Noah Gundersen will be performing in Gainesville for the first time Friday and the singer/songwriter knows he’s headed into a town that takes its football seriously. He thought this would be the year he finally got into football — but it hasn’t happened for him yet.
Gundersen recalled his time in middle school, where he wanted to play sports because all the "cool kids were good at sports." Meanwhile, he was the awkward kid who would write songs in his bedroom.
It seems to have paid off for him.
"Thankfully, I’m still doing the thing I was doing at 13," Gundersen said in a phone call from an Airbnb in Atlanta, "while a lot of the kids who were playing sports at 13 are no longer playing sports."
Now, the singer will be performing at 9:30 p.m. at High Dive, located at 210 SW Second Ave. Tickets are available for $14 at the door or for $12 in advance on ticketfly.com.
Pat Lavery, owner of Glory Days Presents, wrote in an email showgoers could expect a "laid back night of acoustic songs" and a "healthy crowd of indie folk lovers" at the show.
"If you’re looking to dance and party, and get your drink on, maybe my show is not what you’re looking for," Gundersen said, laughing at his joke, "so maybe what I should say is ‘Don’t come to my show if you’re looking to party.’"
His songs have been featured on multiple TV shows, including "Sons of Anarchy" and "The Vampire Diaries," and Rolling Stone called him "one old soul," noting his maturity as a performer and artist.
The 25-year-old folk artist, who typically stays at hotels, has taken advantage of his limited downtime at the Airbnb by reading books on the front porch, such as Jonathan Franzen’s latest work.
Lavery said Gundersen is signed to Dualtone Records, the label that launched the careers of bands like The Lumineers and Shovels & Rope.
The singer is touring behind his late August release "Carry the Ghost," and according to his Facebook, the tour has been the most impactful thus far.
The album, musically and lyrically, can be considered some of his darkest but most mature work to date.
The young Seattleite penned some of his most vulnerable lyrics for "Carry the Ghost" and performs them in the sad, deliberate and meaningful style he is known for, creating a philosophical and even existential album.
"I write songs primarily as a way to process my own thoughts," Gundersen said, "and express myself creatively and attempt to be as honest as possible."
For Gundersen, those seem to be the things that matter the most to people.
They matter in the music and art he likes to consume, he said. A level of vulnerability, honesty and the things that are most human bring realness to art and music. However, they’re "not always pretty and aren’t always sexy," he said.
The singer said he likes to focus on the blood and guts, sharing his honest thoughts with the world without worrying what people think. He believes as soon as artists worry about what others think, their honesty begins to diminish. When you make and share any kind of art, he said, you can no longer control how it will be interpreted because people are going to create their own kind of meaning.
He thinks it’s great.
"As long as it’s meaningful, and you know it helps them be able to process their own emotions or -- if nothing else just feel less alone -- then I feel like it’s made a positive impact," Gundersen said.
Folk artist Noah Gundersen will be performing at 9:30 p.m. on Friday at High Dive, located at 210 SW Second Ave. Doors open at 9 p.m., and tickets are available for $14 at the door or for $12 in advance on ticketfly.com.
