Kevin Atwater Talks Tour, Songwriting Inspirations, and His Latest Album

By Sarah Hyun

Q&A disclaimer: Responses have been lightly edited for grammar and clarity, and trimmed for length

Kevin Atwater, a Chicago-born indie-folk singer-songwriter, recently wrapped up his Achilles tour, which celebrated the release of his debut album. I had the chance to interview him before his show on April 23rd at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, which he described as one of his “biggest dreams.” Atwater is known by many lovers of the indie-folk genre for his deeply honest songwriting and melancholic melodies, often storytelling his life chronologically. He is also a huge inspiration for those in the LGBTQ+ community, writing mainly about his personal experiences navigating relationships as a gay man. Atwater discussed his storytelling approach to songwriting, favorite memories from tour and new album.

Songwriting & “Achilles”:

Q: Your songwriting is incredibly imagistic and cinematic, almost like flipping through the photo album of your life. Who do you consider your biggest songwriting influences, both lyrically and sonically?

Atwater: I think my biggest songwriting influences are definitely Sufjan Stevens and Adrianne Lenker, two songwriters who I believe are just like, perfect at capturing emotions that I have never found the words to explain myself. Hugely inspirational to me. I think they are influences sound-wise too, but, there’s this artist called Lomelda who has been a huge, huge inspiration for me recently. And like, writing out of different time signatures, and just really trying to expand my musical knowledge. 

Q: Continuing on that thought, your storytelling is deeply introspective and unapologetically direct, especially with the way you name drop and chronologically recount your experiences. How would you say your writing has evolved from “Retriever” to “Achilles”? Has that confessional approach always come naturally to you?

Atwater: Yeah, it's kind of like, I think the confessional vibe is the only way I really know how to work. And I think right now, it always feels natural to just be honest, to just say how things are, like just to put it cleanly and then find the meaning in it maybe later. Like, I think when I write music — this has been true for all the way in the past — like I need some time away from stuff, before I can write about it honestly. So that hasn't changed. But my approach to creating music with other people, like my producer, has changed in that, like when I did “Retriever,” it was just me and my room with my guitar, and I didn't know what I was doing really. And now I have more understanding of how music gets made and stuff. And so, yeah, it's just gonna keep growing and changing.

Q: Do you ever feel nervous putting so much of yourself out there?

Atwater: Yeah. Every single day. It's scary sometimes to be on stage as myself, singing about things that happened, but it's also kind of liberating, like freeing to just put it all out there.

Q: Are there any elements of fantasy in your songs or do you typically write about your lived experiences?

Atwater: There is a little bit. There are little things that sometimes I'll embellish. Not in a crazy way, but I'll like, turn something a little more poetic than maybe it was in the moment. But for the most part it's, yeah, I'm just telling it how, how it is. But yeah, I'd love to explore more and see stories that aren't necessarily my own stories to tell in the future.

Q: Is there a song in “Achilles” that feels the most meaningful or personal to you?

Atwater: Yeah. “Call of Duty” is a song that's really, really personal, so I'd say probably that one. Just because it is a story. The story of the song is so deeply rooted in my lived experience, and my family's lived experience. 

Q: What was the writing process for that song?

Atwater: I started it years ago, and then I wrote the first verse and then I stepped away, gave it time, I wrote the second verse. I didn't even know where I was going with it. And then like, so each verse of it came, after that, months and months apart. And then I kept that song to me for years also because I knew, I was like, when this song comes out, it needs to make sense and like a project that deserves that. 

Tour Life: 

Q: What has been your favorite memory from the tour so far?

Atwater: Oh my gosh. What is my favorite memory? I think, okay. In Minneapolis, somebody gave me a stuffed animal bear that said “Twinks Love Kevin.” I don't know why, but like I just put that bear behind me on stage and I was like, this bear's got me. I was like, “This is so sweet.” Obsessed with the gay culture.

Q: Do you have a pre-show and post-show routine?

Atwater: Yeah. I have like a warmup thing that I like to do for the show. Just a little vocal thing. Drink tea, which I got right here. Yeah. I have to ready myself to be on the stage. It's always, it's scary every time, right before. I have to just mentally prepare myself, so I don't like burst into tears or anything. And then the same thing, like coming off of the stage, I have to sit with myself for a second and just be like, “Okay, now we are back to normal and we're all okay.” Nothing crazy. 

Short Film: 

Q: The short film you made for “why did you invite me to your wedding” is beautifully done. What inspired you to create a film to go along with the music?

Atwater: Thank you, first of all. So the director of the short film actually reached out to me and was like, “I really love the story of this. It would be cool as a short film.” And I loved his work, so I was like, “I would love to do that.” And he sort of came up — I let him have full creative control, I didn't want it to be exactly like the song or exactly like my experience because that might drive me crazy, playing myself. I was like, “I want you to do whatever you think it sounds like, and we just went from there.”

Potential Releases:

Q: I have to ask about your song, “I'm Not the Love of Your Life.” I stumbled upon it a few years ago on TikTok, and it stuck with me ever since. Can you tell me about the story behind that one, and will you ever release it?

Atwater: Thank you. I keep coming back to that one. I’ve played it for a few of the soundchecks. Yeah, that one. The thing about it though is it's a very bitter song. Like, it's very, very pointed and it's about just like being pissed that someone is moving on and you’re not able to. Which just, I think that is so human and so natural, but it had a little too much bitterness to it for me in the moment to want to do anything else to feel good releasing that. But I keep coming back to it, so I don't, I don't know, it might.

Fun Facts:

Q: What's a fun or surprising fact about you that your fans might not know?

Atwater: I crochet. I'm currently crocheting a huge blanket. I'm like three-fourths of the way done. I've been working on it for a year. Um, but yeah, I love crocheting. It's very calming for me.

Q: Do you have a dream venue or city you love to play one day? And do you also have a dream artist you want to tour with either opening for them or them opening to you?

Atwater: I mean, it's so cool to be here in the Troubadour, this was a dream of mine. So excited to be playing Bowery Ballroom, too, in New York. Those are like my two, two of my biggest dreams. You know what's so cool, is my I opener right now, Renny? I'm one of his, like, I am one of his top listeners. I'm one of his biggest fans. I can't even believe that he’s opening for me like, it feels like I'm crossing off all my dreams. But like, you know, like Sufjan, Adrianne Lenker, [there are] so many people that would be so cool. 

Kevin Atwater is not just a songwriter; he is the storyteller of his life, immortalizing moments of happiness, heartbreak, and trauma. His lyrics offer many truths of the human condition through their confessional bluntness — the need to live honestly and love others fully. Atwater reminds us that vulnerability is not weakness, but rather a tool to give us strength to heal.