22-year old singer-songwriter Addison Grace (he/they) has announced the September 29 release of their debut album, Driving Lessons via AWAL. The album was co-produced and recorded by Cavetown’s Robin Skinner in London.  Today Addison shares the album’s lead single, “White Lie,” a track that establishes the emotional heights found across the entire album and Addison shares, “I’m so excited for everyone to finally hear ‘White Lie!’ I’m very fond of this song because it’s the first look into my developed and discovered sound for my debut album Diving Lessons. While ‘White Lie’ is a high energy song about not being able to love an exhausting people-pleaser, Diving Lessons as a whole explores what it’s like to heal from a traumatic event or person – including both the before and the during. ‘White Lie’ felt like the perfect bridge from my current sound to my new sound while also introducing the complex emotions this album has. I hope everyone can love it as much as I do!” A video for the song was directed by Sydney Ostrander (Meet Me atthe Altar, Chloe Moriondo).

As the follow-up to Addison’s first two EPs – Immaturing and Things That Are Bad for Me, both released in 2022 – Diving Lessons showcases exponential growth for the songwriter. Both vocally and lyrically, Addison is one of the strongest members of a new generation of artists who blur the lines between bedroom pop, indie rock, emo, and folk, all without ever fitting into one of these categories. This post-internet, genre-bending space can be a chaotic shuffle when not handled correctly, but Addison brings structure and vibrancy to their sound, creating a record that unfolds like a multi-act play, complete with characters, spectacle, and plenty of drama. With a narrative arc that tells a story from start to finish, Diving Lessons is at turns intimate, funny and gut-wrenching, filled with universal feelings that Addison believes could be felt by the twin characters of “nobody” and “anybody” who appear as protagonist and antagonist across the record. 

Diving Lessons is a huge step forward for Addison, someone who has experienced the power music has to heal and empower firsthand, and they hope it will have the same effect for listeners. Instead of insisting that trauma makes you stronger, or that there’s beauty in brokenness, this record is about the strength it takes to swim to the edge, even if there’s no relief in the lesson. “This entire album is about healing, and going through something really hard as a teenager, and having to grow through it,” Addison said. “I named it Diving Lessons because when you hit the water, it hurts and it sucks, and you’re overstimulated and it’s hard, and you have to swim to the edge. That’s how this album feels to me.”

This past month Addison has been on the road supporting Summer Salt on their U.S. tour and today he also announces his own headline run and first in support of Driving Lessons.  The dates kick off October 21 in Portland, OR and conclude in Salt Lake City on November 21.  Along the way the tour stops in New York City for a show at Mercury Lounge on November 3 and in Los Angeles on November 18 for a show at Echoplex.    

Addison Grace tour dates:

Oct 21 – Hawthorne – Portland, OR 

Oct 22 – Madame Lou’s – Seattle, WA 

Oct 23 – The Shrine (Basement) – Boise, ID 

Oct 25 – Bluebird – Denver, CO 

Oct 27 – Amsterdam – Minneapolis, MN 

Oct 28 – Sub T – Chicago, IL 

Oct 29 – Loving Touch – Detroit, MI 

Oct 30 – Mahalls – Cleveland, OH 

Oct 31 – Velvet Underground – Toronto, ON 

Nov 2 – Brighton MH – Boston, MA 

Nov 3 – Mercury Lounge – New York, NY 

Nov 4 – Foundry – Philadelphia, PA 

Nov 5 – Union Stage – DC 

Nov 6 – Canal Club – Richmond, VA 

Nov 8 – The Social – Orlando, FL 

Nov 9 – Purgatory – Atlanta, GA 

Nov 11 – The End – Nashville, TN 

Nov 13 – HOB – Cambridge Room – Dallas, TX 

Nov 14 – Antones – Austin, TX 

Nov 16 – Rebel lounge – PHX, AZ 

Nov 17 – HOB Voodoo – San Diego, CA 

Nov 18 – Echoplex – LA, CA 

Nov 19 – Cafe du Nord – San Fran, CA 

Photo Courtesy: Monica Murray