Squirrel Flower (born August 11, 1996) is the stage name of American musician Ella O'Connor Williams.

Early life

Williams grew up in

Arlington, Massachusetts Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is six miles (10 km) northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, and its population was 46,308 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Europe ...

. When Williams was a child, she gave herself the nickname Squirrel Flower. In 2014, she moved to Iowa to attend

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

History

After getting involved in the DIY scene in Boston as a teenager, Williams moved to Iowa. There, she wrote her first EP as Squirrel Flower and began setting up small tours for herself. This first EP, titled ''Early Winter Songs From Middle America'', was self-released in 2015. In 2016, Williams released her second EP titled ''Contact Sports'' on a St. Louis-based DIY tape label called It Takes Time. Williams' debut album, ''I Was Born Swimming'', was released in 2020 via

Polyvinyl Records In polymer chemistry, vinyl polymers are a group of polymers derived from substituted vinyl () monomers. Their backbone is an extended alkane chain . In popular usage, "vinyl" refers only to polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Examples Vinyl polymers are ...

. The album was produced by Gabe Wax. This anticipated label debut earned overwhelming praise from the likes of

Gorilla vs. Bear ''Gorilla vs. Bear'' is an MP3 blog for independent music MP3s, videos, news, and reviews from all genres. It was created by Chris Cantalini in March 2005, and David Bartholow joined as a contributor in 2006. ''Gorilla vs. Bear'' regularly featur ...

, NPR Music, and ''Paste'', and she was named ''Rolling Stone'' Artist You Need To Know, ''Stereogum'''s Artist to Watch,

The FADER ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

's Gen F, and ''The Guardian'''s One to Watch. In May 2020, Squirrel Flower released the single "Take It Or Leave It", backed with her cover of

Caroline Polachek Caroline Elizabeth Polachek (born June 20, 1985) is an American singer, producer, and songwriter. Raised in Connecticut, Polachek cofounded the indie pop band Chairlift while studying at the University of Colorado. The duo emerged from the late- ...

's " So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings." In March 2024, Williams was the first artist to withdraw from the

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

festival due to sponsorships by "defense department contractors

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make the weapons that the IDF uses to bomb

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." Eighty artists followed her lead, causing the festival to terminate their contracts with US Army and RTX Corporation for the 2025 festival. Also in March 2024, she was featured on NPR Tiny Desk for the first time.

Stage name

Discography

Studio albums *''Contact Sports (Deluxe Edition)'' (2018, 2000 Pigs) *''I Was Born Swimming'' (2020, Polyvinyl) *''Planet (i)'' (2021, Polyvinyl) *'' Tomorrow's Fire'' (2023, Polyvinyl) EPs *''Early Winter Songs from Middle America'' (2015, self-released) *''Contact Sports'' (2016, It Takes Time. Re-released on vinyl in 2018 by 2000 Pigs) *''Planet'' (2022, Full Time Hobby) Singles *"Midwestern Clay" (2016) *"Not Your Prey" (2016) *"Red Shoulder" (2019) *"Headlights" (2019) *"Streetlight Blues" (2020) *"Take It or Leave It / So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings" (2020) *" Explain It to Me / Chicago" (2020) *"Hurt a Fly" (2021) *"I'll Go Running" (2021) *”Flames and Flat Tires” (2021)

References

{{Authority control 1996 births Living people People from Arlington, Massachusetts American indie rock musicians Musicians from Massachusetts American indie folk musicians Polyvinyl Record Co. artists American folk singers 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists