Down-to-earth, talented, and just all around pure vibes are a few ways to describe up and coming Indie artist Holden Miller. With over 600k listeners on Spotify and over 8k followers on Instagram, Holden Miller is definitely making his way up in the music industry! With a unique music style and voice- it would be more than fair to call him the next voice of our generation! Holden takes a more relatable approach to music, voicing concerns in a way any of us can understand and relate to.
With his upcoming tour in April and his next single coming out not too far after—this would be the perfect time to get to know Holden and all about his work!
Going Back East and New songs
Born and raised in Long Island, NY. Holden is no stranger to the wonders of the East Coast. Before moving to L.A in hopes of expanding his music career, Holden would perform for family and friends back home.
With all of this in mind, it only makes sense that Holden would do his tour on the East Coast! Not only because of the good memories that Holden has there, but also because of his large fan base on the East Coast, who can't wait to see him perform.
When asked about more details on his tour, Holden stated that, "It is a mini-tour on the East Coast, going from D.C to Massachusetts. The venue I am playing in New York is actually the first venue I ever performed at, so it is exciting to be able to go back and perform again."
"To be able to put faces to the fans who found me through TikTok or Spotify will be really exciting"
Holden was very appreciative as he expressed his excitement at being able to meet a lot of his fans face to face. Holden states that this is the first time he has real fans now (aside from friends and family, of course!). And he is genuinely excited to be able to finally meet with his fans, and put a face to their name.
While Holden will not be performing his new song that debuts in April, it will be called 'The Messenger'. Holden describes it as,"a sad piano ballad that I wrote with my roommate that discusses the feelings and thoughts that come when you have a crush on someone else but they like your friend, and only talk to you to try to get to your friend." He says that the song is really relatable to those who have ever been in a third wheel or love triangle situation and they don't know what to do. One verse he happily recited for us from his new single was "the princess always marries the prince, god knows not the jester, and I’ll never shoot cause I’m just the messenger."
Photo by Nathalie Benshmuel
Musical Growth
When asked about how he feels about his climbing success on Spotify, Holden stated, "I am definitely learning to keep myself grounded and not being like, '600k is not 700k', and '700k is not one million'. Because at the end of the day, at least I'm getting new listeners and growing.
Which is what really matters." His down-to-earth attitude in regards to himself and success definitely makes it easy to want to cheer for Holden. Especially as he expresses not only wanting to gain personal experience (performance-wise), but to also see how his band as a whole has grown performance-wise in the last few years with this upcoming mini-tour.
Holden does not hold back when paying respect to his bandmates. Holden states that, "when I am performing with them, everything just feels natural. I can't wait to see how well we do with this upcoming tour. And see how much we have grown."
Holden was also asked about what inspires him to make music. He was very forthcoming when saying, "I think what inspires me first and foremost was watching my older brother; He is an incredible musician. And then what inspires me a lot lately has been the idea of feeling less alone by releasing music."
"There is also sort of this community you have built with fans and peers, because you all have sort of a common shared experience. And you don't realize that it is a shared experience until it has been put into song form. And then everyone is just like 'omg you put into words what I've been feeling for 'x' number of years, and just did not know how to express it [before].' Automatically, you find a connection with those people."
Holden also goes on to state that other family, friends, and artists have helped to inspire him when it comes to making songs. Mentioning how his dad specifically played a huge role when it comes to inspiring him. By exposing him to music from the 70s. Which in turn exposed him to the importance of performing since he was really young.
Holden has been writing songs since his sophomore year of high school (which was in 2014). However, he did not release his first song until 2018. Holden hopes that by doing this tour, it will not only allow him to meet fans. But it will also give him the opportunity to have more experience touring and performing for larger crowds.
Holden has also recently signed with an independent label in the UK. And he hopes that with this signing, he will be able to really grow his musical career and release a full album sometime in the near future.
Photo by Nathalie Benshmuel
Advice to Others
With Holden gaining notoriety and making a name for himself, it is only right that The Teen Magazine asked him the same question we have asked all of our talented interviewees. That is, 'does he have any advice for those who also want to have a career in music'? And Holden did not hold back as he shared his own little tidbits of wisdom with us.
The up and coming Indie artist jokes a bit as he says,"do you have an hour for me?".
Holden goes on to give some really insightful advice, stating, "I could go on but for one: go for it, sorry to curse but 'f*cking go for it'. Like you get one life and only have one time to be in your late teens and twenties. And now is the time.
So I think that if you are feeling any sort of inkling of 'should I do this?', then just do it. It is really hard. But I genuinely feel that if you are consistent and persistent, those are two buzzwords for going into this business, but if you are releasing music consistently and you are persistent when no one hears your first 10 songs. Then maybe they will listen to the 11th if you just keep peddling through. I think that is some of the best advice I can give."
"You gotta put yourself out there. If you want to be a professional artist, then you gotta do the whole social media thing."
Holden also advised that along with making good music, you have to make good TikToks and social media posts with them. If you really want to get your name out [there].
Photo by Nathalie Benshmuel
10 Quick Q's
1. What would you say your aura color is? You know it's funny because I feel like I am a warm person, but I'm such a sucker for cool colors. I feel like I give off these blue-green vibes.
2. If you could perform with any iconic artist, who would it be and why? Oh my god, that is a tough question.
Not sure if the kiddos would know who he is haha, but Jason Isbell. He is a singer-songwriter who really inspired me when I was younger.
Another one, that the younger audience may know, is John Mayer. I think the younger audience could appreciate that one.
3. What would you say your fashion sense is? It's good haha.
Nah, I'm just joking. It's funny, since in college and high school I had no fashion sense.
But now I've got this Indie boy sort of look. I love shopping for women's tops and sweaters at thrift stores because they have bolder patterns and stuff like that. I am starting to get more into fashion and stuff like that, so stay tuned lol.
4. What would you say your spirit animal is? And why?
Definitely a dog. I've been told I have golden retriever energy sometimes.
I just love dogs so much. They're so happy, cuddly, cozy, and goofy.
5. Top 5 destination spots? Italy, Finland, somewhere in Southeast Asia, London, and maybe somewhere tropical like Barbados.
6. Your ultimate comfort food? Maybe Wendy's chicken nuggets. Oh my god, I can't get enough of them.
7. Most fond musical inspired memory? I was in a band in college, and parents' weekend, my senior year, we played a show and there were probably over a thousand people there.
It was incredible. My family and friends were there. And I always look back at that moment because it was the end of my college music career, and the gateway to all the things that would come next and there is just something so special about that.
8. How would you describe your musical style? All under the Indie umbrella, but it goes as far as folk in one direction and as far as pop in the other.
It is lyrically driven, where I try and touch on relatable experiences in a unique way. Keep it simple and relatable. But tell it in a way that no one has heard before.
9. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? You're asking a lot of tough ones for me here haha.
I feel so present where I am. And if I try to think that far in the future, I am freaked out a little bit.
Part of me wants to go back to NY to raise a family after all of this is over. But I would also love to go to Northern California. But I am not sure how far I can be away from people.
I don't want to be in the city. Maybe some beautiful suburb somewhere where it is not too cool, but not too warm.
10. What is your idea of the perfect date? I think the perfect date would just be a nice dinner, as simple as it sounds.
Start with a nice dinner and then maybe go back and jam out if they're into music, or cuddle and watch a movie. I'm pretty simple when it comes to these things.
Keep Up with Holden!
Holden's mini-tour of the East Coast will be April 05th-08th! Make sure to check out his website and social media for more information and to keep up with his latest music!
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