Interview: Taylor Acorn’s First SXSW and The Power of Pop Punk

During her quick stop in Austin for SXSW, pop-punk powerhouse Taylor Acorn sat down with Afterglow to discuss her headlining tour, making a genre jump, and the impact that pop-punk made on her life.

Written by Lauren Stephens

Photo courtesy of Doltyn Snedden

With powerful vocals, a captivating stage presence, and a punk-rock heart, Taylor Acorn is taking the rock scene by storm. Hailing from North Central Pennsylvania, Acorn found her love for music through the likes of Mayday Parade, Hey Monday, Disturbed, and Evanescence. After her cover of Mayday Parade’s “Jamie All Over” went viral on TikTok in 2020, she successfully accomplished the feat of switching from a country act to a pop punk act. Since then, the “Psycho” singer has released songs with industry icons such as Cassadee Pope and shared the stage with Grayscale, The Summer Set, Real Friends, and more. Taylor’s future looks bright, as she moves into 2024 with a nearly sold-out headlining tour and an undying love for music. During SXSW 2024, she sat down with Photo Co-Director Lauren Stephens to discuss her recent music moves, including attending the Austin-staple conference.

Afterglow: Is this your first SXSW? 

Yeah, it is! I've seen a lot of my friends come and perform, and it’s so dope to finally be able to do it myself.

I know that your tour just started in Australia, so how was it starting the tour internationally?

It was crazy. I think more so because you don't really realize how many people show up for you when you're so far away, so I think that was really awesome. The people were incredibly nice, and it was summertime there so it was nice to take a break from the cold in Nashville for a while. But we're all very tired right now [laughs]. I think we’re running on delusion.

I actually saw you a year ago at Come and Take it when you were opening for Grayscale and now y'all are gonna be coming back in May. How does it feel to be coming back basically a year later headlining your own tour?

It’s crazy. You don't really realize how many people there are that support your music until you go out and start playing shows. I've opened for a lot of bands, like I did the Grayscale thing, and I’ve played Come and Take It a few times. And, you know, I think the reaction you get when you’re headlining is just a different energy. It’s something that I am just so grateful to be able to do because I was so close to quitting music a few years ago, so to be able to stick it out and see how far it’s come, and be able to tour with bands like Grayscale and The Summer Set and get to learn so much along the way is cool. And now it’s cool because we can bring other acts with us and hopefully we treat them with kindness and they have a great time. We’re kind of building our own community now and it's really awesome.

That’s great. You started music as a country artist. However, you also grew up listening to a lot of pop-punk. Having that background, what made you start [pursuing] country and then what made you eventually change to pop-punk?

I think the music that I was writing when I started to pursue music just fit the country genre. I wasn't even writing to be a country artist in general. But, I ended up putting out a couple of projects. I got signed to a country publisher, so I was writing a lot of country, I was around a lot of country artists, and I think I just kind of was in that world, so I kept up with it even though it wasn't really my thing. Like you said, I love pop-rock and I love rock music. I listened to bands like Disturbed, Metallica, and Stain — that kind of realm of music. Like, Evanescence… I mean, Amy Lee literally taught me how to sing. I just think it was a long time coming. I just got to a point where I was really unhappy with the music that I was making. I wasn't connecting with it anymore.

Then TikTok came in, and a lot of people were posting their originals, and one day I was like, “You know, I'm gonna post a cover of “Jamie All Over” and see what happens.” And I got very fortunate in the sense of that's when the whole “emo’s not dead” stuff was in the universe being like, “Finally!” All the times I sat and watched Amy and her AOL sessions, all of the times I watched Paramore playing live and studying it — it just felt like my time. The universe was like, “Here you go! You’re doing it now!” So, it's really cool to be able to see how far it’s come since then, and I'm really really thankful that people don't just look at me as a TikTok cover artist and listen to my music too.

Do you feel like being in a different genre gave you a different perspective and benefited you in the long run in terms of understanding a different area of music outside of what you're in now? 

I think so. I think the touring aspect of country versus pop-punk/pop-rock is very different. Pop-rock is very merch-based, like it's not a lot of money. You kind of have to have the passion in order to do it and continue to do it, or else it kind of can really suck. But, I think I've grown such an appreciation for the bands who have been doing this for such a long time because it's very hard. So, I think that's the one thing that I always think about. Also, just the community of people is so much more me. I feel so much more at peace, and I feel so much more myself around the fans. It’s also awesome because there are a lot of my country fans that came over, so now it's like this big mold of like, emo-country people, and everybody gets along and everybody cares about each other. I think because I talk a lot about mental health also, it just just feels like a really amazing community. So yeah, it was the best option for me, and I'm so glad. I don't think I'll ever go back.

Yeah for sure. You also put out a song with Cassadee Pope, who made a similar transition. Do you feel like that impacted the song and that you brought different perspectives from both coming from that side of things?

I think we both understood each other very well. It was so funny because Hey Monday was one of my favorite bands in high school, like “6 Months” was one of the first songs I ever learned my guitar. So, it was really weird being in the room with her and writing with her. But it's so cool to be able to meet somebody like that and have so much in common with them because you don't really know if you will. She is just one of those people where I can go to any time, any day, and she's always there for advice because she's been in the industry for like 20 years now. I think the both of us together just understand each other. I think it made doing that song and putting out music together as two females in this genre, especially when you know there's not a lot of females [in pop-punk], it just felt really powerful and very full circle for me.

That’s so cool. Out of my own curiosity, what are your other favorite bands?

Mayday Parade has always been one for me. I think A Lesson in Romantics came out when I was like 13 or 14, like, I was young and I still was feeling the lyrics. It’s so weird because I feel the lyrics so much more now than I did then because I can understand them now. They were a really big influence for me. Hey Monday, of course. We Are The In Crowd was a big one for me. Also, Paramore — I literally strive to be like Hayley. I love what she stands for. She's just so tiny, but such a powerhouse.

Yeah, she's incredible. You just released your new single, “Gray,” a couple months ago, and you're also starting your U.S. tour in around a month. So, what are you really looking forward to in the next few months?

Just getting to see everybody again and performing. Performing is one of my favorite things in the entire world, and it's so weird because I am a very shy person on a normal day. To be able to be on stage and let out how I'm feeling and connecting with people, that's the biggest thing that I look forward to. 

Also, putting out new music. We have a lot of new music coming out, which I’m crossing my fingers that hopefully everybody likes it!

You can follow Taylor Acorn on Instagram and TikTok and stream her music on Spotify and Apple Music.

This interview has been minimally edited for clarity and length.