.gay Music Monday Feature: River Westin

Get ready to meet the newest addition to our music library because this week's .gay Music Monday Feature is all about the incredibly talented River Westin!

With a love for all things creative, River has been making waves in the music industry with his dreamy, indie pop sound. Drawing inspiration from a wide range of genres, River's music is like a trip down memory lane, complete with vintage vibes and captivating storytelling.

So sit back, relax, and get ready to dive into the world of River Westin in our chat below. 

What inspired you to start playing and making music?

I’ve always loved music and art. I just have an incessant need to create things! Growing up I was “the kid who could draw” and that over time transitioned to photography, graphic design, and all kinds of visual mediums. It was always kind of my secret passion to want to write and record music but I didn’t have enough courage to put my music out there for the longest time. Then one day I just decided to go for it and it has become the most gratifying passion in my life.

My musical influences are as all over the place as possible. I can find inspiration and have had mini obsessions with so many different genres.I will throw Nat King Cole, Abba, Portishead, Kylie Minogue, The Lumineers, and The Mamas & The Papas all in the same playlist and it makes perfect sense to me.

What do you like most about playing music?

It really is the creative process for me. I absolutely love how a small idea like one line of a lyric, a simple melody, or a certain sound can trigger an entire story in my head for a song. The process of finding the melodies, recording the vocals with the right tone and inflections, and then creating a world around it all with the instrumentation. It’s so rewarding when it all comes together and the people who listen to it are able to interpret it in their own way.

How would you describe the music that you typically create?

I experiment with a lot of different sounds but I think my little group of listeners always come to my music for a bit of a nostalgia trip. I love dreamy, cinematic instrumentals with a vintage touch.  I love writing a song with a narrative that the listener is kind of dropped in the middle of…take all that and wrap it in an “indie pop” package I guess!

Why do you think it’s important to be out and proud in the music industry?

For me it has been so important because if there were more out musicians when I was growing up, maybe I wouldn’t have been so afraid to pursue music myself. I think it’s amazing how there is queer talent in almost all genres these days that are absolutely killing it and I hope that makes LGBTQ youth feel like they can go after their dream and succeed like their favorite artists and that their identity is part of what makes their musical perspective unique.

As an LGBTQIA+ artist, what do you want to convey with your music?

Music for me has always been escapism. I hope anyone who listens to my music can drift off for a moment to another time and place and be inspired by or relate to the stories they hear.

Listen to “Blush ” by River Westin and subscribe to our Spotify below: