In this KGNU interview, singer-songwriter Finn O’Sullivan joined Morning Sound Alternative to share songs from her new self-produced EP Dog Days. She performed live in studio, including tracks like Museum, Someone in Texas, and Cherry Pop Rocks, while discussing her creative process, inspirations from fictional characters and artists like Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers, and her journey from childhood bedroom performances to professional stages. O’Sullivan also announced an upcoming full-band show at Jamestown Mercantile on October 2nd, inviting listeners to experience her heartfelt storytelling and indie-folk sound live. (Studio Session: 8/28/25)
DJ Jules: And right now, we are gonna have some music, an in-studio performance. I have Finn O’Sullivan here with me. Hi Finn.
Finn O’Sullivan: Hi, thanks for having me.
DJ Jules: Thanks for being here at KGNU’s Morning Sound Alternative this Thursday morning. How are you feeling today?
Finn O’Sullivan: How are you?
DJ Jules: I’m doing well. It’s a great day today, and I’m so happy to have you here in studio.
Finn O’Sullivan: Yep! I put out a new EP a few weeks ago. It’s called Dog Days. I came in to talk about that a little bit and play some songs from it.
DJ Jules: How many songs are you gonna play for us today?
Finn O’Sullivan: I’ll be doing four from the EP.
DJ Jules: Yeah! So tell the KGNU listeners a little bit about Dog Days.
Finn O’Sullivan: Absolutely. It’s an entirely self-produced, self-recorded album, which was super fun. I don’t always do a lot of the production, but this time it gave me a new experience, and I had a lot of fun with it. I see it as kind of a summer EP—it feels like summer road trips, windows down, that kind of vibe.
And I do this very niche and admittedly nerdy thing where I like to write about fictional characters. That’s where some of the inspiration came from.
DJ Jules: I love that! Wait—have you done any fun summer drives with the windows down, listening to your EP?
Finn O’Sullivan: I have, yeah.
DJ Jules: Yes! What was the last one? Where’d you go?
Finn O’Sullivan: I wasn’t going anywhere in particular. I live in Longmont right now, and I think the last time was just a drive to Hygiene to go to a little coffee shop there. It was the perfect day—sunny, warm, just great.
DJ Jules: And Hygiene is just this quaint little town plopped in the middle of bustling, hustling life. Then you get there and you’re like, “Oh, let’s take a breath.”
Finn O’Sullivan: Yeah, it’s perfect.
DJ Jules: Yay! I’m excited to hear this song. What’s the first one you’re gonna play today for the KGNU listeners?
Finn O’Sullivan: This one is called Museum.
(live performance of “Museum”)
DJ Jules: Oh my gosh, I love that. Thank you. Since we both live in Longmont and like to go to Hygiene—if you ever wanna just sit in my car and play live for me, windows down, it’d be great.
Finn O’Sullivan: Yes.
DJ Jules: I love it. So—you said you like to write songs about fictional characters and stories. Give us the story behind that one.
Finn O’Sullivan: Well, I’ll admit—I’m a big Harry Potter fan. More specifically, I love the Marauders: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Harry Potter’s dad. I’m very much a fangirl at my core, which I used to be embarrassed about. Now I’m like, “You know what? It’s part of me—I’ll own it.”
That song is about them, but also my interpretation of those characters in different scenarios. I have a lot of fun with it. And even when I write songs like that, there’s always some of me in them too—I couldn’t write something I didn’t connect to.
DJ Jules: Oh, I love that. And you talk about being a fangirl—or things you used to be embarrassed about that you now embrace. That’s something I’m realizing as I get older—things I was embarrassed about, I’m like, “This is me. Take it or leave it.”
And I was loving on your website, how you got yourself performing live concerts in your bedroom. It took me back to being a kid, performing concerts in my room, just going for it. So that performer’s been there all along. Were you writing your own songs then too?
Finn O’Sullivan: I always say I started writing songs when I was 12 or 13, but honestly, that’s just when I started sharing them. As a kid, I was an only child, so I entertained myself—singing songs I knew and then making up new ones. I’d get very dramatic with it. I was also a bit of a theater kid, so that all came together.
DJ Jules: Love that. And now here you are—the singer-songwriter, storyteller, theatrical person. Okay, let’s get into another song. For our KGNU listeners just tuning in, we have the honor of Finn O’Sullivan live on Morning Sound Alternative. What’s the next song?
Finn O’Sullivan: This one’s called Someone in Texas.
(live performance of “Someone in Texas”)
DJ Jules: Oh my gosh. That was beautiful. The first one already had me in tears! It’s not even 11 AM and here I am crying.
At the beginning, you mentioned a convenience store, and I was taken back to middle school listening to Lisa Loeb. And that line about the “bite me” tattoo—it can sound aggressive, but the way you phrased it felt so vulnerable. Just lovely.
KGNU listeners, if you’re just tuning in, we have the pleasure of Finn O’Sullivan live in studio. We’ll have one more song, but first a few questions.
Where can the public go see you live—and maybe be moved to tears like I just was?
Finn O’Sullivan: I have a show coming up on October 2nd at Jamestown Mercantile. It’s gonna be a full band show, which I’m really excited about. We started playing with a new drummer this summer, and he’s amazing. My bandmates are guys I went to college with—they’re so talented. The show’s from 7 to 9 PM, and I’d love to see folks there.
DJ Jules: Wonderful! Listeners, mark your calendars—that’s gonna be good. And if you need reminders, you can find Finn online. I was loving your website, especially the “what people are saying” section. You even included a random dude at a show!
Finn O’Sullivan: Yeah! I don’t even know who he is—I never saw his face—but now he’s on my website.
DJ Jules: He might not even know. Random dude, if you’re listening—you made it! That’s big.
Finn O’Sullivan: He’s gonna come asking for royalties one day.
DJ Jules: Love it. I hope one day to be the “random KGNU DJ” on your site. Just putting that out there.
So, your sound and style clearly move people. Who inspires you—both past and present?
Finn O’Sullivan: Taylor Swift, definitely. I’ve always loved her. She’s the artist who got me into songwriting. I also love Phoebe Bridgers, Boygenius, Adrienne Lenker and Big Thief—lots of indie folk influences.
I grew up listening to the Beatles, Bowie, the Shins, the Smiths… I don’t know how much of that shows up in my own music, but it’s part of me. Also, Talking Heads—I love them. So somewhere, all of that’s in me.
DJ Jules: Love it. Okay, let’s hear your last one for today.
Finn O’Sullivan: This one’s called Cherry Pop Rocks. It was the first one I wrote for the EP. Secretly, I wanna be a pop girly, so this was my experiment with that.
(live performance of “Cherry Pop Rocks”)
