KGNU’s Indra Raj welcomes singer-songwriter Finn O’Sullivan into the studio. Finn discusses her new EP, Best Last Words, and talks about her musical journey that began as a child. Finn shares upcoming solo and band performances and reflects on the excitement of pursuing a music career post-graduation.
Indra Raj: I’m very excited to welcome Finn O’Sullivan into the KGNU studios. Not for the first time. Hi, Finn.
Finn O’Sullivan: Hi, thank you for having me.
Indra Raj: It’s so nice to have you here. Good to see you again, and we’re really excited to hear some of your music. We’re gonna talk about some recent things that have been going on with you.
So excited to get into that, but first off, I would just love it if we could start with some music.
Finn O’Sullivan: Yeah, absolutely. This song is called “Cool Again”.
Indra Raj: Finn O’Sullivan live in the KGNU studio this morning. What a lovely tune. You may have said this and I forgot. Did you write that recently? Is it on your new EP?
Finn O’Sullivan: Yeah, it is on the new EP.
Indra Raj: Okay, so tell us about the new EP. It just came out recently.
Finn O’Sullivan: Yeah, so it’s called Best Last Words and it’s been a long time coming. I started working on it a couple years ago. The songs are at this point a few years old probably but they still feel new to me.
I went to CU Denver for college and I met my bandmates there. We started playing together live and I really wanted to put something out with all of them playing on it. So I asked if they’d be interested in recording with me and they were, so we recorded these five songs and put them out and it’s been super exciting.
Indra Raj: So tell me about the makeup of your band. What’s the instrumentation? Who’s a part of it?
Finn O’Sullivan: . So I have Hunter Gammel on keys, Vail Kuntz on drums, Aidan Cassells on bass, and Josh Pesman on electric guitar. And then I’m on acoustic guitar and vocals.
Indra Raj: I’m so interested to hear about this journey for you. Because, since I’ve been at KGNU, when I first came across you, you were in high school here in Boulder. Did you go to Fairview?
Finn O’Sullivan: I went to New Vista.
Indra Raj: So what opportunities did you have at New Vista? And just in general that got you into writing music? Because you’ve been writing music for a long time.
Finn O’Sullivan: I have. Yeah. I started playing guitar when I was about 12, I think. And that’s around when I started writing songs. But it wasn’t until high school that I realized that it was something that I was really passionate about and wanted to try to pursue as a career. New Vista is a very small kind of alternative artsy high school.
I always felt like my teachers and classmates there were super supportive of the music thing and of songwriting and just doing that creative exploration. In senior year, we had to do culminating projects. So you could choose something that you were excited about.
I recorded my own little, I never released it, but it was like a 3 or 4 song EP that I recorded on my own. And so it was stuff like that I felt super supported by. When I was a freshman in high school I won eTown’s Handmade Songs Contest which was super cool, and that was my first experience doing something like that. And then also my first experience being in a studio and recording. So that felt super exciting and inspirational to me.
Indra Raj: Yeah, absolutely. You mentioned you went to CU Denver and you were telling me before we got on the air that you participated in their singer songwriter program.
So what was that like? What a cool program. I didn’t know CU Denver had that. Tell us a little bit about that experience.
Finn O’Sullivan: It’s really such a great program. When I was looking at colleges, I had a few in mind. But really they’re one of three in the country that has a singer songwriter major which is super cool and obviously very up my alley.
I went to CU Denver’s LYNX Camp in 2019, which is like a two week summer program that is essentially like you can test out the music program there. I got to take some songwriting classes, some music business classes, and I just really loved how supportive and welcoming it felt.
It didn’t feel super cutthroat and I need to be the best and I need to be better than everybody else. Cause that’s not my personality personally when it comes to music. The program has been super great. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself as a songwriter and the technical side and the business side.
It’s just been a really well rounded education.
Indra Raj: That’s wonderful, and you just graduated.
Finn O’Sullivan: I did, yeah, in May.
Indra Raj: Oh congratulations. And, right on time with your new EP, all good things. Okay, so we’ll chat a little bit more, but I would love to hear another song.
Finn O’Sullivan: Yeah, this is also one from the EP. It’s called “Like You Care”.
Indra Raj: You’re listening to Finn O’Sullivan live in the KGNU studios this morning, sharing songs from her recent EP, Best Last Words. I wanted to ask you. First of all, beautiful music today. Just a real emotional depth, it sounds and it’s just wonderful.
And it’s been fun to see your progression over these years. And speaking of progression: you started this singer songwriter program at CU Denver, and now you’ve put out an album with a full band. So what has that evolution been like for you as a songwriter? Because it’s pretty different when you bring in other musicians into your process.
How has that worked out for you?
Finn O’Sullivan: I remember when I first started playing with them, I was really nervous, not because they’re like, mean or anything, they’re very lovely. But because I am an anxious person and I’ve never done it before. But luckily the people I work with are very talented and very professional and very easygoing.
And I was really good friends with a couple of them first, so that helped as well. I think in terms of songwriting and also performance, I’ve seen myself grow a lot because it’s easy for me to just sit in a room alone and write a song and never share it with anybody and keep it to myself but getting the chance to play with a band I feel like has opened up a different side of me.
The way that I think about songwriting and the way that I think about performing as well. I’ve noticed that even when I do play the occasional solo show, the way that I approach it is really different. Just cause I feel like my stage presence has changed in playing with a band. I feel a lot more confident in my performance and in my songwriting, which has been a really great thing.
I feel really lucky to be playing with a group of people that I really trust. And there’s a lot of mutual respect with all of us, which is really great.
Indra Raj: Yeah, that’s really awesome. And all part of the evolution of a musician. It’s also just so amazing because you’re still so young.
There’s so much ahead of you, which is fantastic. So you have this new EP. And you had a release party for it.
Finn O’Sullivan: Yeah, I did.
Indra Raj: But other shows that are going on, might you tell our listeners about how they can hear you live?
Finn O’Sullivan: Yeah, absolutely. I do have a show coming up. I’ll be playing solo but it’s a Fourth of July festival up in Blackhawk.
It’s called the 4th of July Barn Dance. I’ll be playing a short set and there’ll be some other really great musicians there. I know Dango Rose and Bridget Law from Elephant Revival will be there. Dango was one of my professors at CU Denver. That’s how I got connected with this.
But that should be super fun. There are links to tickets and everything online. That currently is the only summer show I have until August, maybe. I play with a trio sometimes called Children of Divorce. And we’ll be playing in Lyons in August at the Venus de Miles bike race, I believe.
We’ll have a set there. It should be really fun. Those are the upcoming shows currently, but I do have a website if you ever want to see where I’m playing, it’ll be on there. Just finnosullivanmusic.com.
Indra Raj: Okay, great. And as you’re moving forward, this is an interesting time in life. At least it was for me when I graduated from college and I was also pursuing music like you at that time. It felt very like, Oh, I need to do all these things. And also what is the meaning of life and all sorts of things. How was it for you? How do you feel moving into this kind of next section of your life?
Finn O’Sullivan: It’s super interesting and it’s definitely a mix of feelings. Up until a few months before graduation, I was like, I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to graduate. I want to stay in school. I don’t want to have to deal with growing up and moving on and everything. And then it just hit a point where I was like, I’m done with school. I’m ready to go. And I’ve always had the mindset of no matter what I’m doing with my life, as long as I’m doing something with music, I’ll be happy, and within that also, I really want to try to make it at least part of my career because I love writing and performing and recording and all of that. But it feels intimidating because obviously the industry is super hard to break into, especially now with so much oversaturation online and everything but I don’t know.
I don’t have a solid answer because I just graduated. I know what I want to do, but not fully. And it might change, but it’s exciting and scary at the same time.
Indra Raj: Yeah I’m not expecting you to have all the answers. I think that’s a very honest answer.
And it’s so interesting, because when I was in your position, like 20 years ago, I was like, Oh, the industry is so hard to break into because you need to have all these things in place. The internet wasn’t what it was. You couldn’t just share music. It’s interesting to hear you say something similar when I’m like, Oh there’s so many opportunities now.
Anyone can release an album, like all these things, but there’s always challenges.
Finn O’Sullivan: It’s definitely like a blessing and a curse, right? Because I feel like these days, you don’t have to have a label. You don’t have to go in and get something recorded at a studio because it is so accessible, which I think is great.
Cause I think that anybody should be able to release and make music if they want to, but then also now everybody’s doing it. And so it can be difficult to find your niche.
Indra Raj: Yeah, absolutely. I love what you said about, I always want it to be a part of what I’m doing.
That’s so cool to hear. And, I hope that is is what it is for you. And I hope you get all the dreams that you want to achieve. You’re sounding great. And I know our listeners would love to hear one more song before we say goodbye.
Finn O’Sullivan: Yes, absolutely. Once again, this is from the EP. This one is called “This Is How It Goes”.
Indra Raj: You’ve been listening to Finn O’Sullivan live in the KGNU studios this morning. Thank you so much for coming in, Finn.
Finn O’Sullivan: Thank you for having me.
Indra Raj: Yeah, it’s really lovely to have you here. Can you tell our listeners how they can find out more about what you’re up to, your website, social media, all of that?
Finn O’Sullivan: Yeah, absolutely. My website is finnosullivanmusic.com. You can follow me on Instagram at finnosullivanmusic. I am on Facebook. I don’t always know how it works, but it’s finnomusic. I think that’s it. And then my music is anywhere you stream music online.
Indra Raj: Okay, wonderful. Congratulations on the new EP and this next big chapter for you.
We’re excited to follow along and can’t wait to have you back in the studio sometime soon. Thank you so much.
