Meet Finn O’Sullivan | Singer/Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Finn O’Sullivan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Finn, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I grew up in Boulder, Colorado in a house surrounded by music, art, and creativity. My parents always encouraged me to pursue whatever path I was interested in, and I found a passion for music from a really young age. I often get asked why I write songs, or why I chose to pursue music, and my honest answer is because if I didn’t have music and songwriting, I don’t know what else I would be doing with my life. I was raised on music like David Bowie, The Beatles, Madonna, Taylor Swift, and Wilco, and and I think that the wide variety of music that I was exposed to really inspired me to be as authentic as I could in my own music and songwriting. I was on a more alternative education route since I was little. I started at Jarrow Montessori, where we had weekly music classes and concerts at the end of the semester. This was where I first started to love performing and singing, and the feeling of being onstage. I took piano and voice lessons as a kid as well, and I think that having that foundation was really helpful for me as I started songwriting. I was homeschooled for middle school, and because of that I really had time to dive into songwriting. My parents made sure that music, songwriting, and recording was a part of my education, because I think they could see how important it was to me. All of these experiences helped to shape me into who I am both as a person and musician. I’m somebody who values authenticity, vulnerability, and being completely true to yourself, even if not everybody is going to resonate with that. I’ve been really lucky to have an upbringing and a background that fostered my creativity in a really lovely and supportive way.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The thing that is most important to me about my music and songwriting is honesty. I think it’s really easy to get wrapped up in what’s popular, what’s doing well, and what people are consuming, and then try and mold yourself to fit into that definition. It’s hard to get away from that mindset, because it’s hard not to crave that level of success as a musician. Some of my favorite artists are people who were willing to push musical and lyrical boundaries, and I think that if you’re writing about your story and experiences from a place of honesty and vulnerability, there is always going to be somebody who resonates with that. I’ve been writing songs for about 9 years now, and I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a musician in that time. I sometimes look back on older songs and cringe a little bit (as I’m sure we all do!), but I like to remind myself not to be too harsh on myself, because they are a representation of who I was and where I was at at the time. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned as a musician who is performing semi-regularly is super simple, and sounds super cheesy, but being kind to people is so important. You want to establish good connections with people, because you want to make sure people want to continue working with you. People can tell if you’re being genuine, and it’s just so much easier to be kind to people than to be difficult to work with. I think that my path through my career so far has had both easy and challenging moments. I think I’m really still in the midst of figuring everything out, and am always trying to learn and grow as much as I can. Again, I think that one of the biggest things for me has been letting go of the type of music and songs that people want from me, and learning to write for myself, first. When you do that, there is always going to be at least one other person in the world who’s going to connect with that, and that’s really one of the most meaningful things to me about music and songwriting.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh, such a good question! For places to eat in Denver, I’d definitely take them to City O’ City, which is one of my favorite restaurants. It’s all vegetarian, and they have SUCH great food. I also am an Illegal Pete’s fiend, so we’d definitely go there. I have two favorite coffee shops in Denver, so I’d say we’d have to stop by those: The Bardo and Stella’s Coffee Haus. As for other cool places to go, I’d say Sloan’s Lake in Denver. Art Parts in Boulder (love a good crafting moment), Boxcar Coffee in Boulder, and the Mutiny Cafe in Denver. Because I’m a musician, we’d have to stop by a few record stores: Paradise Found in Boulder, Twist and Shout, and Wax Trax records in Denver.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people I could shoutout here! I think my parents absolutely deserve some recognition, because I wouldn’t be where I’m at today without them. As for mentors, my first voice teacher Laura Williams really helped me find both my voice and my confidence. John McVey, the producer I’ve been working with since 2016, and was the first person I ever recorded with. He turns my musical projects into the exact vision I had, and he also is just such a supportive and kind person to work with. My musical sisters, Katie Yeager and Genevieve Libien, who are both incredibly talented singer/songwriters and amazing friends. My best friend Marin, who always knows the right thing to say, and has always cheered me on. Really just all of my friends and family who have encouraged me to continue pursuing the things I love and am passionate about.

Website: https://www.finnosullivanmusic.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/finnosullivanmusic/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/finnomusic/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEhV_KfV-Py7_60-nowt-fA

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@heyyitsfinnyy

Image Credits
Lisa Holmes, Sydney Yllanes, Pedro Urbina, Shirley Schaller