Now, what happens to that very same career after nearly five more years?
"That's a crazy question," she says during a recent call, trying to recollect a veritable lifetime lived in recent years. "The last time we spoke, I was like 19, 20...I had no idea what the fuck was going on."
That didn't stop Upsahl from carving out a rather sizable career. She released her debut album, “Lady Jesus,” in October 2021, which she followed up with two EPs, December 2022's "Sagittarius" and last October's "UPSAHL PRESENTS: THE PHX TAPES." And she's toured a boatload, including opening for Olivia O'Brien, Yungblud and Melanie Martinez.
She'll open for Madison Beer at May 31 at The Van Buren.
Upsahl's rise is especially impressive considering the pause she had to endure.
"I got to go back to Phoenix with my family, which was amazing," she says of her COVID-era experiences. "It's so strange to have lived in L.A. for a couple of years. Then the second I'm seeing any sort of success or movement with my career, I'm back in my childhood home. That was the strangest full-circle feeling."
"I'd been working on my album throughout COVID," Upsahl says. "My friends and I during quarantine were in these 'writing camps' that we would put on for ourselves. We'd quarantine and lock ourselves in the studio for a couple of weeks and just write. And that's how I made my album, which was a new way of working for me. I really had to lock in with my core people because I had no other choice."
Releasing a record is already like running the emotional gamut. But while a global pandemic complicated things, Upsahl's view on her art and its place in the world is really key here. It's less about owning these songs (and their corresponding emotions) but realizing the role they play as fuel for the lives of others.
"I feel like whether it's an album or an EP or even just a song, I have to reach a point before I release it where I'm like, 'OK, I'm happy with this.' This has been my baby for X amount of time," she says. "And now I'm releasing it ... and it's no longer mine."
She adds, "I don't really get to have feelings about it because now it's up for everybody else's interpretation and they get to make it their own and relate to it however they want to. So I think especially with 'Lady Jesus' because it was so deeply personal as was most of my songwriting. I think I definitely had to have a moment like days before I released it, I was like, 'OK, this is no longer mine. And I have to pass this off to everybody else.' I've made my peace with every song on that album. And that's just such a screenshot of ... it's exactly where I was at the time. So it is sort of a stepping stone, but it also is, as is all art, definitely an artifact of that era of my life."
It's partially why Upsahl has since focused on "smaller" releases like "Sagittarius" and "PHX TAPES" — there's huge power in a full-length, but sometimes you can express something equally important without the added time and space.
"I think when you're working on an album or a bigger project, you really want to make sure that you have something to say," Upsahl says. "And so in the meantime, getting to do EPs, which again are little screenshots of my life at the time, are just short and to the point, which I love."
But these recent releases are more than mere snapshots; they're an interesting step forward for Upsahl both personally and creatively as she moves into her mid-20s.
"Especially with the 'PHX Tapes,' it's allowed for so much room for me to just experiment and have so much fun in the studio and not really have to worry about, like, does this fit into the concept of the project," she says. "Or, do all of these sound similar and cohesive? I just got to have fun, to try different genres and try different approaches. I think that's why I've stuck to doing a couple of EPs in the past two years."
It’s an approach that let her grow and really understand who she is and the artist she’s becoming.
"It's very scary, obviously, releasing something where maybe it's different than shit you've done in the past and you don't know if anyone's going to love it," Upsahl says. "It was a cool exercise for me in creative freedom. ... Like, I made a house record that I got to put out that was really fun. And it was the B-side to an alt-pop, rock-y sounding song. It allowed me to have so much fun, and for the first time, to really not care about how it was going to be perceived."
It also helps that Upsahl isn't alone in this process of smashing creative barriers to bits.
"I think there are so many women artists who have paved the way for me to exist in a creative space like that now," she says. "Even Billie Eilish, who has been genre-bending since she started. I think there's so many people who have come before me that have broken down those genre barriers for artists like me now. I'm grateful for that."
But perhaps the thing that even exceeds the gains that Upsahl's made on records are how she's wholly developed as a live musician. Her regular jaunts — both national and international — have given her heaps of confidence.
"I'm obsessed with it," she says of touring. "It's such a different lifestyle, but for me, nothing beats it. I love songwriting obviously, but nothing beats that energy of getting to play those songs in a room full of people, whether it's a sweaty small club headlining show or opening for someone in an arena."
And while she's had lots of practice on stages of all sizes, Upsahl recognizes that being a bona fide road warrior is a lifelong learning experience.
"I think I'm always developing," she says. "I think that'll always be a forever growing process for me, but I definitely feel like I'm at a point in my life where I always feel like no matter if I've been in L.A. for a couple of months, I could hop on a tour the next day and feel like I could just like go through the motions and do it and enjoy it, which used to not be the case. But I feel fortunate enough that I've been able to do so much touring since it's picked back up post-COVID. It almost feels second nature to just be on the road all the time."
She's obviously quite the student, however, and Upsahl knows that not every show is built like the one before.
"It definitely is an art, especially opening or playing festivals," she says. "For headline shows, everyone is there 'cause they bought tickets to see you. So they probably know the words and it's going to feel good and the energy is going to be high the whole time. But when you're opening, more than half of the crowd has no idea who the fuck you are and you literally have 30 minutes to win them over and be like, 'Please be my fan.' It's a very strange experience."
"I'm obsessed with it," she says of touring. "It's such a different lifestyle, but for me, nothing beats it. I love songwriting obviously, but nothing beats that energy of getting to play those songs in a room full of people, whether it's a sweaty small club headlining show or opening for someone in an arena."
And while she's had lots of practice on stages of all sizes, Upsahl recognizes that being a bona fide road warrior is a lifelong learning experience.
"I think I'm always developing," she says. "I think that'll always be a forever growing process for me, but I definitely feel like I'm at a point in my life where I always feel like no matter if I've been in L.A. for a couple of months, I could hop on a tour the next day and feel like I could just like go through the motions and do it and enjoy it, which used to not be the case. But I feel fortunate enough that I've been able to do so much touring since it's picked back up post-COVID. It almost feels second nature to just be on the road all the time."
She's obviously quite the student, however, and Upsahl knows that not every show is built like the one before.
"It definitely is an art, especially opening or playing festivals," she says. "For headline shows, everyone is there 'cause they bought tickets to see you. So they probably know the words and it's going to feel good and the energy is going to be high the whole time. But when you're opening, more than half of the crowd has no idea who the fuck you are and you literally have 30 minutes to win them over and be like, 'Please be my fan.' It's a very strange experience."
Luckily. there's one solid rule to always keep in mind, regardless of the venue.
"Ultimately with live shows, everyone who's there wants to let go so bad and wants to rage," Upsahl says.
Fostering said intensity, though, isn't always easy, especially when you're about to return for a hometown show. Because despite the many miles under her belt, Upsahl is very much a hometown girl, and that carries with it some added tensions.
"It scares the shit out of me for some reason," she says of local shows. "I think it's just because I feel such love for Phoenix and I've played in Phoenix so many times growing up at these tiny venues. And so getting to come back, my whole family's there and my friends from high school are there, and it just feels so nostalgic and so wholesome. But for some reason I get so nervous because it's like I want to make Phoenix and my family proud. I always get the most nervous for hometown shows."
But once the show's over, there's still plenty of work to do for Upsahl. That includes finally getting to completing the follow-up to "Lady Jesus."
"I'm actually wrapping up writing my next album, which I'm very excited for," she says. "I feel like I didn't quite see the point of working on an album unless I really had a concept and I wanted it to all feel very cohesive and feel like it was bringing people into a world. I don't think, creatively, I had that in me after ‘Lady Jesus,’ which is why I did those two EPs. Now, I'm in album world, and it feels so fucking good."
She adds, "I feel like I'm such a different person now than I was when I did ‘Lady Jesus,’ and so it's just been the coolest process. I've been locking in with this one producer named Khris Riddick-Tynes; we're doing the whole project together. I've just been so inspired just in between little tours and just spending all my time in the studio. We don't know when we're releasing it, but the plan is soon."
However long it takes, though, it's already likely to be a version of Upsahl we haven't seen just yet. Regardless of how that "person" might appear, it’ll be the most essential parts of Upsahl. Namely, the emotionally potent, highly inventive artist who doesn’t so much keep changing but evolving into something ever more impressive.
"I mean, it's my album, so it's obviously all over the fucking place," she says. "But I think the through-line is ... I feel like in the past, like with 'Sagittarius' and even with 'Lady Jesus,' the whole theme for me felt very fiery and dark and aggressive. And I think now I'm in more of a cold, icy sort of era. And that's kind of the world I'm trying to bring everybody into as well. The music has been so fun and very playful and really energetic and funny. And then there's also obviously some very vulnerable parts that scare me to share with the world. I'm in my blue era for sure."
UPSAHL. In support of Madison Beer. 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 31. The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St. Resale general admission tickets available on the Live Nation website for $150.
"Ultimately with live shows, everyone who's there wants to let go so bad and wants to rage," Upsahl says.
Fostering said intensity, though, isn't always easy, especially when you're about to return for a hometown show. Because despite the many miles under her belt, Upsahl is very much a hometown girl, and that carries with it some added tensions.
"It scares the shit out of me for some reason," she says of local shows. "I think it's just because I feel such love for Phoenix and I've played in Phoenix so many times growing up at these tiny venues. And so getting to come back, my whole family's there and my friends from high school are there, and it just feels so nostalgic and so wholesome. But for some reason I get so nervous because it's like I want to make Phoenix and my family proud. I always get the most nervous for hometown shows."
But once the show's over, there's still plenty of work to do for Upsahl. That includes finally getting to completing the follow-up to "Lady Jesus."
"I'm actually wrapping up writing my next album, which I'm very excited for," she says. "I feel like I didn't quite see the point of working on an album unless I really had a concept and I wanted it to all feel very cohesive and feel like it was bringing people into a world. I don't think, creatively, I had that in me after ‘Lady Jesus,’ which is why I did those two EPs. Now, I'm in album world, and it feels so fucking good."
She adds, "I feel like I'm such a different person now than I was when I did ‘Lady Jesus,’ and so it's just been the coolest process. I've been locking in with this one producer named Khris Riddick-Tynes; we're doing the whole project together. I've just been so inspired just in between little tours and just spending all my time in the studio. We don't know when we're releasing it, but the plan is soon."
However long it takes, though, it's already likely to be a version of Upsahl we haven't seen just yet. Regardless of how that "person" might appear, it’ll be the most essential parts of Upsahl. Namely, the emotionally potent, highly inventive artist who doesn’t so much keep changing but evolving into something ever more impressive.
"I mean, it's my album, so it's obviously all over the fucking place," she says. "But I think the through-line is ... I feel like in the past, like with 'Sagittarius' and even with 'Lady Jesus,' the whole theme for me felt very fiery and dark and aggressive. And I think now I'm in more of a cold, icy sort of era. And that's kind of the world I'm trying to bring everybody into as well. The music has been so fun and very playful and really energetic and funny. And then there's also obviously some very vulnerable parts that scare me to share with the world. I'm in my blue era for sure."
UPSAHL. In support of Madison Beer. 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 31. The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St. Resale general admission tickets available on the Live Nation website for $150.
