Q&A: Allison Ponthier Shares the Joys of Her First Headlining Shows, the Release of Her Newest EP, and Advice She Keeps Close to Her Heart

Q&AMusic

Jun 30

☆ BY GABBY MACOGAY ☆

“YOU MAY NOT BE IN MEMPHIS, BUT YOU’RE SHAKING HANDS WITH ELVIS” — Allison Ponthier’s silky-smooth, hypnotic vocals draw listeners into her lively yet vulnerable new EP, Shaking Hands With Elvis. Blending folk-pop and ’70s rock elements into her work, Ponthier brilliantly intertwines bittersweet lyrics with memorable melodies and bright guitar elements.

The closing track on Shaking Hands With Elvis, titled the same, explores grief, confusion, and frustration as Ponthier navigates difficult feelings surrounding the loss of a friend. The EP’s opening track, “Autopilot,” is representative of a numbness or fear taking over and feeling as if you’ve lost control. Other songs on the EP deal with similarly vulnerable topics, which Ponthier has acknowledged are a reflection of her personal growth and who she is as an artist.

Ponthier effortlessly fulfills the black-and-white horror movie aesthetic of “Hollywood Forever Cemetery” in her latest music video, a standout track from the release of the EP. A metaphorical and emotionally-driven look into some of Ponthier’s deepest thoughts of the world around us, Shaking Hands With Elvis is cohesive yet refreshing from track to track.

Ponthier has recently come off a tour opening for Bleachers and has just completed her first two headlining concerts in LA and New York. She also recently played in her hometown of Dallas, TX, for AT&T’s Turn Up the Love Tour, supporting the Trevor Project.

Read below to discover Ponthier’s most special songs to play live, how she has become more comfortable with herself as a performer, and how she uses songwriting as a creative outlet to express herself through music.

LUNA: You very recently released your new EP, Shaking Hands With Elvis. How does it make you feel to have that work finally out into the world?

PONTHIER: It's really interesting because when I imagine the project being done, it's really hard to imagine putting what is essentially a year or two years of work and blood, sweat, and tears and emotions into one project, but it really does feel like relief. I think that the EP is super representative of who I am, of how I feel right now. I'm really proud of everything. I have a lot of really great memories making it with other people I love, whether it's other songwriters or producers or just the process of putting it together with the people on my team — I really love a lot of the people that I work with. I think a younger version of me would feel a lot of anxiety about putting an EP out, but, honestly, this past EP kind of commemorates a moment in time and a really great labor of love.

LUNA: Awesome, that's great. Is there a certain song on this EP that you were most excited for people to hear?

PONTHIER: Two of the songs I was really excited about. One was “Hollywood Forever Cemetery” because when I went on tour with Lord Huron last year, that song stood out a lot — people had asked for it since the tour last year. There had been a lot of excitement around me releasing that song so I was super happy to finally have it out and for people to listen to. The other one is “Shaking Hands With Elvis,” which is the title [song] of the EP. It's a song I wrote about loss — I experienced the loss of an old friend of mine. Even if the song didn't come out, it's one of my favorite songs I've ever made because it helped me through something really difficult. It's more than just a release to me — it's very much a tool that helps me get through something I didn't have words or experience to get through.

LUNA: How do you find that songwriting is able to help you express those kinds of emotions that may be more difficult to talk about in normal conversation?

PONTHIER: I think for me, songwriting can really help me express myself when it's difficult because there is kind of a representative element to songwriting. Sometimes I think being direct is important, and sometimes I think making things through art like poems or movies or songs [and] having something that's representative of how you feel can actually make it easier to talk about. For example, "Shaking Hands with Elvis" is about loss but it's through the lens of this metaphor where Elvis is God and Graceland is Heaven. Something that can be a little bit silly or a little bit theatrical can help you express yourself much better because it feels safer. It feels almost like when you play with dolls as a kid — you can find it better to navigate certain situations through toys or playing pretend. I think sometimes songs can do the same thing. You're using a tool to help get your emotions out that feels safer and more productive, which is why I love campy stuff in general.

LUNA: I love that — that's a great response. You also just performed two of your first headliner shows in New York and LA recently, what was that like?

PONTHIER: It was amazing. I mean, I love performing, and it's been a long road to get to the place where I am comfortable performing. I mean, I always love it. Even from my first show in Philly opening up for Lord Huron I loved it and had a good experience, but it is a really scary, kind of unnatural thing to do to get up in front of people and just be comfortable with a ton of eyes on you. But the headline shows in particular were really, really special. I don't know what felt so different but the minute I stepped onto the stage at Baby's to do my first headline show the vibe was incredibly supportive. I could tell that people were there for me. It just was extremely meaningful because I've been doing a bunch of shows opening up for other people or doing festivals, and I love all of them but there really is a totally different energy and level of support when they're your own fans. I guess that goes without saying, but those two shows were some of the most important, special moments of my life.

LUNA: That's great. And congratulations, by the way.

PONTHIER: Thank you, thank you so much.

LUNA: Do you have a favorite song that you like to play live?

PONTHIER: Right now, I have an unreleased song that I play on the road called "Character Development." I wrote it with K.Flay — her name is Kristine — and then Tommy English, who's an amazing producer. We all wrote it together not that long ago. I really wanted to play it on tour because it's such a fun song and it's like the high point of the whole show. It's also fun to play unreleased songs because it's like a secret that you get to have between you and your audience. I think that is a really special moment. And then, during the headline show, I did "Shaking Hands with Elvis" for the first time. It was just a really beautiful song to play in front of people for the first time ever.

LUNA: Yeah, that sounds really special. I was actually lucky enough to see you open for Bleachers. You were incredible. “Character Development” is one song that I remember very specifically because all my friends and I were dancing — we loved it so much. You were absolutely amazing.

PONTHIER: What show did you go to?

LUNA: Orlando, House of Blues.

PONTHIER: Oh, wow, that was our very, very first show, actually, on the entire run. Thank you, thank you for coming.

LUNA: Yeah, of course, it was an incredible show. You really started it off with such great energy and it just carried through the rest of the performance. That was great.

PONTHIER: Oh, thanks! That means a lot. I mean, I was super nervous on that night because it was my first night on tour since my first tour. Also, I was really, really nervous to be opening up for Bleachers because I love Bleachers so much, so I'm so glad you had a great time. Thanks for saying that. That makes me feel great.

LUNA: Yeah, you put on such a great show so I'm very excited for you to start doing more shows soon, have more people get to experience your music. Is there a dream venue for you or anywhere you've been dying to play?

PONTHIER: I really want to play Meow Wolf, just because it's a really cool venue. Other places that I would love to play — I know this sounds kind of weird, but I saw two of the best shows I've ever seen at Barclays Center. I saw Lorde play in 2017 and that changed my entire life. It was the best concert I had ever been to and also it was kind of the moment where I where I was like, “Wow, I really want to be an artist and need to do whatever I can to get comfortable enough with myself that I can become one.” So I know that everyone's like "Madison Square Garden!" you know, but I think it would feel very full circle to play Barclays, actually.

LUNA: Yeah, especially if it has a special meaning to you personally.

PONTHIER: Yeah. And then I obviously love playing in my hometown of Dallas. I would love to play one day in the distant future, I'm sure … I would love to play a huge show there, like a stadium show in Dallas. I love my hometown and, I don't know, I have big dreams, whatever.

LUNA: That's awesome, that's great. After coming off this tour with Bleachers and then doing your headlining shows, do you see yourself wanting to get back on the road? Is that in the works for you anytime soon?

PONTHIER: Yeah. It’s so funny because touring is one of those things that in the week leading up to it, I'm so terrified and like, “Why am I doing this, it's so scary,” and then the minute I'm actually on the road I never want to get off. There's nothing like it. It's such a weird job, and as someone who's only been on two tours I really can't believe how much I've fallen in love with it. As someone who has tons of anxiety, naturally it's such a weird job to do. But yeah, I want to go out as soon as possible. Especially after doing the headline shows, there was something so special and touching about them. I've never had so many fans make me little things or bring a sign that was for me to see. At the Hollywood Forever show, I had people waiting outside to be at the barricade for me which I have never had before. So I went out and talked to them.

LUNA: That's so cool.

PONTHIER: I didn't know what else to do, but yeah, there's something really special and magical about the headline shows. Hopefully, a headline tour in the future would be lovely.

LUNA: That sounds great. What is one of the biggest pieces of advice that you've been given so far in your career?

PONTHIER: Honestly, I feel like I spent a lot of my early years as an artist, even before I was an artist, trying to take in as much advice as I possibly can. Now I think the best advice that I've been following is really to just pay attention to what I'm doing. I think there's enough room in the music industry for everyone — no one listens to just one artist and no one else, so there's no point in being competitive or comparing yourself to other people. For me, I really just try to look at what I'm doing and remember that it's exciting. Every year, I get a little bit better at being more comfortable and confident, maybe I gain a few more fans, and it's really easy to take the things in front of you and minimize them; to be like, "Oh, well, it's not as good as this," or, "I thought I would be here by now," etc. and so forth. I really, really try to keep things exciting and fun because when it stops being fun, it's too hard, touring is so hard on your body and your mind. Constantly putting yourself out there is really terrifying, so you have to keep being excited by everything. For me, it really is about celebrating things. I know it sounds like really basic advice but I think that remembering that it's a huge privilege is the best way that you can keep yourself excited and moving forward.

LUNA: I love that.

PONTHIER: Thank you.

LUNA: What are some of your goals or hopes for the rest of 2022?

PONTHIER: For the rest of 2022… I mean, I want to perform more. I want to write a lot more. I never finish releasing things. Whenever we release things I'm always on to the next thing, so I want to write a lot more. I think I've been performing a lot recently, I've been making a lot of things, but I think that I've always wanted to be a good songwriter and being a good songwriter means you practice all the time. So a lot more writing. Outside of that, I guess making big plans for what's next.

LUNA: Awesome. I love it. A fun question just to wrap everything up: What is one fun fact about yourself that you'd love for fans to know that they might not already know about you?

PONTHIER: Okay, this is really silly. But I'm ready to put it out there. When I was in seventh or eighth grade, I was obsessed with Twilight. Right? But that's not it. I was obsessed with Twilight, and I was so obsessed that I made my own website. I got into HTML and was like, “I'm gonna make my own website for all of the people at my middle school who are into Twilight,” right? So I coded my own little website and I made laminated fan club cards, and the next day handed out these laminated cards for the Twilight Fan Club — I was so proud of myself. Everyone was like, "Oh, this is so funny. This is like a joke, right? Like, these aren't real?" And I said yes, and I never mentioned it again. So, fun fact about me, I'm an entrepreneur.

LUNA: Honestly, that's dedication from a young age.

PONTHIER: I truly was a huge Twilight fan that had no social skills.

LUNA: You know, I would have taken one of the cards. I would have been in the fan club.

PONTHIER: And you know what? I feel like it would have really been good. I feel like it would have really been a great resource. Everyone else missed out.

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We couldn’t be more stoked to have Suriel Hess as our new headliner for our upcoming LA show 🤩 🫶 Not gonna lie, us & Notorious Noise kinda went OFF with this line up & you’re not gonna wanna miss it - ticket link in bio 🎫