Photograph by Alexa King Stone
Not long ago, country/pop star Tanner Adell fell in love with Ohio and Ohio fell in love with her. “The show in Cleveland last year sold out within a couple of minutes, so now we’re going to a bigger room in Cincinnati, which I’m really excited about,” the “Buckle Bunny” singer tells Cincinnati Magazine days before her August 6 show at Bogart’s. “There’s just an energy in that state.”
There was just one problem: Her Buckle Bunny Tour concert in December coincided with a blizzard. “But it was so fun just running around Cleveland, and we got hot chocolate,” she says. “And then to go to the show and just feel all of that energy? I really love Ohio.”
The Tanner Adell that Midwest fans saw last year, however, might be a bit different from the one headlining her own Giddy Up, Gorgeous Tour this month. “I’m really blessed to have an incredible fan base and community,” she says, recalling the explosion of fans after collaborating with superstar Beyoncé on the Grammy-winning Cowboy Carter album. “It just felt like it was the right time for me to share more pieces of my story.”
Adell did just that earlier this year with the release of her soul-baring single, “Going Blonde,” which served as a deep dive into her adoption story and her biological mother, who died before they ever had the chance to meet. “I’ve gotten nothing but really, really positive responses to that song,” says Adell, who wrote the revealing song herself. “A lot of my fans have sent me messages about how it specifically relates to them and why it’s helping them or changing their lives. As a musician, that’s all you can ask for.”
Adell has heard many of those stories first-hand at the meet-and-greets she does on this tour. “I look forward to getting one-on-one time to be able to talk with fans,” she says. “And I spend a lot of time on social media responding to people just because I enjoy it and enjoy getting to know them. But there’s definitely a different energy when I’m able to look them in the eye and they can tell me their story. I absolutely love it.”
Some of her fans’ stories end up finding their way into Adell’s songs. “I’ve been writing songs since as long as I can remember, but it’s just really been in the last couple of years that I feel like I’ve found my own individual style,” she says. “And even if I’m writing with other people, it’s easy to tell them, ‘No, that doesn’t sound like me.’ I’ve always known who I am, but really in the last five years I think I’ve just blossomed as a songwriter.”
And while Adell has always come alive on stage, the California native seems more confident than ever. “Performing live is my favorite thing to do,” she says, adding that she often stops at thrift stores along the way for pieces of her onstage costumes. “I don’t leave anything on the stage. I always give a million percent. But as I’ve had songs that really show a different side of me, it’s just added so much dynamic to my show. Being on stage is when it all comes together.”
And you never know what Adell might have up her sleeve. “I have to outdo myself every time,” she says, laughing. “I’m still working on themes, but for Cincinnati I think I’m going to go with a theme I’m calling ‘Lil Ho Peep,’ which is a cross between coquette and a buckle bunny. I believe I know what the Bunnies want.”
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