West Side indie pop-rocker Tinsley brings new album, tour to the Chameleon

A young Olivia Tinsley (known professionally as Tinsley) grew up near Everett, spending much of her childhood singing and dancing for her family in imaginative productions. Back then, the only bright lights and cameras came from living room lamps and her mother’s home movies.

Tinsley was also involved in musical theater and choir during elementary school and picked up the acoustic guitar in high school to “learn to play Taylor Swift songs” and compliment the poetry she had been writing by turning them into songs. She also played in a church worship band.

In fact, it was during Tinsley’s time with this band that she met the person who would inspire her to truly pursue music years later: guitarist Brandon Parker.

The two reconnected over coffee around 2017, when Parker had established himself as a guitarist in the Seattle area and was consistently playing shows around the West Side. Now in her 20s and holding a communications degree from the University of Washington, Tinsley still had the desire to perform and release music, but the childhood dream that she once had began to fade.

“Seeing someone else that I had kind of grown up with out there being more of a professional musician inspired me,” Tinsley said.

With the inspiration and help of Parker, Tinsley began to chase that dream once again. Together, they played her first show with original songs at a Woodinville brewery, and Tinsley began to network and play more shows. Parker remains her guitarist to this day.

Now, Tinsley can say she has released her full-length self-titled debut album with a Northwest tour, concluding with a stop at the Chameleon on Saturday, with vinyl to boot. It was actually the concept of this vinyl that birthed the January release to begin with.

Tinsley had been pitching her prior music, such as her 2023 EP “Love Songs,” to various local radio DJs via email, and a KEXP DJ by the name of John Richards replied. During this online interaction, the host of KEXP’s “The Morning Show” asked if Tinsley had any plans for a full-length record and informed her of his record club.

Members of Richards’ record club subscribe and pay to receive monthly vinyl records, special event access and more. He had the idea to use money from the record club to fund vinyl pressing and offered Tinsley this grant.

“Since it was a vinyl-first kind of record, I also thought about how I could organize the songs in the A versus B side,” Tinsley said. “The A side of my record is a little more rock-pop and then the B side has more country influences to it.”

Many artists influenced the sound of the record, ranging from (obviously) Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves to the Cranberries and Sharon Van Etten. Rock, pop, country, indie and even touches of ‘80s new wave can be heard throughout the nine-track project Tinsley believes is best described as “indie pop-rock.”

Thematically, the project and Tinsley’s lyrics primarily explore ideas of grief as well as relationships of the romantic and platonic kind.

“I think what I was trying to do was just give a snapshot of who I am,” Tinsley said. “It’s kind of a bit of a coming-of-age project, at least like experiences of my 20s.”

To be accomplishing these goals and witnessing the dreams of Tinsley’s youth come to fruition before her very eyes is something she holds close to the heart, especially considering it wasn’t all that long ago that these musical achievements seemed like nothing but a faded fantasy. As she nears her 30s, Tinsley refuses to let it happen again.

“A big part of my creative journey has been trying to get back to the uninhibitedness of being a kid and having those dreams and just going for it; not letting the social conditioning or potential imposter syndrome or doubts stop me from putting myself out there,” Tinsley said.