Get to Know: Singer-Songwriter Ava Suppelsa

Courtesy of the Artist

Currently a student at Berklee College of Music, Ava Supplesa has already established herself as an artist to watch. Among her many accomplishments, Suppelsa got the chance to work alongside Josh Groban, Chris Young, and Desmond Child in 2014 and was also invited to Los Angeles by The Grammy Foundation to perform with the Grammy-nominated Hunter Hayes. In February of this year, she released her self-titled debut which was co-produced with Colin Lester Fleming and Dick McVey and features four self-penned tracks. Originally from Chicago, Suppelsa plans to relocate to Nashville this summer to further pursue her country music career and recently called to chat about her roots, the EP, and what’s ahead.

You began performing original material at the age of twelve, so it seems you knew that you wanted to pursue music since a young age?  
My earliest memories really are of me wanting to be a singer - my parents would even tell stories describing me as having the lungs of Leann Rimes (laughing). I played piano and was always singing, but Taylor Swift really was a big influence on me learning guitar. So, I started teaching myself and haven’t stopped writing and playing since.

You mentioned Taylor Swift as an influence on your style. Is there anyone else you draw from?
My house was split in terms of genres. My mom liked Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton while my Dad loved Jazz. So, on Friday nights we’d alternate between country artists and say, Frank Sinatra. I also like Norah Jones, Carrie Underwood, and Miranda Lambert and would say they influenced my sound as well. 

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In February, you released your new EP which was recorded in both Boston and Nashville. Was there any particular  reason for that?
I really wanted to work with Dick McVey in Nashville because he has such an expertise that I, as a young artist, wanted to pull from. But because I was in school at Berklee, I had to travel back and forth to make the record and over the year, I had kind of a transformational process which led to me choosing songs for the record that were recorded in both places.

There are four tracks on the EP with one in particular, “Finish Line,” being incredibly personal.
That song is completely, 100% autobiographical. When I was fourteen, my dad, who was a well-known news anchor in Chicago, checked himself into treatment for alcohol addiction. Being fourteen and watching that happen really impacted me in a positive way, which is something people don’t often understand. I have always admired my dad - he’s incredible - and when you watch someone be vulnerable and admit they need help it showed me that sometimes even the greatest people need help.
This was something I always wanted to write about, but I knew that it had to be done in the right way and for a long time I didn’t know how to access it because it is his story too. I knew that I wanted to show a different side of alcoholism than what  you see portrayed in movies or on television; it took me forever to figure out to how to do that, but when I finally did, I played it for my Dad and he loved it. I got his blessing, recorded the song, and am donating a portion of the proceeds to various centers and facilities who help people like my dad.

The song definitely looks at addiction in a way that opens your eyes and it's very brave for you to tell that story.
Switching gears from the serious to sassy, what is the story behind “He Told Me?”
That was a fun song to write and record. I had a songwriting mentor who told me I wrote too many nice, sweet songs and that I needed to break out of my comfort zone. And for the longest time I couldn’t because I like to write wholesome songs - that’s who I am - but I finally had inspiration and wrote this one and I’m really happy with how it turned out.

In 2014, Supplesa was selected as a Young Arts Finalist - one of the 170 finalists chosen out of 11,000 national applicants, and one of the six selected singer-songwriters. She has since been given national and international songwriting recognition from the Great American Songwriting Contest, the International Songwriting Competition, Song of the Year Contest and many more.

You’ve accomplished so much, do you have any favorite experience so far?
It's probably a tie between opening for Hunter Hayes during Grammy week and this past September when I got to play at the Island Hopper Festival in Florida which Maren Morris headlined. I was the lowest songwriter on the totem pole, but I got to see first-hand what songwriters do. It was just a great experience.

Soon you will be relocating to Nashville to pursue music full-time. Will your focus be on writing, performing, or both?
A lot of artists I love have started out on another path. For example, Chris Stapleton, Maren Morris, and Sia were all writers who had their songs recorded by others before they became artists in their own right. Since songwriting is my passion, I would like to start out writing like they did  and then eventually release things on my own. Really, I am just going to keep working hard and hopefully further what I started in Boston. 
 
​For more information visit her official website  
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Purchase the EP  here

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