Speed Kills With Ally Evenson
“Someday we can talk again, I miss being friends.” The opening line of “Strawberry,” the first single from Ally Evenson’s upcoming album Speed Kills, out February 20.
Ally Evenson is an alternative pop singer from Detroit, Michigan. Ally got her start in choir, and her dad is also a musician. Ally took vocal lessons for theater and also did a project for opera singing. Ally started making music in 2019, but during COVID times, she started to work on an EP, which was released on the platform “SoundCloud” in March of 2020. Growing up, Ally’s biggest inspirations were Sheryl Crow and Radiohead, who still inspire her today, especially on her new album. Additional inspirations behind the album include artists like Liz Phair and Björk, along with a broader influence from ’90s and early 2000s bands and solo artists. Songs that gave Ally inspiration are “Maybe Angels” by Sheryl Crow, “Extraordinary” by Liz Phair, and “Bull in the Heather” by Sonic Youth. “Phetamines” is really inspired by the band “Autolux” , Ally told me on our Zoom call.
Ally’s branding is very unique; she even has a short film coming out soon to go with her album. I was able to talk to Ally about her branding and the challenges it brings her. “I think branding just surrounding the actual packaging of the cover art and album is easy. TikTok is so hard for me, “ Ally said. The song “Strawberry” was inspired by a photograph by an artist named Diego Goldberg. In the photograph, there is an archway, a doorknob, a boombox, and a couple dancing. The photograph is also a split image. It’s always fascinating to dive into an artist’s inspirations, especially hearing Ally share that she created Pinterest boards for her first album, with dedicated boards for each song and for the different moods she was experiencing throughout the process. “Whatever I wanted to do with this album was really more of a style board and how I wanted to dress and present my music videos, plus the cover art.”
Speed Kills is the title of the project, though there isn’t a track by that name. Ally shared that she was deciding between Speed Kills and “Day Ender,” which does appear on the tracklist, before choosing the final title. While it is not a concept record, the songs explore different themes that all loosely connect back to the idea of speed. I then talked to Ally about her success in music and how crazy it is that it starts with just two fans, then it becomes more and more. Ally played with “Chloe Moriondo” for two tours in 2021 and 2022. Chloe’s fanbase played a big role in supporting Ally early on. She even shared that they began giving her handmade gifts, which she described as incredibly sweet and meaningful. At the end of 2025, Joe Jonas shared a playlist on Spotify to his Instagram story, and Ally’s song “Strawberry” was included on it, which was a major and exciting moment of recognition for her. When I asked Ally how she reacted to that, she said, “I was a Joe girl from the beginning. I love that he does that. I’ve also been on Tyler Oakley’s music playlist. Ally told me that the weird thing about being in LA is meeting your idols and how important fan culture is. Lastly, I asked Ally what the message for her album is, and she told me, “I don't want people to be like ‘oh my god, there is so much to think about.’ It's a chaotic, fun time, and I described it as every motion blowing up in front of you.” Ally’s songs go with every emotion and make you feel like you can just scream out. The world isn’t ready for what “Speed Kills” will bring: raw emotion, love, and excitement, and that is what we need more of in the world today.
