Artist Spotlight - Rosy Nolan

Rosy Nolan’s Main Attraction swirls (“Dead on the Vine”) and sways (“How It Feels to Fall in Love”) with bittersweet beauty (“Bad for You”). We recently caught up with the singular singer-songwriter about her effortless new collection.

“These are songs I’ve written over the past ten years,” Nolan says. “Some I wrote specifically for this album when I knew we were gonna record, but it wasn’t a well-thought out plan. These are just my favorite songs that I play with the band.”

Alt. Country Specialty Chart: Describe Main Attraction’s common lyrical theme.

Rosy Nolan: Most songs are about longing, heartache and resilience. They’re about dating in Los Angeles and getting into and out of a relationship. Some are stories about growing up with a single mom without a dad around and how all that weaves together.

Explain the title Main Attraction.

I was gonna name the album after a song on the record, but there was no song that I felt captured all the songs in a way. The title came to me while I was playing with the idea for the “Get on Me” video. I was riding this vintage coin-operated horse and playing around with the visuals, which I wanted to look like old vaudeville, a side show piece form an early circus. I was thinking about the signage for those things and “Main Attraction” is a phrase people use to draw attention to roadside events.

Explain what draws you to older things like vaudeville and old time music.

Old time music is really honest. You can’t have too big an agenda with old time music, although some people do well with it. Everyone’s playing public domain songs. You’re getting together with people you just wanna jam with on the same tunes for ten minutes straight. Old time music draws in decent, honest people who aren’t trying to get anywhere. They just enjoy the music.

Why are so many people are going back to music from simpler times today?

I think that’s exactly why: simplicity. We keep getting catapulted into this futuristic world that feels really cold and isolating so people have been going back to earlier forms of community. Square dances are happening all the time in Los Angeles. I follow an Instagram account that shows every square dance in the country. I think there’s a deep desire for people to connect in a real way today.

Is Los Angeles really the best place to live if you’re looking for deep connection?

Los Angeles has lots of egos, but that’s a big reason I’m moving to Nashville next week. People in Los Angeles try extra hard to sound authentic. I struggle with the lack of authenticity here because people are trying to prove themselves so much. Maybe that’s just me shit talking, but my experiences are that there’s nothing to prove in places like Austin and Nashville. There’s a camaraderie among the players because that’s where the music came from. They don’t have to shove it in your face. Old time music is how they are and how they grew up.

– Brian T. Atkinson