Alison: This is All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. After touring with Maren Morris and Brandi Carlile, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter August Ponthier has a lot to say about their Texas roots on their debut album titled Everywhere Isn't Texas. August, who is from just outside of Dallas, sings about their complicated relationship with the Lone Star State. They also sing about romance, about being jealous of handsome men, about complicated family dynamics, and about the challenges of having to grow up.

NPR calls the album "a pristine debut about how exhilarating and even terrifying it can be to keep changing all your plans." Everywhere Isn't Texas is out now, and I am joined now by August Ponthier, who is going to perform live for us in studio. August, it's nice to meet you.

August: Thank you so much. It's so nice to meet you.

Alison: We are going to kick things off with the song Betty. When did you write it? Set it up for us.

August: I wrote the song a couple years ago. I wrote it with Jack Hallenbeck and Audrey Hobert. That's pretty exciting because she's had a wonderful career in the past year. It's a song about reintroducing yourself to someone. I recently changed my name in October to August. When it was time to put out Betty, it felt like the most serendipitous thing in the world that I got to put out a song about getting to reintroduce myself as my true self.

Alison: Who is playing with you?

August: The wonderful Stu Pender is playing with me. We have known each other for a long time, and I'm so happy that we get to play this together again.

Alison: Here's Betty.

[MUSIC - August Ponthier: Betty]

Seven long years, in another life

We were students going through it

Learning how to hide

I kinda felt weak

About myself back then

It's tough in Texas

When you’re hopeless, helpless, different

You say, "Let's start over

In our favorite clothing"

A new kind of knowing

For good

Betty, nice to meet you

Nice to meet you, Betty

I'm so glad you found me

Now we’re older, now we're ready

Betty, nice to meet you

Nice to meet you

Let's be who we were already

I'm a tomboy and you're a retro girl

Walking around our northern town

Making sense of the world

I said sorry if I was ever a cringe

Well, you just laughed

"It's in the past

Don't worry about it"

You say, "Let's start over"

In our favorite clothing

A new kind of knowing

For good

Betty, nice to meet you

Nice to meet you, Betty

I’m so glad you found me

Now we’re older, now we're ready

Betty, nice to meet you

Nice to meet you

Let’s be who we were already

Betty's like a beacon

Betty's like a breath I let escape

Betty's the whole reason

Betty’s got to be my favorite name

Betty all the time

Betty all the time

Look me in the eye

Look me in the eye

Teach me how to try

Teach me how to try

Can you show me what it's like?

Betty, nice to meet you

Nice to meet you, Betty

I'm so glad you found me

Now we're older, now we're ready

Betty, nice to meet you

Nice to meet you

Let's be who we were already

Let's be who we were already

Alison: That was August Ponthier with a live performance of their new song Betty from their debut album, Everywhere Isn't Texas. You describe this as a coming-of-age album. What did you want to discover about growing up?

August: I think all of these songs came from periods of my life, reflecting on how I grew up or reflecting on how I was currently growing up, that felt like they defined something to me. Whether it's talking about overcoming trauma as I got older and experienced what emotions were, whether it was trying to understand my gender and the balance of masculinity and femininity. Then the roof under which all of this lives is Texas, a state that has made me who I am, but has also made me want to fight for it to be better. On this record, growing up is a central theme because it really is about discovering my identity, not just in a pronoun or in what I like to be called, but really what makes me afraid, what makes me excited, what makes me happy.

Alison: You rerecorded a lot of the songs when you came back from being on tour. How do you think that time touring helped you hone your talents or hone your voice?

August: I definitely noticed just physically, my voice got a lot stronger from touring all of the time. I'm also very lucky that I get to tour with Maren Morris or Brandi Carlile. I am a student of watching them and just hoping that I can capture a fraction of their energy. Really, what made a big difference to me is seeing the faces of people as I'm performing-

Alison: Oh, interesting.

August: -getting to interact with fans and see how they react and what they feel are the high points, the low points, the emotional points of these songs is priceless.

Alison: A lot of people got to know you through your collaboration with Lord Huron on I Lied. How did one song change your career?

August: One song did change my career because I had no music out when I was asked to collaborate on that song. When I tried the song, I thought it was a gigantic long shot, so much that when we did record the song, I still didn't think I got it. Even when he asked me to go on tour with him, I was like, "Wow, really nice. Didn't get the song, but he still wants me to go on tour." He has become not just a great collaborator but a dear friend of mine, which is really needed in the music industry, you need supportive, great people, but it allowed so many opportunities. I got to be on late-night television, I got to play MSG, but the best thing I got out of it was a really great friend who understands the music industry and who I am.

Alison: That is interesting. Why was it important to have a good person who understood the music industry in your life?

August: I think that Ben and I's brains work very similarly. We're both dreamers, and I think that he stays so true to himself, and that's the energy that I would like to capture. I think having someone who you feel like represents your dreams and that you can do it and you can do it your way was really inspirational to me. It is also just wonderful to have someone in your corner, and that is really what he is.

Alison: My guest is singer-songwriter August Ponthier. We're hearing special live performances from their brand new album, Everywhere Isn't Texas. It's out now. You pretty much finished up the album, and you had this change of heart. You changed your name. You changed your pronouns in October of 2025. When you look back at the album now, after that happened, do some of the songs have different meanings for you?

August: Absolutely. I was leaving Scooby-Doo level style-

Alison: [laughs]

August: -clues the whole time. These songs are from as far back as five years ago.

Alison: I'm laughing at Scooby-Doo. That's very funny. [laughs]

August: I'm a huge fan of Scooby-Doo.

Alison: Continue on, please.

August: I could talk about that for a while. Some of these songs are from five years ago, some of these songs are from as recent as a year ago, and they all are clues. Handsome is a big one where it really is about gender. I wrote that song, and I thought I would put it out, and everyone would be like, "We get it now. You do not have to say a thing," but that's not the case. Handsome pushed me to be able to realize that wanting people to think I had something more nuanced and complex, going on gender-wise, for me was really important.

Betty, I had met my friend who had gone through her own self-realization, and I wanted to write a song about that so badly. I didn't even realize why writing a song about introducing someone with a name they feel really good about is so important. I got to do it when the song got released like a year later. This whole album is just full of Scooby-Doo-level style clues about how I could have made myself happier and lived a more sustainable life.

Alison: Your decision didn't happen all that long ago. Does it feel different to perform the songs?

August: It does. I feel better performing the songs. Handsome feels great because I feel like people have the capacity to understand what's going on with me. They feel like I have the capacity to be that. Everywhere Isn't Texas has changed meaning for me because I've gotten to work with the Transgender Education Network in Texas, and they've made me fall in love with Texas all over again. I am so grateful that these songs have been able to be there for me. Even Karaoke Queen, I got dropped by a major label, and I had a song about it that helped me get through it. This album has been a real gift for me.

Alison: I also like your jacket.

August: Oh, thank you.

Alison: For people who don't know, you're wearing the Texas flag, it looks like a little bit.

August: I am. I'm wearing the Texas flag in a jacket. Can you believe I found this for $15 randomly a few weeks ago? [laughs]

Alison: That's amazing.

August: Thank you.

Alison: We're going to hear the song Bloodline in just a moment, which is a bit about inherited trauma and things that we pass down in our families. What were you thinking when you wrote this song?

August: This was a weird song where sometimes you just write, and the song happens, and it's easy. It just comes out of your brain and your heart. When I was writing the song, I wanted to write a song about how I'm terrified to pass on the trauma that I've learned, the trauma that I've inherited. It's something that I've been thinking about a lot, as even my queer friends are now building their own families. I was like, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe that even now this is happening." Bloodline to me is one of my favorite songs I've ever written because I think it captures that feeling really well in a way that I really needed just for myself. I needed to get it out, and that's why this is the song that made the album.

Alison: Let's hear Bloodline by August Ponthier.

[MUSIC - August Ponthier: Bloodline]

I am just a lost kid

Who looks like a woman

With no five-year plan

I'm making up for hobbies

And the birthday parties

That I never had

Everything I'm missing

While the clock is ticking

Is none of my concern

'Cause while no one will thank me

I know I'd be breaking

The most common curse

Don't think I like my chances at all

I think the bloodline ends with me

Don't cry, it's just one of those things

I'm terrified that traumatising

Is my legacy

I think the bloodline ends with me

Slamming doors and silence

Keep everything private

Head up in thе clouds

Finally, being honest then

Crying in thе closet

It's so ironic now

Don't think I like my chances at all

Given the odds, I'd rather be wrong

'Cause I think the bloodline ends with me

Don't cry, it's just one of those things

I'm terrified that traumatising

Is my legacy

I think the bloodline ends with me

When the love of my life looks in my eyes

I see our child, and in my head, they're so

Lovely, funny, get it from me

Never running and even after we're

Long gone, they're strong

Found love, good job

Happy, thank god

But I know that it's

Not real, not real

Know how I feel

Can't learn, can't heal

So it has to be

So it has to be

I think the bloodline ends with me

Don't cry, it's just one of those things

I'm terrified that traumatising

Is the legacy

I think the bloodline ends with me

Alison: That was Bloodline by my guest, singer-songwriter August Ponthier. We'll have more after a quick break. This is All Of It.

[music]

Alison: You're listening to All Of It on WNYC. I'm Alison Stewart. My guest is singer-songwriter August Ponthier. We're hearing special live performances from their brand new album, Everywhere Isn't Texas. What is your song process? What's it like? What's the songwriting process like?

August: My songwriting process starts with concept first. I feel like having a really strong concept is what propels me through getting through a song. A lot of the time, I come up with ideas on a walk, whether it's faking my own death, whether it's Everywhere Isn't Texas. I have a phrase that sticks in my head, and then after that, it is truly just experimentation. I'm very lyrically driven, so I try to write and list and bullet point all the things I want to say in the song so that they make it in without me forgetting.

Alison: You have an idea: I'm walking in the park, and I tripped over a rock.

August: [laughs]

Alison: We'll start there. Do you tell a story about tripping over the rock, or is there another line that comes after, which might be about something different?

August: I love metaphor. I think you can tell from my past songs that I love something that feels either morbid or something that feels like old Hollywood, whether it's shaking hands with Elvis or faking my own death. I love a metaphor. When I'm taking a walk, a lot of the times what I'll do is I'll do like word association with the topic I'm talking about, whether it's loss, whether it's love, whether it's identity. I try to think of things that make me think of that, that fit in those themes, because those are the themes I have the most fun playing with.

Alison: I have a question from one of our producers who's a big fan of yours. She wants to know, are you a big reader?

August: I read so much. I was not a big reader for a long time because I have ADHD, I'm very public about that, and I found it really hard to sit and focus. Then when I was on the Maren Morris tour, one person recommended a book to me, and I told myself, "I don't care how long it takes me to finish it. This is not for anyone else. This is just for me." That year, I read about 100 books. I could not stop reading. My advice for anybody that wants to become a big reader is to not put pressure on it. Just enjoy it like you would enjoy anything, a movie, a TV show. It just has to be for you, and you can really fall in love with it [crosstalk].

Alison: Was that your breakthrough?

August: It was. Now I can't stop reading all the time. I love horror novels. I love people's real-life stories. I just love that books have been my real companion through touring. They are the best.

Alison: Tell us a little bit about your visuals for this record. There's an alien creeping around.

August: I coped with things growing up through big musicals like Little Shop of Horrors, like West Side Story. I love big costumes. I love bright colors. That is what got me through some of the hardest periods in my life. Obviously, I love to go to other places because we just talked about how much I love to read. I wanted to create an album that's about having a hard time at home, but also creating your own space.

For me, that's this world called Nowhereland that I've come up with over the past five years. It's always been a part of my visuals, even though only now I'm coming out with it. That contains this cowboy and this alien and the UFOs that you see and the skeleton horses you see. It's fun for me to create a world. I always tell people that I heard that musicians world build, and I just took it way too seriously.

[laughter]

Alison: Go check out their video on YouTube. You will see what they are talking about. Let's talk about the title, Everywhere Isn't Texas. You spent a good portion of your life in Texas, you spent a good portion of your life in Brooklyn. How has Texas shaped your music? How has Brooklyn shaped your music?

August: When I was in Texas, I did not feel like I was Texan. When I was there, I felt really like a fish out of water or like the alien on my cover. It was not until I left Texas that I realized how deeply Texan I am, whether it's in the way that I treat people, whether it's in the music that I love, or in the ways that I try to connect. I never felt more Texan than when I came to New York.

Alison: Do you two-step?

August: Yes, I do. I do. When I was there, I was a classic, like, "I'm going to get out of here and be in the big city, and everyone's going to understand me." Now I realize that I am, like most things in my life, a combination of two things at once. Me having space from Texas and getting to look at it with a new point of view, especially working with that organization, TENT, that I talked about, I get to meet people that I wish I knew growing up. I get to meet people who really define what being Texan is to me, which is diversity, inclusion. It's about fighting for what's right and wanting to make your home a better place. You can love something and still criticize it at the same time.

Alison: I'm a big fan of Texas. I really always have been a big fan of Texas.

August: I love to hear it.

Alison: Some of the politics, not so much. Is your mindset we can change the politics?

August: Absolutely. People have the power to change themselves. They have the power to come together and change society, and I think that that's why I'm so passionate about that organization, because they're literally at the capital trying to do that. I absolutely believe that change is possible. The minute that we act like that's not possible anymore is when it's now off the table. I wouldn't be talking about it so much and be so passionate about it if I did not have that hope. I think that hope is one thing about myself I really like, and I'm hoping is my North Star for whatever I do in the future when it comes to Texas.

Alison: When you think about this album, what are you the most proud of?

August: I'm extremely proud of this album because it's exactly the album I wanted to put out. I did not have to compromise on any part of it. I didn't have to compromise on the songs, I didn't have to compromise on the visuals, because I had wonderful people that even though I was independent, they wanted to make it happen because they really believed in it. This is exactly the album I wanted to put out, and because of that, there's nothing about it that I can regret or want to change.

Alison: We're going to end with Everywhere Isn't Texas. Anything you want to say about this song?

August: Yes. Everywhere Isn't Texas was the first song that I wrote for this record. I wrote it with Dan Wilson and Ethan Gruska, two people who have really helped me fall in love with songwriting even more. This song is the blueprint for the record, and it has a reprise at the end of the record that contains a lot of my hopes and appreciation for the people that do stay in Texas. This song was written in a space where I really just wanted to feel welcome at home again.

Alison: My guest is singer-songwriter August Ponthier. We're hearing special live performances from their brand new debut album, Everywhere Isn't Texas. Let's hear it.

[MUSIC - August Ponthier: Everywhere Isn't Texas]

Cat had my tongue

And put me in a choke hold

Forever young

You only speak when you are so told

For there's elders here

And they're looking down

And you can't see beyond the

Trees over town

They prod and poke

And make me an example

What a joke

To say I was a scandal

They'll say it's just a friendly fire

But then they'll run me out till I'm tired

Everywhere isn't Texas

It's the only place you know

But that don't make it home

Everywhеre isn't Texas

And you don't have to stay in this statе, alone

And I know that it sounds reckless

But you don't have to stay in Texas

In the Lone Star State

You could find a way to fake it

When you're blooming late

Seems there's no hope to escape it

I was dressing up as someone else

So I can shed the skin that weighed me down

Woah, woah

Everywhere isn't Texas

It's the only place you know

But that don't make it home

Everywhere isn't Texas

And you don't have to stay in this state, alone

And I know that it sounds reckless

But you don't have to stay in Texas