Sarah Rudy of Hello June has lived a lifetime of loss in the five years since the band’s previous album, Spruce. The band’s latest, Artifacts, is the post-COVID album for those of us who spent lockdown doing more than bake bread. These songs are world-weary and resolved, clear-eyed in the face of difficulty. In our interview, Rudy explains her drive to create, how it’s linked to her identity, and the artists who got her here.
Who are some of your musical influences?
Neil Young: I remember sitting in my basement rummaging through stacks of my parents albums – Neil Young’s Harvest was one of the first that I kept coming back to. Still do.
Alanis Morissette: When Alanis Morissette burst onto MTV and onto radio in 1995, I was absolutely mesmerized by how cool she was. She seemed so self-assured, so headstrong. I needed to follow and seek out whatever she was doing. I mean, I was VERY young, but it was extremely powerful for me to see a woman push her way to where she wanted to be.
Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak): I immediately loved everything about those first Wye Oak records, and then was entirely taken in by the creativity in Jenn’s guitar work. Her songwriting was deep and dark, but as she evolved with different projects I really loved her lean into pop attributes and her use of interesting textures and time signatures.
Big Thief: I think Big Thief is the absolute perfect band. I can’t really think of a currently active band that seems to jive together so we’ll, but yet still moves so freely. They leave room to be whatever they want to be in that particular moment and I love that about their dynamic. Adrienne Lenker and Buck Meek are also both on my list of favorite guitar players.
Patti Smith: I love Patti Smith and find her to be both so wise and so human – she inspires me to seek peace. I really appreciate reading about her experiences through her poems and through her books (especially Just Kids and M Train).
What words did you need to hear as you explored your identity?
I think I needed to hear that it’s okay to be different – it’s okay to just be who you are – whatever that means at the moment. I grew up in a cookie cutter suburban town and quite frankly could never learn to fit in – people barely acknowledged I existed and when they did, it felt more like bullying than friendship. My goal was to go through the day without drawing attention to myself. Once I got out of the cage of a small town, I was able to disappear adequately into the abyss and really allow myself the freedom to be myself and find people like me – artists and poets and creatives who were also finding who they were, instead of learning to conform. I slowly was able to trust that this path was exactly where I needed to be, especially if I had any hope of ever finding peace.
Name a perfect song and tell us why you feel that way.
Band of Horses – “Laredo”
There are a handful of songs that immediately raise my heart rate (in the good way) and this is one of those. For me, music has been there for me in the dark, lonely, quiet times, and it’s been there to pull me out of a bit of darkness too. This song has been one that, reliably, can pull me out of some darkness and get me moving, one foot in front of the other again. I remember putting this on in my car and just feeling like, “okay, I can keep going.”
What’s the first concert you ever attended? What do you remember about it?
My parents took me to see Reba McIntire – I can’t quite recall how old I would have been – maybe 5? I remember thinking she was this magical being with the whole place wrapped around her finger. I very much remember her outfit changes being impressive and plentiful, and my parents gifted me a photo book that I obsessively looked at for years after the show. My mom and I are still big fans.
What’s the best way a fan can support you?
There’s ALOT of noise on the internet today. I have older musicians tell me sometimes that they wish they had the ability to do what this younger generation is doing. They want the ability to put out music and “reach the masses.” I can’t help but look around and know that there is some truth in that, but with every opportunity to release something, there is an exponential amount of distraction out there now. Because of this, we have to rise above the noise somehow.
It really makes me happy when people show up to shows, when they randomly drop into our website and buy merch, when they buy the music from us as opposed to just streaming, when they share the songs to their socials and tell their friends and fans why they should check it out. It’s easy to feel unheard and unseen and now, on top of all of this, my concern is how AI will change the landscape. As long as my fans are engaging and letting me know I’m not screaming into the void, any way they choose to do that, I appreciate more than I can quantify here.
Artifacts is available everywhere now.
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