I got to ask acoustic guitarist & singer Andrea von Kampen a few questions about her music and here’s what she had to say..
Q: When did you first pick up a guitar & realize you wanted to become a singer?
A: I knew I wanted to play music and sing from a very young age. My family was musical and I wanted to put on a show pretty much from the get go.
Q: As a songwriter, where do the inspiration for your songs come from?
A: Lots of different places! I read a lot of fiction, poetry, I listen to great music. I pull inspiration from nature and people I meet.
Q: Growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, did you envision yourself playing at venues like The Bourbon Theatre?
A: Not really! I really grew up a little bit outside of Lincoln and thought I would go to Nashville or a bigger city to start playing. It wasn’t till after I dropped out of Belmont that I really tried to play and make connections in Lincoln.
Q: Did I see that your cover of Alphaville’s Forever Young has over 17M streams on Spotify? That’s insane…although it’s a really great cover and I can see why. What made you choose that song?
A: I didn’t actually pick the song. My friend, Tom, who made these Christmas adverts from the past three years, asked if I would cover “Forever Young” this year. I had no clue what the story line of the advert would be but I trusted Tom and made the cover.
Q: Let’s talk about your music… You’ve released 3 EP’s (Another Day, Desdemona and Christmas Project) an Audiotree Live album and your most recent Old Country released in 2019. You sort of have a Joni Mitchell kind of vibe. My favorite track on here is Portland…you really are an amazing storyteller.. These songs seem very personal.. how long did it take you to complete this album?
A. Well thanks so much for the kind words. I wrote “Old Country” over the course of a year or so.
Q: You are going on tour for Dave Simonett of Trampled Turtles in March. How excited are you for the upcoming tour?
A: Really excited!! I always love listening to Dave and can’t wait to hear his new album. Especially hearing it live for so many nights in a row.
Q: If you could play any music festival this year, which one would it be?
A: Oh man, so many..
Clip from First Meeting
Q: What can your fans expect from you in 2020?
A: In a few weeks, I’ll be releasing an EP I wrote for a Shakespeare company. They are performing “Romeo and Juliet” and I wrote 5 songs for 5 different scenes in the play. Later this Spring, the soundtrack I wrote for the film Molto Bella will be released. Beyond that, I’m hoping to spend a good part of 2020 writing my new album and playing shows.
Andrea starts her upcoming 2020 tour on 3/7 in Denver at Swallow Hill Music and you can get your tix at Andrea von Kampen.
Stream her music on Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, YouTube, Deezer, Play Music, iHeartRadio and TuneIn.
Stay tuned for more interviews with Pretty Vacant, The Line, Michigander, Jessy Covets, Lillie Mae and Doll Skin.
Until next time, I’m Your Music Stylist – Linda Dias
Music To Your Ears 