Weekend Two Saturday ACL Fest Interview: Margaret Glaspy

"I don't think you have to be loud to be good," muses Margaret Glaspy. "You can probably make people listen more when you're a little quieter, even."

Glaspy, a 27-year-old classically trained musician, performs with a trio, her rock & roll spacious, uncluttered, and led by electrified guitar licks and stirring vocals. Not basic, but simple and smart, the California native knows where to let her most compelling instrument, a voice that can unexpectedly drop to a gravelly growl and then rear into a clean belt, breathe.

"You and I," a confident strut contained in under three minutes, served as inspiration for the rest of her debut's sound. Emotions and Math, a genre-bender made up of both rollicking pop hooks and quiet moments, was released this summer on ATO, rooted in 2016 but with the lexicon of Nineties singer-songwriters. Glaspy's sincerity has rapidly resonated with listeners.

"When people sing along with lyrics, that's pretty wild," she laughs. "That really hits me pretty hard. It's cool and moving, and that's a point of connection I really take seriously."

Her approach to songwriting mixes cerebral and emotional, distilling everything down to the most fundamental element. Currently based in New York, she takes her newfound status as a full-time musician seriously, with discipline and practice. When Glaspy talks about her music and job, earnestness colors her answers.

"I feel like sometimes I get worse," says Glaspy, laughing. "I just gotta keep myself in check a lot, try and practice, just keep my head to the ground, because otherwise I start to slip up."

Margaret Glaspy