Residents of the Siouxland area were fortunate enough to have Avery Anna’s Girl of Constant Sorrow Tour stop at Hard Rock on April 10th. This young woman packs an emotional punch into her live concerts and leaves it all on the stage for her audience to absorb.

The Let Go Letters were a powerful concept she had for her album and tour.

“The Let Go Letters I started doing because I was playing shows and doing songs like Narcissist, and people were screaming the words back at me. At first, I thought this was so cool. People knew my music. But then I felt really bad because I wouldn’t wish those feelings on my worst enemy. So, at the shows, I invited people to write down one thing that they could just let go of to make their lives feel better,” explained Avery.

This was a bit earlier in her musical journey; they were still touring on a bus back then. After the concerts, once they’d hit the road to the next stop, Avery would start to read the letters. Most were sent anonymously, and many touched her heart. To the extent that she felt the need to answer the letters with a song.

“The first song I wrote for the Let Go Letters was Danny Don’t. It was from an older gentleman, and he’d brought his daughter to the concert. He shared some details about his life, and he felt he couldn’t go on another day. He was thinking about ending his life. That hit me hard, especially coming from a man and knowing that it is hard for men to talk about feelings. He went on to say he can’t talk to anyone about it because he is supposed to be the strong one. Although it’s quite common for men to feel this way. I locked myself in my room and wrote that song, hoping he would hear it and be inspired to keep going. That song was really written for all of the men who listen to my music. To let them know that they had been seen, heard, and understood in that way,” explained Avery.

If you’ve followed Avery’s career, then you might be aware of one of her prominent comments being that she would never write songs that weren’t about her own individual experiences.

“Now I have just released an entire album about other people’s experiences. It’s been a way for me to grow a connection with my fans. Most of the letters they left at the concerts were anonymous, but some did include names. There was one fan who attended concerts whenever possible, and through her letters, I got to know a little more about her. That inspired a song, too. Now the neat thing about that is the friendship is built, and that only she and I know which song it was that she inspired,” shared Avery. 

In dealing with the emotional weight that can come from some letters, Avery has a simple plan.

“I stand on my faith. I give it to God. God’s already seeing these people through these challenging times. I don’t want to do any disservice to that. I’m not the Savior at the other side of the door. I’m just someone there holding the door open so that they can reach him. I’m simply a shoulder to cry on and to love them,” said Avery.

Avery shared that her way of processing things through life is through words and music. Her strongest, earliest influence was Patsy Cline.

“In my family, we connect through music. I grew up singing Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson with my grandpa. But I’m also a huge Swifty (Taylor Swift fan). I love rock music and listening to a lot of different genres. But the main constant throughout my life has been the music of Patsy Cline,” stated Avery.

Classic country may be her inspiration, but Flagstaff, AZ, is her studio.

“I grew up at the base of a mountain in Flagstaff. The sunrises and sunsets there are amazing. My mom would always make breakfast. She’s a ROCK STAR, amazing, a wonderful person, and my biggest inspiration. I’ve got three siblings. We’d spend all day outside. I’d be riding horses up in the mountains. I always love to go up to Snowball, the ski resort, in the summer. I’d bring my journals, my scriptures, and my guitar and sit up there and just write. I find nature very inspiring, and I love spending time with my family. I have 60 cousins, so I try to spend as much time with them as I can,” explained Avery.

The Girl of Constant Sorrow Tour has its origins from The Man of Constant Sorrow. The song is more than 100 years old and does not trace back to one songwriter.

“I’d rewritten my own version of this song and then just kept it to myself. We were on the road and had just finished a concert. I’d made the comment that it was so nice, nothing’s gone wrong, and then our trailer broke down. While they’re fixing the trailer, I started singing the song. It went viral, so we released it. But that song is deeply rooted in my life. Music is perseverance, a way to get through something. Deep sorrow I can feel and see in the people who come to my concerts. Shows are very healing for both me and the audience. The Girl of Constant Sorrow, that’s the point of the whole tour. Music is the perseverance for all of us to help us get through life, the constant sorrows and struggles in life,” concluded Avery.

By Amy Buster | Based on an interview between Stacie Anderson and Avery Anna, posted on Expand’s Facebook page.