Indigo De Souza’s music feels made for Hopscotch: it’s casually crunchy and catchy, roving between winsome self-reflection to no-holds-barred, cathartic grunge pop, all underwritten with earnest, polished songwriting. The Asheville native swings through the Triangle often, either to see friends or record at Betty’s in Chapel Hill; she’s also played a few times at Hopscotch, her name growing slightly bigger on the bill every year.
This year, with 2023’s standout All of This Will End behind her and a new record out in 2025 (and an EP out in the very near future), her name hovers just below St. Vincent’s on the billing. She’ll also lead movement-building festival CAROLINADAZE’s Asheville show with a solo October performance.
Hopscotch, she tells the INDY, “feels a bit like being home” and is an “amazing way to interact with the city.” Ahead of those two shows, De Souza spoke with the INDY about growing up in Asheville and building community.
INDY: What made you want to participate in CAROLINADAZE?
De Souza: Oh, it just felt like an important way to be a part of my community, and I got excited that it’s in my hometown—I don’t get to perform here very often. It seemed like a sweet opportunity. But I’m also nervous about it because I don’t play solo.
Asheville’s a special place—how did growing up in the area inform your artistic sensibility?
It was really important moving from Spruce Pine to Asheville, because there are a lot more people playing music in Asheville. I think of all the connections I’ve made musically and professionally over the years and how important they’ve been. Especially when I was in high school, meeting the people I started playing in a band with—that was important and shaped me a lot. My mom grew up in the area; I’m very grateful for it. Asheville is small and tight-knit, but it’s really rich with people that are talented and have a lot of passion.
I saw that you recently purchased land around Asheville—that’s so exciting. What’s your vision around it like?
Thank you! Mostly, since I was little, I’ve had a vision for a space for my community, where I can offer them a space to be free, if that makes sense, just to be themselves and open to nature and connecting with each other. My main goal with it is just to have a community space and to make it feel open and homey to my friends. I hope someday to be growing vegetables out there and living with a few friends and having gatherings.
You’ve mentioned community several times—how do you stay connected with it when you’re touring?
I don’t know—it’s hard to travel and be away from home, for sure. This might sound cheesy but I’m grateful for Instagram. I feel like it allows me to connect with my community wherever I am—and also my online community, which feels important too. And then I’m just really proactive about having phone calls with all my friends and keeping up with them while I’m gone.
When you say “online community,” do you mean fans?
Yeah, fans, people who follow along with me on Instagram. I’m grateful for that community because they’re all sweet, heart-open people. I don’t know why I’m so lucky, but I have really awesome people who follow along with me and it feels special to be able to reach out to them through that platform and create conversation.
That’s good to hear—I know there’s been some discourse lately with Chappell Roan and artists who feel like there’s been an overwhelming intensity to stan culture.
Oh, yeah. I’m definitely grateful for it.
When writing All of This Will End, how did the themes coalesce and what did you learn about yourself as you felt those threads start to tighten?
The main thread behind the album ended up being this idea of being grateful to be alive and finding the positivity and human experience through the understanding that it is all temporary and it’s all going to end. Every moment is precious, every connection is precious. That perspective while making the record ended up being important for me because I struggle with existence in general and have a hard time with being a person, mentally. Finding that energy within the songs and the making of the album was nice.
I think that’s a nice perspective on mortality, not as a form of nihilism but an invitation to be present.
Totally, and it can be either thing, depending on how you’re looking at it—but I was looking at it more positively.
Comment on this story at [email protected].