In this week's music interview podcast, I talked with Savanna Dickhut of Burr Oak!

Here's Savanna Dickhut's bio:

Chicago-based songwriter Savanna Dickhut began Burr Oak not as a band but as a personal outlet. She first picked up the guitar as an aid to express her feelings, as she told The Chicago Tribune, and she only began writing the lyrics of her first single “Southsider” after a tumultuous break-up.

Songwriting gave her strength at a time when she didn’t have it. “These are really personal songs. I’m ripping pages out of my diary and saying, ‘Here it is. Here’s how I really feel,’” she said. “I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I can finally breathe.”

Even when just launching her band in 2019, The Chicago Tribune said Dickhut shows “the promise of a songwriter sure of her voice and sound, one that is piercing and deeply relatable and authentic.”

While Dickhut digs deep into her own personal struggles with depression, alcohol, and break-ups, she also explores acceptance.

Late Bloomer, Dickhut’s debut album as Burr Oak portrays imagery of gardens, flowers, and blooming that helps make the songwriter’s own growth come full-circle. 
 Late Bloomer, released just over two weeks ago, is a record for everyone who’s felt like they grew into themselves later in life. Paste magazine wrote “her lyrics are frank and direct, yet maintain a near-universal relatability, a sign of a songwriter to reckon with.” And this is truly Burr Oak’s greatest strength: offering the specifics of her personal experiences to capture a universal feeling.

Savanna is lovely.  It was really interesting to catch her at what seems to be a pivotal moment in her music career - renegotiating with herself how she approaches performing, how her hopes and goals for her music have changed because of the pandemic, and how she takes care of her mental health.  We also got into performance anxiety, her songwriting process, drinking during shows, and how she works through writer's block.  This was a great episode and very relatable in many ways.

Learn more about Savanna Dickhut here!