ADULT CHILD is out! The Nashville album release show is tonight!

Dear friends,

Today I bring you my fourth solo album, ADULT CHILD! I am so proud to be here, to have made this work. All throughout this release cycle, I’ve said that this is a record about identity, estrangement, and trying to outrun one’s lineage—my lineage. And it is. But it’s also a record about being a person, a record I made with friends, that I crafted out of melodies which floated in and out of my head, bright yellow tempera paint, and sentiments I couldn’t pin down anywhere but in song. It was handmade, and now I’m hand-delivering it to you. I hope you love it!

In addition to the album, I’m thrilled to share the video for FIRSTBORN, an anthem about self-ownership and acceptance, and the only acoustic track on the album. Directed by me and Jerry Roe, who also shot and edited it!

It’s a big day for me - thank you for being part of it!

ADULT CHILD

Written & produced by Buick Audra

Recorded by Justin Francis & Buick Audra

Assisted by Skyler Chuckry & Joanna Finley at Sound Emporium

Mixed by Kurt Ballou

Mastered by Brad Boatright

Buick Audra - guitars, vocals, & art

Kris Donegan - guitars

Lex Price - bass

Jerry Roe - drums, percussion, & synths

ORDER ADULT CHILD

STREAM ADULT CHILD

LISTEN TO MY INTERVIEW ON INTO MUSIC (NPR)

READ THE ALBUM PREMIERE / INTERVIEW AT ROCK AND ROLL GLOBE

READ / WATCH THE FIRSTBORN VIDEO PREMIERE AT NORTHERN TRANSMISSIONS

My album release show is tonight at the Basement, a true Nashville venue if ever there was one! I’m elated to be playing my new album with my same collaborators from the record, and my friend Grant-Lee Phillips is opening the evening! What’s not to love? Doors are at 6:30 and the music starts promptly at 7; hope to see many of you there! If I don’t, check my tour dates below to see if I’m coming your way in July!

BUY ALBUM RELEASE SHOW TICKETS

There will be more soon, but right now I’m just happy to be here, on release day, my songs making their way into the world. What a thing!

My love and solidarity to each of you; I so appreciate your time and attention.

Enjoy ADULT CHILD!

Buick

New single IT ALL BELONGED TO ME out today + tour dates announced!

Happy Friday, friends!

I’m thrilled to share the newest single from my forthcoming album with you today: IT ALL BELONGED TO ME, a love song for my hometown, Miami. I’m often asked if I ever go back, and I don’t always know how to answer. So, I did what’s most natural for me and answered with a song. Of the collection of compositions on my forthcoming album, ADULT CHILD, this one took the longest to write, and it was almost not recorded at all. Let me explain:

Before I knew I was making a record about being a firstborn adult child daughter (and also the black sheep of the family who’s long estranged from all parental figures), I started to hear pieces of this song. At first, it was the chorus melody and lyrics, “I don’t go home now, I don’t feel allowed.” That worked, it stuck. Then there was this melodic riff I thought would eventually be a lead guitar part. I wrote some verses and put the song away. That was April of 2021. In January of 2022, I went back and re-wrote those verses—a practice that’s very unusual for me. I almost never re-write. I put it away again. Then, in November of 2023, I heard a bridge. I was in a hotel room in Youngstown, OH, on tour with my other band. I suddenly knew exactly how that part of the song should go, and recorded it into my voice memos app on my phone. And THEN, in March of 2024, I went back through all of the drafts, and put together the form you’re hearing today, which is closest to the original draft. Recorded it two weeks later with my band. Brought it to the session as a “maybe.”

Once we tracked it, it became one of the most important pieces of the album, and certainly one of my favorite recordings. Some songs just take a minute. But in my experience, if they keep showing up and knocking on the door of your psyche, they’re still making their way to you. Be patient, I say to myself. I’m so glad I was.

That melodic riff that I thought would be a guitar? I hummed it instead. This one has a certain breeziness to it, a warm air. Just like Miami. This subject is painful for me, but it’s also true. I’ll always be from there, even if I can’t go back just now. It still belonged to me for a time. Enjoy.

STREAM IT ALL BELONGED TO ME

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR IT ALL BELONGED TO ME

PRE-ORDER ADULT CHILD

On top of the new single, I’m so happy to share my upcoming tour dates! The official album release show is happening on release day, June 13, here in Nashville at the Basement—I’ll have my full band with me for that one. And then in July I’m heading out for a run of solo electric dates that I’m super excited about! If I’m coming to you city, please come out! It’s been a couple of years since I’ve done a solo tour and I’m looking forward to playing this body of work on stage, at long last. If you’re not anywhere near the shows, I’m also doing a livestream listening party on Bandcamp on June 11, two full days before the record is out! Free!

ALL EVENTS HERE

I can’t believe this record is finally almost here! Thanks to all who have pre-ordered physical merch! I added handwritten lyrics (pictiued below) to the Bandcamp offerings, if you’re the type to appreciate collectible wares—I know I am!

Oh, and I’d be remiss not to include this stunning review of YELLOW by B-Side Guys; I’m so grateful to have my work understood! I appreciate the listening, watching, sharing, coverage, and even quiet support. Releasing work has never been easy for me, so it means the world.

I hope you love IT ALL BELONGED TO ME! Turn her up as the summer draws near!

That’s it! See you in a four weeks,

Buick Audra

New single YELLOW out today!

Hello, friends!

I’m returning to you today with another piece of new work: YELLOW, the second single from my forthcoming album, ADULT CHILD (out June 13)! YELLOW was the last song written for the project, recorded in a very different way. Here’s the story:

ADULT CHILD was never intended to be a full-length album. In truth, I didn’t know what it was at first. After I released Conversations with My Other Voice in the Fall of 2022, I started to write some songs that felt like new project contenders—the first of which was QUESTIONS FOR THE GODS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR—and I set about recording two of them at Sound Emporium with my band. A year later, I went back into the studio and tracked four more. A six-song EP, I thought. Tidy, concise. I had some idea that I might add an all vocal track later, and maybe a short spoken piece, but it would still likely be an EP. Alas, during the second full-band session for the project, I caught myself doing something. I was speaking ill of myself in front of my collaborators, somewhat jokingly, but not entirely. When I got home that night, I had to sit with that behavior and where it came from. I later wrote YELLOW about it, and recorded it myself.

Jerry Roe is the only other musician on the track, and his drum performance was obtained a bit unconventionally. Instead of playing him the song and having him write a corresponding part, I gave him a set of feels and tempos I was interested in having him play around, and tracked him doing each of those for several minutes at a time. I later cut up those recordings, built the drum part from there, and tracked guitars and vocals over that. He didn’t actually hear the song until it was completed.

There’s more: I received news of my friend Steve Albini’s passing in the middle of building YELLOW, so he’s very much a part of this recording for me. The subject of asking why I beat myself up combined with grieving Steve was a potent combination. And it was all captured here. The video was directed by me; shot and edited by Jerry Roe. It’s about the truths that lay you flat on the ground, and other parts of you that want to help you get back up and live.

I hope you love YELLOW as much as I do. She was the song that made ADULT CHILD an album. I’m quite proud of her.

STREAM YELLOW

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR YELLOW

READ THE GLIDE PREMIERE OF YELLOW

PRE-ORDER ADULT CHILD

My deepest gratitude for all the love around the first single from the album, QUESTIONS FOR THE GODS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I’ve been waiting a while to share this work with you, and it heartens me to see the early reception. Below are some kind words about that first piece of the ADULT CHILD story!

Also, I wrote an essay for Atwood Magazine about this record, my inherited familial roles, and finally getting some better footing with myself; it’s called “On Learning to Be Proud of My Music as a Firstborn Adult Child Daughter.” It was an honor to have it included in their Women’s History Month Series!

That’s it for now! The next Bandcamp Friday is May 2nd; if you haven’t pre-ordered ADULT CHILD yet, that would be a terrific day to do so! Grab the limited merch while it’s still around!

In the meantime, enjoy YELLOW!

Thank you so much for being here; I appreciate your time and attention,

Buick Audra

P.S. Friendship Commanders are at LEGALIZE LEX in Lexington, KY tomorrow, April 19th! Come say hi!

New single QUESTIONS FOR THE GODS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR out today + ADULT CHILD album coming 6/13!

Friends!

I’m overjoyed to share two things with you today! The first is the lead single from my forthcoming album! It’s called QUESTIONS FOR THE GODS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR and it’s out everywhere right this second! It’s a song about observing patterns in myself, in my dynamics with other people, and wondering if I have the power to stop—or at least slow the progression—of the tendencies behind these cycles in my lifetime. I’ve said before that I believe it’s one of the best songs I’ve ever written and I meant it. Huge thanks to MAGNET for premiering it today! I am joined by my bandmates Jerry Roe, Lex Price, and Kris Donegan on this track, always a delight to track with them. I directed the video for the single, wanting to depict how my story can sometimes feel: visible on my skin. Enjoy!

The second piece of news is the official announcement of my new album, ADULT CHILD, releasing June 13th, 2025 on Trimming The Shield Records! This is a concept record about identity, estrangement, and trying to outrun my lineage. I think of it as a sonic collage, self-portraiture in songs, pieced together with full band tracks and scaled-back performances. I am the sole writer and producer on the project; it was recorded by Justin Francis and myself; assistant engineering at Sound Emporium was provided by Skyler Chuckry and Joanna Finley; Kurt Ballou mixed it; and Brad Boatright mastered it. I am immensely proud of this work and hope you love listening to it as much as I loved making it.

STREAM QUESTIONS FOR THE GODS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR QUESTIONS FOR THE GODS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

READ THE MAGNET PREMIERE OF QUESTIONS FOR THE GODS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

PRE-ORDER ADULT CHILD

I had fun with the merch bundles for ADULT CHILD, naming them after familial roles—several of which apply to me, but I think we’ll all find ourselves in there somewhere. I designed all of the merchandise for this project, wanting the items to feel personal and special, no copy repeating from piece to piece. There’s a Lyrics & Lists notebook with all of the lyrics for the record, but with 40 blank pages for your own work, whatever that may be! I had a cassette by the Dead Kennedys when I was a kid, and one side was blank, to record whatever we wanted onto it. This is my version of that: some of me, some of you! There are even limited edition matches; I fully believe in burning things in this season of life, and am happy to provide some tools of fire! Make art, be loud, keep going. That’s what I’m doing, and I wish the same for you.

I hope you love QUESTIONS FOR THE GODS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR!

Thank you for being here! I appreciate your time and attention,

Buick Audra

March 21st: First single from my new album!

Happy February, friends!

I hope you’re doing okay! What a time, what a time. Still, we proceed. And as promised, I have news about my new music! Here we go:

The first single from my forthcoming solo album will be released on March 21st! It’s called QUESTIONS FOR THE GODS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR, and it was the first song I wrote for this record. It was the beginning. There is a part of me that can’t quite seem to stop trying certain things, hoping for different outcomes, and negotiating with immovable realities. I come by this tendency honestly—and I’ll get eyeball-deep into exactly why that is over the course of releasing this record—but I still catch myself reaching for new things with old ideas about myself, about other people. This is a song about observing that dynamic, that cycle.

As a casual aside, I believe QUESTIONS FOR THE GODS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR is one of the best songs I’ve ever written—and I’ve written a few. It beats the shit out of me, which tends to be the mark of a good one. If a song makes me sob when I try to track the vocals = decent. It hits bone. Below is a photo from the first day of tracking the new record at Sound Emporium here in Nashville.

There is more to say, more to share, more to show, but for now: 3/21/25. She’s coming! Pre-saving the single would be enormously helpful to me, plus you’ll have it the literal minute it’s released. Thank you in advance for the support!

PRE-SAVE: QUESTIONS FOR THE GODS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR

We shot the video for QUESTIONS FOR THE GODS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR this past Saturday and it was the perfect way to spend a birthday eve. I can’t wait for you to see it. Music meets visual art meets trying to outrun inherited tendencies. All my favorite stuff.

I send you love and solidarity, as always. I send you energy for whatever art or hellraising you have inside of you. And I send you hope. I believe that with every part of ourselves we choose to share, we keep hope alive.

Thank you for being here! I appreciate your time and attention,

Buick Audra

Two albums this year + some shows next week!

Happy 2025 to you!

I feel myself starting to emerge from what has felt like an interminably long January. This year is off to a worrisome start on several fronts, but I’m going to do my best to stay upright and release all of this new music anyway. I have two records to offer this year: a new Buick Audra record about identity, and a new Friendship Commanders record about belonging. These are themes I’ve been studying and wading through for some time now, and I’m just about ready to share my findings.

The first release of the year will be my solo record! I’m immensely proud of this project. I wrote and produced it, I engineered some of it, and I managed to accurately capture this season of my existence. After two back-two back albums about the past (Conversations with My Other Voice and MASS), I get very current in the new body of work. Feels good. Feels true. Here’s a self-portrait to mark this year of being on present ground. TWe’re gonna get into it. More specific news to come next month!

It would be a huge help to me if you’d follow me on whichever music streaming platforms you use in advance of this music starting to come out. Thank you for this support!

APPLE MUSIC / TIDAL / YOUTUBE / SPOTIFY

Friendship Commanders are hitting the road next week! We’re doing five shows in North Carolina with our new friends in Bluething. These are our first shows of the year and also the first time we’re hitting most of these cities since MASS was released! Come hear us play songs from that record before we start swapping them out for the brand new work. We’re also glad to be playing the LEGALIZE LEX festival in Lexington, KY on April 19th!

ALL TICKETS HERE

Last, FC are honored to have a track on this new compilation from Hit the North Records, LOVE LOS ANGELES: A Charity Compilation in Aid of the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires Benefiting the Mutual Aid LA Network, released on January 24th! This project is exclusively available through Bandcamp and includes work from some very cool artists. We were happy to lend our track OF THE WE (Steve Albini Mix), a song I wrote about an idea of unity, to the cause. Please support it if you’re able! We send our love to all experiencing loss, displacement, and stress due to the wildfires.

Here we go, 2025. I’m with you if you’re afraid, tired, and filled with dread. Me too. But we’re still here for now. Let’s be here together.

Thank you for being on my side! I send you love and solidarity! See you next month,

Buick Audra

Simply Said (Live at Sound Emporium) out today!

To mark this second anniversary of Conversations with My Other Voice being released to the world, I have made Simply Said (Live at Sound Emporium) available on all streaming platforms!

I wrote Simply Said at my brother’s house in Massachusetts—and he heard me writing it. He’d occasionally yell, “Yeah Bu!” from the other room. Months later, when I demo’d it, I had two guy friends sing with me on the song’s refrain “and I don’t have to take care of you.” When I recorded it for CWMOV, I asked eight other women in music to join me on the same refrain; both are lovely renderings. But this tendency of mine to add other voices to this song interests me. The song is about a pivotal moment where I realized my entire life’s existence was not, in fact, about taking care of other people—but rather, about figuring out what taking care of myself looked like, an ongoing exploration. So why the additional voices? Because it’s hard to enact a thing, even when you know it to the bone. It’s hard to be alone with some songs, even the ones about autonomy.

In this solo electric performance, it’s just me, the truth, and my 1969 SG named Boundary. I think it’s the most befitting of the work. This song is evergreen for me and I’m proud to share this recording. It was written and performed by me, recorded and mixed by Justin Francis, and mastered by Dan Shike. Sound Emporium is my studio home in Nashville, and a place of musical legend. It was an honor to record this there.

Stream the song here!

Buy Conversations with My Other Voice (album w/accompanying memoir) here!

Buy my t-shirts and other merch here!

There’s also a live studio video shot by Jerry Roe here!

I do have a new solo album on the way, and I can’t wait to share that with you all soon. Until then, enjoy Simply Said (Live at Sound Emporium)!

My other project, Friendship Commanders, is still touring in support of our album, MASS this Fall! October tour dates begin on the 4th! Hope to see you out there if we’re coming near you! All dates below.

Thanks for you continued time and attention; I so appreciate you,

Buick Audra

We made it through January!

Hello!

By about the third month of January, I begin to begin wonder what it’s all about. I’ve never liked it, I probably never will, and so I busy myself with the nuts and bolts of life. Taxes, medical visits, my desk; I do it all in January. I hibernate and wait for February like it’s a light in the dark. And here it is. So, hello, friends. Sending you love from the alarmingly cold state of Tennessee. I hope you’re doing okay.

One great thing happened in January, though! On the last day, the Let’s Talk Memoir podcast published my conversation with its wonderful host, Ronit Plank! I loved talking with Ronit about the Conversations with My Other Voice album and book, the tools I used to choose what was included in the work—and whom, and which part was the most difficult. Plus, we laughed a lot. It’s a good listen! I hope you’ll check it out.

I’m so happy to report that my band Friendship Commanders will release our third album this year! It’s a body of work that I’m so proud of, about language, memory, and the state of Massachusetts. In advance of the music, I’m publishing some short prose snapshots of my time there in a series called Massachusetts Memories. I shared the first ten last year, and have begun sharing the second half in recent weeks. I hope you enjoy them! The next time you hear from me, I will have word of the first single from the record. Can’t wait.

Last, today is the first Bandcamp Friday of 2023! I have sold out of freestanding copies of Conversations with My Other Voice (thank you!), but I have a handful of the t-shirt and book bundles left. All copies purchased through Bandcamp are signed and come with the custom bookmark! Just let me know if you want me to sign it to you or someone else.

Huge thanks for being here. I appreciate each of you more than you know. Here we go, 2023. Here we go.

In gratitude,

Buick Audra

Conversations with My Other Voice is out today!✨

Today is the day, friends! Conversations with My Other Voice—the album and the memoir—are in the world today. Took me years to put all this together, but it took me a lot longer to grow into the person who could tell these stories without abandoning myself in the process. Without making it better for others. Without making it sparkle. That’s over now, but I couldn’t have done it until I did.

I thank everyone who touched this work with their talents, intention, and care. They’re listed below.

This work is for anyone who ever felt like they didn’t belong, who lost themselves for a time, who dared to speak up when the cost was high, or who doubted their own voice. Fucking same. May the work be of some comfort and encouragement. It certainly has been for me.

The other day, someone asked me how I feel about my release. I don’t love that question, to be honest. It’s big, it involves labor, and I tend to feel 50 ways about everything. But what I said in response surprised me.

I said, “Proud.”

And it was true. That’s new!

The book and album received a beautiful feature in The Nashville Scene yesterday; writer Edd Hurt said, “Conversations is a first-rate rock album that’s melodic and riff-savvy.” He said many other awesome things, too. Read here!

As for the products:

STREAM HERE

BUY HERE

The physical books arrived about a week ago, and when I tell you I cried, I’m not exaggerating. It didn’t seem real until I held one in my hand. But now it’s very real, and if you pre-ordered one, you likely already have it in your possession. My hope is that the book and the album will be consumed in tandem, as they were created as companion works. However, they each hold up on their own.

BUY HERE

That’s it! Thank you for being on this journey with me! Thank you for the support, the attention, the kindness. I hope you enjoy the work!

And The official album release show is this Wednesday, September 28th, at the Basement here in Nashville! Hope to see my local community there!

Thank you again! Turn the music up!

Buick Audra

"Simply Said" is out today - two versions! ✨

Hello, friends!

We’re two weeks out from the release of Conversations with My Other Voice and I have one last single for you today! She’s called “Simply Said,” and she’s a meditation on what is mine to carry and what is not. For this video, I did a solo live performance at Sound Emporium, the legendary Nashville studio where I made the album. What a pleasure to return to this sacred space.

Read more about the song and video here in the Music Mecca premiere/interview! Jerry Roe shot the video; Justin Francis recorded and mixed the audio, Dan Shike mastered it. Assistant engineering by Skyler Chuckry.

Conversations is a back-and-forth between a younger version of me, and me now; it pairs five songs from who I used to be with five songs written in response, from here. “Simply Said” is one of the original songs and one that I love dearly. It was written at my brother’s house in a very transitional season of life, during which the song served as a light in the dark. I tell the full story in the essay collection I’ve written to accompany the album, Conversations with My Other Voice: Essays. The book comes with a download of the album, and both will be released on September 23rd.

For the album track, I invited eight women in the Nashville music community to join me on the refrain. We tracked these vocals during a lunar eclipse, a night I will never forget. Please enjoy the beautiful harmonies of Sally Jaye, Alicia Witt, Cynthia Cárdenas, Stephanie Jacques, Anna Haas, Kat Jones, Samantha Frances, and Amoretta Layne.

✨This album is almost here. Please pre-save it!

✨The official album release show is on September 28th, at the OG Basement here in Nashville! I’m thrilled to report that Jaimee Harris will be opening the show. I’ll have signed copies of the book, too! Please join us.

That’s it for now! Huge love and appreciation to you for your attention and support. I hope you enjoy the new song! Talk to you in two weeeeeeks!

Buick Audra