Singer/songwriter Charli Adams speaks to Atwood Magazine about female friendship, returning to the road, and her spirited new single “Airlifter,” an achingly intimate, impassioned anthem about showing up for the people who show up for you.
Stream: “Airlifter” – Charli Adams
The constant has always been my love for writing about my life in an honest and raw way… I plan to do it for the rest of my life, with or without the job.
Our best friends are there for us through thick and thin, no questions asked.
The good times are great, but it’s when life gets hard – when smooth sailing turns stormy – that our friendships matter most. We all deserve that anchor, that buoy, that lifeline – someone to sit with us, cry with us, laugh with us, ache with us – and our friends deserve the same. Charli Adams’ latest single isn’t just an ode to her best friend; it’s an ode to showing up and being there when we’re needed the most, just as our loved ones do for us. Because we’re not always the protagonists, the main characters in our own story; sometimes we’re the support, and it’s in those moments that we need to be the best damn version of ourselves. An intimate, spirited anthem of best friendship, enduring love, and unbreakable bonds, “Airlifter” is a (literally and emotionally) uplifting alt-pop outpouring from the deepest depths of Adams’ soul.
It’s a candid, cathartic heart-to-heart with the person who has always been there for her, and a raw, vulnerable, and moving testament to the beauty – and power – of human connection.
She’s calling me on FaceTime
We talk about nothing and try not to cry
She missed the next call and
I’m missing the time we spend together
She shows up for all of her friends
Working ’til two-thirty, coming over again
If you wanna run away,
then I’d understand and pack your bag together
Laura, what can I do to make it better for you?
And I said, “I swear, I’ll airlift you out of there”
You know just what to do
except for when it comes to you
I said, “I swear, I’ll airlift you out of here”
If I have to, if you want
You’d do anything for anyone
Independently released September 13, 2024, “Airlifter” finds singer/songwriter Charli Adams taking flight as she (once again) bares all in song, holding nothing back as she shines a light into herself for all to see, hear, and feel. The Alabama-born, Nashville-based artist’s first release since 2023’s critically acclaimed nothing to be scared of EP is an honest and unfiltered song for her decade-long best friend Laura Bass, lovingly described as her partner-in-crime.
“It’s about wanting to help the friend that always seems to be helping everyone around them,” Adams tells Atwood Magazine. “It’s a song for Laura, as an ode to all the moments she helped pull me through. It’s a reminder that sometimes that friend who seems to have an unlimited well of support needs a lift.”
“I think everyone has that person that always shows up for you, no matter what. My best friend Laura has always been that way. As lucky as we are to have those people in our lives, you worry if they’re leaving enough room for themselves.”
This sentiment hits hardest in the song’s emotionally charged chorus, where Adams passionately sings, “Laura, what can I do to make it better for you? And I said, ‘I swear, I’ll airlift you out of there.’ You know just what to do, except for when it comes to you.” This is her promise to be there for her bestie – to support her in those painful times, to go wherever and whenever she is needed.
Adams explains that she initially wrote the song during her move out to Los Angeles two years ago (she has since moved back to Nashville); it was, in fact, that act of leaving her longtime home, and many of her closest friends, that made her realize and truly appreciate just how much they meant to her.
“I was needing space from some memories made in that city [of Nashville], and my best friend Laura and I made a lot of those memories together,” she says. “When I wrote this song, I was missing her and thinking of the kind of friend she is. She seems to have an endless well for showing up for the people she loves, and that kind of friend can struggle to remember to show up for themselves.”
“I was experiencing a lot of growth and healing being away from it all, and started to wonder if it was my turn to come to the rescue. If she needed the same thing that I did, but didn’t have the space to make the change for herself. All the things I wanted to say to her in that moment became ‘Airlifter.’”
Watching the best band on TV
Laughing and going on about our wildest dreams
Always playing it safe and believing in me,
thought we’d leave together
Laura, what can I do to make it better for you?
And I said, “I swear, I’ll airlift you out of here”
You know just what to do
except for when it comes to you
I said, “I swear, I’ll airlift you out of there”
If I have to, if you want
Like you would for anyone
If I have to, if you want
You’d do anything for anyone
Atwood Magazine recently caught up with Charli Adams for a conversation about friendship, human connection, and her empathetic, uplifting new single.
Dive into “Airlifter” in our interview below, and stay tuned for more to come from the alternative singer/songwriter as she continues to release new songs – and tour – throughout the rest of the year; she will be joining Toronto indie pop band Valley this fall as the support for their North American tour, which starts in Philadelphia in late September and culminates a month later in Seattle.
“I’m so excited to be touring again,” Adams smiles. “I hadn’t been on the road since before the pandemic, and it’s one of the things that makes this job fulfilling for me.”
You called me to say you panicked
’cause you saw him closing out
At the spot we would go dancing,
you packed up and turned around
All the guys who took advantage,
all the friends we lost hang out
They’re still drinking down on Camden,
we would never go there now
As for biggest takeaways from this special song?
“Check on your friends, especially the ones who are always checking on you,” she says. “I want it to remind people who have friends like Laura in their life to hug them a little tighter and step in when it’s their turn to show up.”
A longtime Atwood Magazine artist-to-watch and two-time Editor’s Pick, Charli Adams remains one of the indie / alt-pop scene’s brightest, most promising (and emotive) voices. As aching as her latest song may be – and it hits hard – it’s equally refreshing to welcome a new Charli Adams anthem into our lives. Be sure to give his song the listen it deserves, and catch her on tour this fall!
Laura, what can I do to make it better for you?
And I said, “I swear, I’ll airlift you out of there”
You know just what to do
except for when it comes to you
I said, “I swear, I’ll airlift you out of there”
If I have to, if you want
Like you would for anyone
If I have to, if you want
You’d do anything for anyone
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:: stream/purchase Airlifter here ::
:: connect with Charli Adams here ::
Stream: “Airlifter” – Charli Adams
A CONVERSATION WITH CHARLI ADAMS
Atwood Magazine: It’s so good to be reconnecting with you, Charli! How has your 2024 been so far – what have you been up to?
Charli Adams: Always good to chat with you! I’ve been really happy this year. I moved back to Nashville from LA and feeling super peaceful about that decision. I missed the trees, community, backroads, and parking lots. I’m a small(er) town girl after all. I’ve just been busy but happy about it. Prepping for tour in the fall and planning releases totally independent has been a lot, but I’m really excited for this next chapter of music.
This month marks a year since your last EP, nothing to be scared of. What is your relationship like with those songs these days; how have they grown with you, and how has your relationship with that record changed since it first came out?
Charli Adams: I struggle to not move on too quickly when I start making new music. I more or less wrote that project in one week on a writing trip in LA with Andy Seltzer, which couldn’t be more opposite from the approach we’ve taken with this next batch of music. With nothing to be scared of, we didn’t spend much time editing or experimenting, which was really freeing and something I needed at the time in my life. It allowed me to release that chapter of my life while it was still very real to me.
I think spending 2-plus years working and chipping away at the next collection of songs makes sense for the themes I’m covering. I think allowing myself to shift the process of making music based on the nature of the songs is helping me to understand myself as a writer. I’m learning that my process tends to move with the energy of what I’m writing about.
I missed the trees, community, backroads, and parking lots. I’m a small(er) town girl after all.
Most of our writers are likely familiar – in some way, shape, or form, with you and your music, but what should people know about you as you’re coming back into the spotlight, today?
Charli Adams: I think the core of who I am as an artist is how much I cherish the craft of songwriting. My music has sonically evolved based on my influences and what I find inspiring at the time. The constant has always been my love for writing about my life in an honest and raw way. Having that outlet has helped me through some of my darkest or most confusing life experiences. I plan to do it for the rest of my life, with or without the job. It’s magic to hear a deeply relatable song; it reminds me of the connection we have to one another. The human experience channeled into art for others to feel seen. The opportunity to be a part of that is so special to me.
This brings us to “Airlifter,” your first song of the year. What’s the story behind this song, and why did you want to return with it over any others?
Charli Adams: When I write, some songs just come effortlessly, and this was one of those. I had recently moved to Los Angeles for some new scenery, after spending eight years in Nashville. I was needing space from some memories made in that city, and my best friend Laura and I made a lot of those memories together. When I wrote this song, I was missing her and thinking of the kind of friend she is. She seems to have an endless well for showing up for the people she loves, and that kind of friend can struggle to remember to show up for themselves.
I was experiencing a lot of growth and healing being away from it all, and started to wonder if it was my turn to come to the rescue. If she needed the same thing that I did, but didn’t have the space to make the change for herself. All the things I wanted to say to her in that moment became ‘Airlifter.’
What was your vision going into this song? Did that change over the case of writing/recording it?
Charli Adams: Sonically, there were a few variations of the song. When Andy and I feel stuck or in between ideas, we check in on what the song lyrically is saying and the feeling we’re trying to express. We landed on something that felt softer and optimistic. Despite covering some heavier topics in the song, it’s coming from a place of newfound peace and wanting to bring your friend along with you.
You’ve described this song as a “celebration of female friendship and growing up.” Where, for you, did those emotions stem from? Was there a specific moment or experience that spurred these sentiments?
Charli Adams: I think friendships are sacred, especially for women. We share experiences and traumas that only we could understand, and that camaraderie forms a deep bond. Best friends pick up the pieces when life falls apart, free of judgement. In the bridge I wrote about an incident that unfortunately myself and many of my friends have suffered and found a lot of healing through having each other to talk to and feel understood. There’s a safety we feel with one another and at times is the only safe place we have.
You called me to say you panicked
’cause you saw him closing out
At the spot we would go dancing,
you packed up and turned around
All the guys who took advantage,
all the friends we lost hang out
They’re still drinking down on Camden,
we would never go there now
Despite covering some heavier topics in the song, it’s coming from a place of newfound peace and wanting to bring your friend along with you.
“She’s calling me on FaceTime. We talk about nothing and try not to cry. She missed the next call and I’m missing the time we spend together.” I love how you open right into the relationship; can you talk about how you set the scene here?
Charli Adams: When I sit down to write, I’ll play guitar for a while until something inevitably comes out. That was the first lyric I sang. I didn’t even know what I was going to write about that day, I suppose she was on my mind. That was the reality of our friendship at the time. It was long distance. We’d lived together in the past and I think a sign of deep closeness is the ability to sit in silence together, just coexisting in the comfort of one another’s company. That didn’t stop when we lived far away from each other. Our phones would get hot from hour long FaceTimes where we talked about nothing… there’s a real comfort in that.
Your chorus is so dreamy – “I said I swear I’ll airlift you out of it,” you sing, presumably to your friend (and your friend to you). Ultimately you’re singing about showing up for your loved ones. I wonder, is this chorus a particularly special one for you?
Charli Adams: Absolutely. I had yet to write about one of the most important relationships in my life. I’ve written at least one song about every romantic relationship I’ve been in, and my best friend had seen all of them come and go. She’d been there through all the heartbreak and butterflies. I guess being physically apart brought it out of me. Immediately after writing it, I FaceTimed to show her and we both cried. Now she’s coming on tour with me this fall to sell merch and it’s gonna get pretty emotional singing it every night.
It's now been just six years since the world first met Charli Adams – a short time in the grand scheme of things, but a very long time as we’re living it. How do you feel you yourself have evolved as an artist over this time?
Charli Adams: I feel like it’s been a lifetime since I started releasing music. I’ve been in and out of a record deal, parted ways with teams, thought about quitting a couple times, realized that’s not an option, etc. I think the biggest lesson that I’m still learning is how important it is to trust yourself. Looking back, any regret I’ve had in my career followed a moment where I ignored my intuition.
Listening to your inner voice is the only way to be an artist in an authentic way. I’ve also become less and less attached to an outcome over time. I used to have a very specific idea of what my career would look like and being an artist is too unpredictable for that kind of expectation. It’s a cliché, but for good reason. If I can’t be content with my day to day of going down this path, I won’t be happy when I “get there.”
This year feels like it’s been a nice restart for you, and I’m so excited for you to be “coming back” now with new songs. What are you looking forward to as we head to the end of the year, and what do you hope to accomplish between now and 2025?
Charli Adams: I’m so excited to be touring again. I hadn’t been on the road since before the pandemic and it’s one of the things that makes this job fulfilling for me. It was difficult to release ‘Bullseye’ during the pandemic and not have the opportunity to play it for people. I think I have a weird relationship with that album, because seeing how it connects with people is a huge part of the puzzle. I hope to never take that long of a break again.
The biggest lesson that I’m still learning is how important it is to trust yourself… Listening to your inner voice is the only way to be an artist in an authentic way.
In closing, what do you hope listeners take away from “Airlifter”? What have you taken away from creating it and now putting it out?
Charli Adams: Check on your friends, especially the ones who are always checking on you. I want it to remind people who have friends like Laura in their life to hug them a little tighter and step in when it’s their turn to show up.
In the spirit of paying it forward, who are you listening to these days that you would recommend to our readers?
Charli Adams: Ooooh, love this question. I’ve been listening to a lot of the new MJ Lenderman album “Manning Fireworks”. Also one of my new favorite songwriters is a country artist Lauren Watkins. Her album “Heartbroken Record” is flawlessly written. I’ve also really loved an artist called Fog Lake recently. His entire discography is the perfect lo-fi soundtrack to drive and contemplate life to.
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:: stream/purchase Airlifter here ::
:: connect with Charli Adams here ::
Stream: “Airlifter” – Charli Adams
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