Ava Maybee – Orange Drive
Today, Los Angeles artist Ava Maybee has released her debut EP, Orange Drive.
On it she traces the electric threads that connect people to each other, no matter how tangled they get. Whether she’s spiralling into the torture of a brand new crush or savoring the catharsis of a good clean split from an ex, Maybee thrives in chaotic vulnerability. “Orange Drive is extremely special to me because it’s my first project I’ve ever put out,” shares Maybee, “I wrote the EP about the ups and downs and ebbs and flows of the grief process of romantic and platonic break ups. I hope people can scream, cry, dance, and feel seen when they listen to Orange Drive!”
Immersed in music throughout her childhood – her father is Chad Smith, drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers – Maybee started writing songs at 16. “Growing up in L.A., I was always ‘the singer,’ and I also journaled constantly. But I never put two and two together until high school,” she says. “That’s when I started tapping into the artists I had surrounded myself with my entire life. My dad’s music was very inspirational to me, and my mom is a big Motown fan. I knew what I loved and hoped it could seep into my music.” Alongside the release Maybee has shared a video for “Colors (Recolored),”
While writing, Maybee found herself looking back on the period when she was just entering her twenties and negotiating rapidly changing relationships. Many of Orange Drive’s songs tackle the existential pain of losing friends, a rupture that can wrench apart your core self-understanding. “A romantic relationship not working out is not very rare. But with friendships, it’s like, oh, we are different as human beings,” Maybee says. “That’s so hard and so sad.”
On the heels of playing to a sold-out crowd at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom, Ava will embark on a run of headline tour dates around festival plays at Napa’s BottleRock, Milwaukee’s Summerfest, and the return of Warped Tour. The headline dates kick off May 24 in Seattle and conclude June 14 at The Roxy in Los Angeles.
Tour Dates
May 24 – Napa, CA @ BottleRock Festival
May 28 – Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s
May 29 – Portland, OR @ Mission Theater
May 31 – Boise, ID @ The Shredder
June 2 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
June 4 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
June 6 – Colorado Springs, CO @ The Black Sheep
June 7 – Fort Collins, CO @ The Coast
June 9 – Albuquerque, NM @ Lunchpad
June 10 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
June 12 – San Diego, CA @ Voodoo Room, Hob
June 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
June 19 – 21st – Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
July 26 – 27th – Long Beach, CA @ Warped Tour
#avamaybee