Singer Taylor Acorn talks about her ties to Pittsburgh, new album and 'People Watching' video

Pop-punk singer Taylor Acorn is originally from Wellsboro in north-central Pennsylvania and is currently living in Nashville. But she feels like she’s going to wind up in Pittsburgh someday, since her partner of five years grew up in Johnstown and his family now lives in Cranberry.

“So every Christmas, birthday, just to go hang out, we’re always in Pittsburgh,” she said last week from Nashville. “So it’s kind of become like a second home.”

In the past year, Acorn has already played two shows here, with a sold-out show last November at Crafthouse and a slot on this year’s Four Chord Music Festival in June. She’ll be back again on Sept. 17, opening for Dashboard Confessional and Boys Like Girls at Stage AE in Pittsburgh.

“It’s really, honestly, something that I’m still trying to wrap my head around,” she said. “There are so many milestones that, in my artist career, I’ve wanted to hit, and it’s just cool that people actually want to show up for you and are singing the songs and are selling it out and are buying the tickets.”

This year’s Four Chord appearance was a surreal moment for her, because two years ago she went as a fan.

“It was just really cool to be on the other side of it one time,” she said, “and then come back and be on the opposite.”

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Another milestone moment ahead is the release of her first full album, “Survival in Motion,” on Sept. 13. More than anything, Acorn is excited for the album release, but there’s a little bit of apprehension.

“I always get this anxiety, kind of like impending doom. What if nobody likes it?” she said. “But I’m really excited. And to be honest, this is some of, if not my, best work that I’ve ever done. That’s my own opinion. I’ll leave that up to everybody else to decide. But I’m just really proud of this music. And so I’ve been listening to it on loop and a lot of the times, I can’t listen to my own music. So I like to say that that says something.”

After releasing a few EPs and a bevy of singles in her eight-year career, the album came together seamlessly and just felt “like it was just meant to be,” she said. The album, which includes singles like “High Horse,” “Greener” and “Survival in Motion,” features a late 1990s/early 2000s vibe.

“Sonically, they all sound very good together,” she said. “I think they all fit, but they are very different and they all kind of touch on different things in this new chapter of my life that I’ve been experiencing.”

Acorn’s latest single, “People Watching,” drew inspiration from the budding romance of singer Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Since her boyfriend is “obviously a big Steelers fan,” she said they watched a lot of NFL and witnessed the relationship bloom last year. And, of course, she heard the discussions about whether it was real or a PR move.

“And they just didn’t care, they just kept doing their thing, didn’t care, they were put on blast, all of these people were judging them,” she said. “I just thought, there are so many people that feel like that just on a normal day basis, whether you’re LGBTQ or you’re in an interracial relationship, or even for me, I have this platform where a lot of the times it’s scary to share the person that you’re having an intimate relationship with or you’re sharing your life with.

“So I just really love the concept of just being unapologetically in love and not being afraid to show people that side of your life. And to show that side of your life loudly. It’s like, love is such an incredible experience. And it’s so universal. And I think we need more of it nowadays, I think more than ever. So I just really love that concept of just, all of these people being against you, and it doesn’t matter. It’s you and that person. It’s the love that you and that person share. And I think that that should be showcased for everybody. We shouldn’t be afraid of it.”

Acorn’s partner compiled and directed the crowd-sourced video, which features tender moments between loved ones. Acorn didn’t see the montage until the day of the music video shoot, which might have been a mistake in hindsight because of all the emotions wrapped up in it.

“I was crying. I was like, this is a bad idea,” she said with a laugh. “This is a bad idea because I’m trying to fix my makeup, and I’m crying because I’ve seen all these people and not only videos of them, but videos of me and my partner and my best friend, Emma (Lynn White), who also wrote the song, and her partner. So it was just a really cool moment. I think it was a really cool surprise.”

Acorn holds high hopes for the song and could see its potential as a replacement for one of her covers.

“I did a cover of ‘First Date’ by Blink-182 a couple years ago, and that’s been kind of the wedding song that people have been using,” she said. “And so I was like, maybe that can retire and you guys can start using this one. … Not to say that I don’t love that cover, but it would be really cool to see people using that one for their wedding.”

While Acorn said she gravitates toward late 1990s bands like Vertical Horizon and the Smashing Pumpkins, she grew up on pop-punk/emo bands like Circa Survive, The Main, Mayday Parade, Neck Deep, The Story So Far and Story of the Year … and, of course, Dashboard Confessional. She can distinctly recall listening to their song ”Stolen” for the first time.

“I remember seeing the music video and just being like, this is so good,” she said. “And my friend from middle school, she was also very much into the emo/early pop-punk music too. So I remember her and I just listening to that on her trampoline. It’s just really cool to be able to be trusted with the opening of their show. Very full circle.”