22-year-old rising guitarist and songwriter Madison Cunningham is debuting her new song “Something To Believe In;” listen/share HERE. Cunningham says the song is about, “the hesitation someone feels before they know they can entrust their love, past, future, joy, and sorrows to another.” She goes on to explain, “I think the most reassuring version of love isn’t in finding a faultless hero, but in finding a friend who admits they are bound to fail you, but will always keep faithfully and steadily trying.”

The track hails from Cunningham’s Verve Forecast debut LP, Who Are You Now, out August 16. Pre-order the album HERE.

“The past year was a largely transitional one for me. It felt like all at once I was living in a new city and a new era of my life,” Cunningham explains. “Writing this record really forced me to take an honest look at where I came from, what my dreams and fear were, and who I was becoming as a result.” The album was recorded at Sonic Ranch studio in El Paso. “Madison ascended to another level at Sonic Ranch,” describes producer and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Chester, who has also worked with artists such as Jackson Browne, Blake Mills and Andrew Bird. Chester continues, “she left that week a young master, in total control of her musical identity and skillset.”

The Orange County, CA native has performed as a duet partner with Punch Brothers’ Chris Thile on APM’s “Live From Here” and her list of champions has continued to grow, including Bird, Sara Watkins, Nickle Creek and the Milk Carton Kids’ Joey Ryan. During the summer of 2018, she was the sole opener for the entirety of the Punch Brothers’ 34-stop North American tour. Cunningham is currently gearing up for a string of dates performing with Bird, Calexico, Iron + Wine, Amos Lee and Lake Street Drive. Find a complete list of dates below.

Cunningham first picked up a guitar at age seven, and by age twelve was singing and performing alongside her five siblings in church. By the age of fifteen, Cunningham realized songwriting was a passion she wanted to pursue, citing Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan as key inspirations. “It’d always been a hobby before, but around then, I realized I wanted to make it a religious practice,” she says. “I thought if I could capture some of their same spirit ever in my life, I’d have to work hard and every day.”

MADISON CUNNINGHAM TOUR

* with Andrew Bird
† with Calexico and Iron & Wine
‡ with Amos Lee
§ with Lake Street Drive