One-woman show

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Up-and-Comer visits Mac’s Bar

Mac’s Bar will host an emerging one-woman band, pronoun, on July 28 as she passes through on her first concert tour. Alyse Vellturo, the solitary member, created her EP within the walls of her Brooklyn apartment, and has since been featured on NPR’s Austin 100, Billboard Magazine and more.

Why the name “pronoun”? Actually, a friend had suggested it to me, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Grammatically, you can stand alone or you could be surrounded by something else. So, it works either way. You can be the subject or the object, which I thought was kind of special and weird. I also just liked the way it looked.

Your original EP is a journey through the emotions of a breakup. How does it feel to clue in so many strangers to such intimate experiences in your life?

The last thing I think about is people sharing my music because it’s so hard to get people to hear your music. I can’t believe how much support I’ve gotten and how many people are still discovering it every day and telling me how they found it, and what they like about it or what it’s gotten them through.

Why did you name your EP and the rework EP after Tinder phrases?

For “There’s no one new around you,” it was early on and I was still writing the EP, and I honestly was just really drunk scrolling through Tinder and I reached the end and that’s what it said. I thought, “This is actually really beautiful if you take it out of context.”

It’s funny and it’s punny, and it’s also how I was feeling. For “Use passport to choose a new location,” I thought it was cool because it’s remixed and reworked, so it’s like a new location.

What has the past year been like for you? How has your life changed?

I’ve started my own record label, Sleep Well Records. I found a couple artists that I really loved and I decided to start my own company. I’m releasing a bunch of new EPs and singles from some really cool artists, Charles Fauna and Sulene, who I went to school with. It’s just really busy. The traveling is really cool too; playing in front of new people. A year ago I had never even played a live show.

What role has Spotify played in your development as an artist?

I love my “Discover Weekly.” That’s how I ended up doing the rework EP. That came from me finding people on my “Discover Weekly” playlist and hitting them up on their emails and Facebooks, and asking them to collaborate and reproduce each song from the EP. The first release ended up on “New Music Friday” and I was in complete shock. I woke up at 4 o’clock in the morning and was like, “Why don’t you check and see if it’s on it? But no, because if it’s on it, you’re never going to fall back asleep.” Then I laughed at myself, like, “You’re not going to be on ‘New Music Friday,’ you cocky asshole.” And there it was.

What are you looking forward to in the future? When will you feel successful?

The plan is to do another EP late this year and put out a full-length next year. I think when I got to SXSW and people were recognizing me on the street, that’s when I was like, “Hold on.” I was in NPR’s Austin 100, which everyone listens to. That was very surreal.

What do you want people to take away from your music?

I decided, “Why don’t I just put myself in a very uncomfortable situation and just push my limits and boundaries?” That means getting on stage in front of a bunch of people and playing guitar and singing at the same time, which is hard for me. I always joke, but I don’t consider myself very good at any instruments at all, and it takes me a while to put together these songs. I’ve had some people say it’s inspired them to make stuff. It’s important to do those kinds of things and see yourself the way the rest of the world sees you.

“Pronoun at Mac’s Bar”

8 p.m. Friday July 28, Students/$2 Military/Senior discount Williamston Theatre 122 S Putnam St, Williamston (517) 655-SHOW (7469) williamstontheatre.org

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