As a college student who loves to lay on her floor and contemplate, I’m always looking for new music to accompany my yearning. I’ve found some of my favorite artists this way, even if at times their music is jarring to listen to in daylight. While on my search for the perfect sad song, I found one of my favorite artists, Kevin Atwater.
Kevin Atwater is a young indie-folk artist from Downers Grove, Illinois. He began consistently releasing music in 2022 with the EP retriever, however, what first brought Atwater to my attention was one of his TikTok videos. He’s gained a lot of traction for his music through the short but alluring acoustic snippets of his original songs.
His lyrics can be achingly relatable, focusing on situations many of us have faced at one time or another, including unrequited feelings, the death of a loved pet, and dealing with a breakup, just to name a few. Specifically, a lot of his music focuses on the queer experience, giving a voice to feelings that can be difficult to articulate for queer youth.
Something that makes Atwater stand out is the personalized touch he puts into each of his releases. Recently, Atwater has begun a project that includes connecting a short piece of literature to his songs. These are brief reads that further flesh out the meaning of the pieces, and in my opinion, really help add to the pain of a listen (in a good way).
This year is shaping up to be a big one for Atwater, making it the perfect time to become a fan. His debut album Achilles is set to release on March 7, with 11 tracks total. If you can’t wait that long, Atwater has already released four singles that will appear on the album. His latest release, “the cage,” shows a different side of Atwater and his music, with this being his first release that mixes in rock elements. It’s also his second song to have a music video, which tells a gripping story in only three minutes and one continuous shot. In my opinion, it’s some of his best work.
In addition to the album, Atwater is going on his very first headline tour starting in April. I highly recommend checking to see if he’s coming to your city. He’s not coming to mine, but that won’t stop me from driving several hours, lining up early, and getting to be in that front row, bawling my eyes out when he (hopefully) sings “Caleb” (Kevin, if you’re reading this, please perform “Caleb” in Atlanta. I’m begging).
If you’re anything like me and love being able to say “I listened to them before they blew up,” I would recommend you start streaming his music. And seriously, tour tickets for him are never going to be cheaper than they are now! You can check out all of his music here. Next time you need a good cry or music to accompany a quiet drive, I would highly recommend giving him a listen.
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