We recently reviewed the single “Plans Upon Plans” by Natalie Del Carmen and decided we wanted to find more about this artist who is getting ready to release her album in January 2026, so we are getting these singles to wet the appetite now!
I think this will be a great feature as the interview that follows is really interesting as an exploration of Natalie’s sound and ambition.
There is also a review of the new single by Lorraine to close the feature down.
First of all though, here is the press release so you can find out more!
“Raised amongst the pavement and pop radio of Los Angeles, Natalie Del Carmen creates her own musical geography with “Pastures.” It’s the sound of a modern-day folksinger narrowing her focus and expanding her reach, funneling the wide-ranging sounds that appeared on her debut album — 2023’s critically-acclaimed “Bloodline” — into a sharp, singular version of American roots music.
“Pastures” doesn’t sound like the work of a Gen Z songwriter with metropolitan roots. Instead, its songs are poised and pastoral, filled with acoustic instruments — including the 1930s banjo she inherited from her grandfather — that evoke a landscape far more remote than Southern California. Some songwriters make music that reflects their surroundings, but Del Carmen takes a different path, turning herself into a musical world-builder. At just 24 years old, she’s chased down an Americana sound of her own making.
“I’ve heard stories about people growing up in small towns, wanting to move to a big city,” she says. “That’s not me. I love living in a city, but I also feel connected to a traditional country sound and a small-town lifestyle. I crave both.” With “Pastures,” she builds a bridge between those two contrasts. Songs like the wistful, waltzing “Plans Upon Plans” and the nostalgic “Leanne” make no apologies for their countrified arrangements, but their lyrics tell a more universal story, capturing the zeitgeist of 20 something life in all its charmed and contradictory glory. Like her musical heroes — from Brandi Carlile to Gregory Alan Isakov to The Lumineers — Del Carmen embraces her folksy roots without abandoning a wider audience, delivering coming-of-age songs that transcend genre and generation. After all, navigating the twists and turns of early adulthood is hard work, wherever you live.”
photo credit Sam Wiseman
And now for your reading pleasure, the interview!
“Plans Upon Plans” feels like a story wrapped in melody (like the rolling thunder to close) — that idea of letting go of control and trusting the moment. Was there a specific turning point in your life that inspired that realization, or was it something that crept up over time?
Natalie: It absolutely crept up on me. Appreciate the nod to the thunder close, that was intentional in exactly the way you’re saying it. I tend to be overly thorough and methodical in life mentally. It’s probably because I believe everything has to have a why. I’m constantly searching and trying to build my life on a reason to do things, but I’ve come to realize that’s a lot of pressure. It can be a good thing day-to-day, until it isn’t in terms of learning how to let go. You can imagine the shift of entering my twenties post-grad, feeling quite lost suddenly, and realizing I have a constant absurd need for certainty. When all my big plans came and went, this song finally rolled in. It’s for all the folks out there with control issues.
You’ve been compared to artists like Brandi Carlile, but I get the sense your sound lives somewhere entirely your own — part Los Angeles, part Nashville, part open highway. How do those places (and the people in them) shape the stories you tell?
Natalie: There’s usually the circumstances of growing up in a smaller town, plotting on a chance to move to a larger city, praying for doors that don’t always exist back home. Growing up in LA, you rarely see it in reverse, but I catch myself longing for something quieter every day. I feel like a completely different person in Nashville than I do in LA, but I appreciate both. I’m constantly studying people. I think you have to, to get better at storytelling. Whether you believe the choices or beliefs people make are right or wrong, I always want to understand why they’re made. By others and by me, included. I write to maintain perspective and keep myself honest.
Your debut at Americanafest must’ve been a whirlwind — The Bluebird Café, Whiskey Jam — that’s the stuff of songwriter dreams! What was going through your mind stepping onto those stages for the first time?
Natalie: The entire week, I was just grateful. And wondering how I got from one point of life to another. Americanafest was just a dream. It was my first time at the festival, let alone playing. You’re surrounded by writers and artists on a completely other level artistically and professionally. I spoke to a few artists who maybe felt a similar sentiment to me, that as much as you feel you’ve earned it, you’re in awe to be in company of that much talent. It’s uplifting in every way that it can be. It was my first writer’s round at The Bluebird, with David Starr and Goldpine. They’re true artists and have impeccable crowd work. I hope to be back over and over again.
“El Cortez” comes from such a vivid, personal place — that memory with your dad in Vegas. There’s a beautiful line in the press notes about realizing you’d “already won in life.” What does ‘winning’ look like to you these days?
Natalie: Growing up and into my early twenties, winning was always defined by things you earn. A GPA, a scholarship, getting the “my child is on honor roll” bumper sticker. My entire upcoming 2026 album Pastures is about separating the things you win in life, against everyone else, with what you’ve been lucky and blessed with. ‘Winning’ nowadays feels like I’m rich in ways I don’t have to prove to anyone. Family, friendships, people genuinely in my corner. That all feels cheeseball, but it’s true. In the literal sense, winning will always feel good. But it’s harder to feel a big win in life when the major pillars of your life are void.
The fiddle, the organ, that soft brush of guitar — the textures on these new tracks are gorgeous. How involved are you in crafting those arrangements? Are you the kind of artist who comes in with a clear sonic vision, or do you let the studio breathe with you?
Natalie: I’m grateful to work on a team that lets me have a vision, because I always do. I’m the last person to go to for technical questions about production, but I do feel very ‘part of the process’ when it comes to flushing out instrumentation and building melodies. I’m great friends with Brunjo, the collective that produced on this entire album. That made things easier for sure. We’re all ‘yes’ people. When someone brings an idea, you say yes. You try things until it’s a hit or it sounds bad, and we never take it personally. On this album, a lot of it came together in the studio, but I did come in with a vision, a lot of melodies, and production goals for sure. I think you have to, especially when you write the music. No one can hear it exactly how you heard it when you wrote it.
You mentioned the weight of carving your own path, and that really stood out to me. In an industry that loves to put artists into tidy boxes, how do you stay true to your voice without getting caught in expectations?
Natalie: I’m glad that resonated. I’m still trying to learn and understand it all, honestly. You hit the nail on the head when it comes to tidy boxes. I think about that a lot, too. It changes month-to-month, but recently it’s been coming back to a why, like I was mentioning before. Artists nowadays have to recognize the boxes created and play the game. That’s the realist part of it, at least in my world. Keeping the best parts of my life offline helps. Remembering that I write music for me helps. The way songs hopefully move people and bring people together is a byproduct of artists doing it for themselves to get through life, I think. When it becomes writing just to hit numbers, that’s when I fear I’ve sold out. Writing about what I actually care about at the moment helps keep the ball rolling.
There’s a lot of heart in your writing — it’s honest, but never heavy-handed. Do you find songwriting to be more about self-discovery, or storytelling for others to see themselves in?
Natalie: This is an insanely huge compliment. It’s something I’m overly aware of, but worry I miss often. Songwriting is self-discovery for me, it always will be, but it becomes storytelling when the listener starts to tie it to their own lives. The average listener isn’t thinking about your life. They hear details you’ve thrown in and start to see in their own world. That’s why storytelling music is so awesome. You can be incredibly specific, but somehow it feels broad enough for anyone to grab. The heavy-handed thing is a fine line to walk. I’ve released music in the past I fear is too brash and pointed. The goal for this new album was to grow up a little bit. To learn how to explain things without pitying myself or give a straight put down. I don’t want people to feel bad for me.
With “Pastures” arriving in January, can you tease a little of what’s waiting for us there? What kind of emotional or sonic journey are we about to take with you?
Natalie: We chose “June, You’re on My Mind” as the opener because we really believed it defined the album the best. I’m incredibly proud of that track and how it represents the sound moving forward. We kept a lot of the tracks upbeat to give you something to groove with, but kept some of the downer ones downer, still. Pastures is my debut into Americana– I believe you’ll hear it best through tracks like “June, You’re on My Mind,” “Leanne,” “El Cortez,” and “Heyday.” The entire album surrounds themes of growing up, family, friendship and the pressure to amount in today’s society.
And finally — since your music has that golden-hour-on-the-road vibe — if we were to imagine a “Pastures” road trip playlist, what three songs by other artists absolutely have to be on it?
Natalie: The album is really about making sense of life when you’re young and finding somewhere to put your feet. I’d say these tracks have helped me down that long, long road:
- “Amsterdam” by Gregory Alan Isakov
- “Big Sandy” by Izaak Opatz
- “No Hard Feelings” by The Avett Brothers
And there we had to say goodbye! But we enjoyed the conversation with Natalie Del Carmen and hope you did too!
And now, let’s review “June You’re On My Mind”
“June You’re on My Mind” is released on November 14. It has a gentle uplift in the rhythm and a vocal storytelling that tells of that love you may still have for someone, even if you might not want to. It is, I’d say, a Summer song that is here for us in the dark nights and mellow fruitfulness of autumn. The leaves fall and turn to orange but the memories of those we loved remain the same. The song has that immediacy of the camp fire and chestnuts roasting.
Natalie Del Carmen is one of those rare songwriters who seems to capture both the stillness and the storm of early adulthood — her music feels lived-in, sun-dappled, and deeply human. “June You’re On My Mind” proves that she’s not only a storyteller but a mood conjurer, weaving the ache of nostalgia into something warm enough to hold.
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By Mark C. Chambers
and
Lorraine Foley
