ve both gotten pretty good at guitar; he’s a drummer, I play piano—between us, we can cover pretty much all the core instruments.
LUNA: This project is the most intimate project you have put out. Was there a moment in the studio when you realized Glad We Met was becoming something different than anything you’d ever done?
LYNCH: Yes, I think it actually happened after we finished ‘Lasting Effects.’ All of the songs were already written, but they weren’t produced until just a few months before release. When we wrapped up ‘Lasting Effects,’ I had this moment of, ‘Oh my God, I have all these songs that I’m so proud of.’ ‘Rain’ was my favorite—I loved it, but I never expected anyone else to care about it the way I did. I figured people might like it, but I didn’t think it would stand out more than any of my other songs. And then it ended up becoming such a moment—it really jump-started the entire project. Suddenly, everything was moving forward as early as November of last year, instead of much later.
That was when I felt like I was elevating myself as an artist. I had ‘The Boys Who Don’t Know What They Want,’ I had ‘Rain,’ I’d already written ‘Dead to Me’ and ‘Think About It,’ and I was in the process of writing “Lasting Effects.” I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, these are my favorite songs I’ve ever made.’ And then when I wrote “I’m Glad We Met,” it felt like, okay—I did it. Even though I still had to write “Intruder” and “Sweetheart,” there was already so much momentum. Writing “I’m Glad We Met” was the moment I thought, ‘I just outdid myself.’
LUNA: Were there any surprises during production? Was there a moment where a song took a turn you didn’t expect?
LYNCH: Actually, yes—I had no idea “Lasting Effects” was going to end up as poppy as it did. When I first wrote it, I was aiming for more of a folksy sound. But once we got into the studio with Michael Blum—who’s such a fantastic producer—I thought, ‘What if we gave this a vibe similar to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Already Over?” That’s one of my favorite songs of hers, and I love how it blends that folky, singer-songwriter feel with a pop beat and production, especially that constant kick running through the whole track. It makes it so fun. So I suggested we try it, and everyone was like, ‘Oh my God, let’s do it.’ We leaned into it, and the song transformed into this really poppy, fun track. It definitely took a turn I didn’t expect—but in the best way.
LUNA: Your West Coast tour is coming up. How does touring influence your creativity? Do you find yourself writing or getting ideas on the road?
LYNCH: Honestly, for me, shows are the most difficult part of the job. When I’m on tour, it feels like nothing else exists. I’m not creative, I’m not answering anyone, I barely talk to anyone unless they’re right in front of me. I don’t check emails, I forget to take my vitamins… everything else just kind of shuts off. I go into survival mode. The thing I look forward to most is simply seeing everyone at the shows. When I’m home, though, I really thrive in downtime. I love being a homebody, just having the freedom to stay put for months without a trip or schedule hanging over me. That’s when I feel most creative. If I didn’t have a tour coming up, I’d be writing nonstop and getting so much done. My creativity and songwriting really come from that lack of pressure.
But the shows are where everything comes together. That’s the climax: people have learned the songs, they’re singing them back, and we get to celebrate the project together. That’s so special to me. It’s not that I dislike performing—I actually love it. It’s just the hardest part of the job for me. I’m anxious, I forget my lyrics sometimes, and it’s overwhelming. But when it all clicks, it’s worth it.
LUNA: Which track from the EP do you think will resonate the most with audiences in a live setting?
LYNCH: So this tour is going to be my first tour with a band, and tracks I've only ever like played the piano and sung before. Nobody's heard my songs live, kind of how they were recorded; it's all just like acoustic. So I know for a fact that I will be performing “You're Just a Guy”, and I feel like that is going to be the one that's like, I got to actually perform it. I think, honestly, it'll be that. I think that'll be the coolest.
LUNA: Have fans shared any memorable reactions to your live performances that really stuck with you?
LYNCH: Okay, so my favorite thing ever happened during my tour last winter—technically, it was December, on the East Coast mini-tour. That run was super low-key: everyone was sitting on the floor, it felt really cozy, and people even had hot chocolate. It was such a fun vibe.
At the Boston show, which was the very last one, I was on stage announcing the next song. I don’t even remember which song it was, but right in the front row, on my right side, there was this group of four or five girls. As soon as I said the title, they all started shaking each other, freaking out, like, ‘Oh my God!’ And in that moment, I thought—this is the coolest thing ever. People were excited for me to sing one of my songs.
It blew my mind because I wrote these songs literally on my phone, in my room, next to my cat. And now people are shaking each other because I’m about to perform live? That’s just crazy. Crazy in the best way.
LUNA: Looking ahead, what’s next for you after touring? Any more music we should be on the lookout for?
LYNCH: I have so much music in me. I'm going to be back in writing and production mode for what is next. I am really hoping that what is next will be a debut album, which is a huge goal of mine.
