Amina Ahmed

Savanna Leigh is an indie-pop musician, originally from Florida and now resides in Nashville. Known for her latest EP, “Reminders of You,” Leigh takes an introspective approach to her music and writing, which is applauded by several fans alike. I had the pleasure of sitting down with her and speaking about her work, inspirations, and future plans.

How were you introduced to music? Has it always been a part of your life? How did you know this art medium was for you?

Savanna: I was introduced to music from birth. My dad did music when I was really young, and he was doing music in Nashville. I'm from Florida originally, so he was traveling back between Florida and Nashville until I was like seven. So, yeah, he was touring and doing the whole artist path, and so I think I just grew up around him singing. But, my grandma also owned an acting and theater company out of Georgia and kind of put us in plays, my sister and I, from when we were really little. I just had a really creative house, and I think being in that environment kind of led me to love music. I think I just naturally fell in love with it and found it kind of as a way to express myself and my feelings and emotions, which is something that's a little hard for me. I think it's funny because most creative people seem to be really emotional, but I feel like I'm not outwardly that way. I think I just use music as a way to process stuff that I have going on or that I've been out of touch with, but I'd say I knew it was for me when I was younger.

Your EP “Reminders of You” came out back in August, could you tell me a little bit about the inspiration behind those songs?

S: I think there were a lot of things that kind of inspired them in many different ways, but I would say a big piece of it was just a relationship that I'd spent the earlier part of my childhood in. I think that those years of my life I was in a relationship that I probably shouldn't have been in and that it just didn't feel healthy to me but also I felt like it was a safe place because it was familiar to feel those wounds being kind of triggered over and over again by somebody.

And so I think “Reminders of You” is a period of my life where I recognized the relationship I was in wasn't the one that I needed to be in, and instead of like yelling at the person or blaming them or hating them it was more of just a reflection on why I stayed in a relationship like that—or why I allowed myself to be with somebody like that. I wanted to take that personal responsibility, while also acknowledging that they did me wrong and hurt me, but I didn't want it to be like a screw you project because I had already done sad breakup songs before that and I wanted there to be like a different element to it.

I also wanted to talk a little bit about myself, and like songs about my journey, my childhood, stuff that I hadn't really touched on. So, I would say it's an accumulation of just years of like figuring out who I was, learning about myself through the lens of like mental health and psychology and attachment styles and all those things, and then finding a way to be a better person.

Your fans often connect with your music due to the raw and emotional lyrics, could you tell me about your process of making and writing the music?

S: The process is always a little different, I used to like writing before going into a session with other people. I would always like to have something in my notes that was already kind of started, whether that be like half of a song or just like a verse idea or melody idea. I always like to come in with something, because I think it kind of gave me some semblance of control, and also comfort, I guess. But, then I got to a point where sometimes that was kind of like a little bit more of a limit. An idea, or some of my favorite songs actually came from not having an idea going into it, and just kind of seeing what happened. So, definitely, it's changed over time and I think now there are still some songs, like, “Mason Street,” which was just a single off the project for “Reminders of You,” I had to do solely by myself. It was a little too personal to kind of write with other people. I don't think I would have resonated with it as much or been able to kind of craft the story the way that I was able to

Ultimately, if I can narrow it down, the process is just trying to be as open and honest and as vulnerable as you can be, which can be really hard when you're with people that you don't really know. So, I tend to write with people that I'm familiar with or close to, and I try to kind of keep my camp small, which was something I had to learn over time to get the best songs out.

How would you describe the genre of your music? Have you always known you’d dabble in this area?

S: This year's music is very much like indie pop. I think when I first started, I had just come out of being in a country-pop situation with my sister, and so I was trying to figure out what my music sounded like solo. So, I had to really dive into my style and I think it just transformed a lot over the last few years. I would say when it first started it was still like really pop, but I think over the years it's slowly gotten more dialed into what I grew up listening to—mixed with pop.

That's why I would say more indie singer-songwriter pop, because I really love organic instruments. I really love that feel that acoustic country music has when it's like storytelling in the writing. But I think my voice and just the way it sounds, and some of the pop elements that I always incorporate kind of take it out of that genre, so I would say it's indie pop. I was always hoping I'd find my sound, and I think I still always am, I think that's just an artist's journey.

Touring and doing shows must be a unique experience as well. Could you talk a little bit about that experience?

S: Touring is very much a unique experience. I'd say last year was my first year really doing it. 2023 in November I believe was my first time opening for somebody, the “Nicotine Dolls” and I opened for them in Kansas City and in Nashville, and that was like my first taste of it. I had been wanting to do it my whole life, and so getting the opportunity felt really surreal. I remember being in Naples, Florida, I think my managers called me during the summer and they were like, “Yeah, you're going on this tour in November”

But from there, it's honestly just picked up and gotten more consistent. It started off being like, one show, two shows at a time, and then a week, and then my first month-long tour was obviously last November with Ashley Kutcher, and that was a great experience. I'm about to obviously go back out, I think in like six days, which is crazy for another month. Touring is one of the things that's like actually rewarding in real time. I think sometimes with social media it's like we put so much effort into it, and we're posting all the time. Sometimes, artists that have such amazing music and such great songs don’t ever really get heard because their songs don't go viral. But, when you're touring consistently and you're working really hard at it, I feel like you see results in real-time.

I would say it's definitely hard. I think a big thing that I've learned too is surrounding myself with really good people while I'm out there. It's a lonely experience in general, I think being an artist is just weird and kind of obviously not traditional as a job, and so it's hard to feel seen by people and to have people understand what you do and why you do it.

What do you see for yourself this year? Is new music on the horizon?

S: For sure new music is on the horizon. I’m very excited about that and it's been a different process this year, in terms of music because before touring last year, I really had all the time in the world to create music and to just write and release and record. Touring kind of took a toll on that and not in a bad way, just made things different and kind of shifted the way that I was writing, when I had time, who I chose to write with, because of the limited time. I think this year is hopefully a lot more touring, opening up for people, and just like learning and growing in that area and I really hope this is like, obviously the best year yet.

I'm turning 25 in April, and it's just a big year for me. My team is working really hard on making that the case as well, and it just feels like a big group effort after a long time. And um, yeah, I believe in this music, a lot, so I really hope that it lands in a different way. It’s a different side of my personality people haven't seen, I'd say it's a little bit more fun and whimsical of me. And hopefully, people can relate to it and enjoy it.