Abbie McAllister is a sophomore at Fairmont State University studying Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. Originating from a small town in Salem, WV Abbie has always enjoyed music and at the age of 17 she received her first guitar. Upon receiving her first guitar Abbie wrote her first song. As of today, Abbie has completed 8 original songs, but she has about 15 originals in the works. Abbie enjoys sharing her talent in any way that she can and currently helps lead the live worship at Delight Ministries here on campus.
If you were to listen to Abbie perform you would hear a mix of folk, jazz, blues, and rock in her music. When writing her songs she can be inspired by just about anything. In an interview with Abbie, she noted that she has an attentive mind, so she gathers inspiration from a lot of places. She is heavily inspired by other people’s art in all forms and people themselves. When asked what has inspired her current originals she stated, “I’ve written with ideas from 1800s poetry, personal experience, and songs based around concepts of life but portrayed through made up characters.”
While this is only her second-year gigging, she has had some amazing opportunities thus far. Her biggest opportunity happened this past September when she was able to meet with some well-established people in the music industry down in Nashville and record her music. Another opportunity she is thankful for was playing at the Purple Fiddle stage in Thomas, WV. She is grateful to Corduroy Brown for helping her face her fears and gain some of the experience she has. Abbie had the opportunity to play on stage with him this past February at 123 Pleasant in Morgantown, WV. Most recently I had the chance to listen to Abbie on the Give Thanks Fest stage in Morgantown, WV on November 9th. Here she played a mix of originals and covers, and it was amazing to hear her voice and listen to her play.
If Abbie were to pick one thing as a future goal with her music is to turn music into her job. To help her achieve this she has two goals she is focusing on right now. The first goal is to simply keep gigging and building her experience. She said this allows her to meet some awesome people. Ultimately though her goal within the next year or two is to release an EP or album. Some of her original songs she has completed that her fans would love to see released include Jester, Sun Song, When and Where, and The Death of Detail. You can hear bits of these songs on her TikTok page along with lots of the covers she does!
If you have the chance to meet Abbie on campus she will put a smile on your face with her bubbly persona. Be sure to check her music out by following her on Instagram at @abbiemcallistermusic or on TikTok @abbigail.mcallister.
