Alyssa Bonagura Talks “New Wings” & Her Career

As an established, celebrated songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, Alyssa Bonagura has, in one form or another, been a staple of the music industry for a decade. When she’s not writing hit songs for the likes of Jessie James Decker, she’s enthralling and connecting with fans around the world through her own releases, including latest single “New Wings”, and with life, and the world, slowly returning to some semblance of normality, including the return of live shows, she’s set to win over even more people when she performs in London later this month. Ahead of the show, PopWrapped caught up with Alyssa to find out the story behind her latest single and the artists she’s most inspired by.  

For anyone who is yet to discover you and your music, who exactly is Alyssa Bonagura in a few words? 

A road warrior since birth, from a musical family. I’m a storyteller & someone who always writes from an honest place, hoping to uplift and inspire others with my music! 

You spent many of your younger years aboard a tour bus, surrounded by artists and music and recorded a duet with the legendary Kenny Rogers when you were 10. How did those experiences influence or impact your decision to later make your own mark on the music world?

Being able to learn and be influenced by some of the best in the business has been such an honor. I got to witness & realize what it truly takes to do this on a major level & how to stay humble through it all. The true greats that surrounded me were always humble, honest & powerful at the same time & that always spoke to me the loudest of what’s really important when leaving my mark in the world.

Which bands or artists most influenced you growing up and how, if at all have those influences changed? How do they filter through into the music you make? 

Coldplay has been a major influence of mine – they’re a deep band! Their music transcends so many genres and brings so many people together. You’ll hear a lot of their influence in my new music. I also grew up listening to Joni Mitchell & learned how to play guitar using open tunings because of her.

You’re perhaps best known as a member of The Sisterhood Band – how did those years in the group prepare you for your now critically-acclaimed solo career? 

To be able to tour the world and work with a major label really pushed me to the best version of myself that I could be. I would always go on stage from 1 level to the next and say to myself “omg how am I going to do this?” – and then I’d always just do it. It pushed me to levels I couldn’t have gotten to on my own and I’m so grateful for the time I had in that band.

Tell me about “New Wings.” Who or what inspired it and what made you think it was the right choice for a single? 

I found a story last year during lockdown that really spoke to my heart. It’s called The Lesson of The Butterfly by Paulo Coelho and it’s all about how the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly is quite a painful and tough experience to getting its new wings. After experiencing so much loss in 2020, the story helped me realize that some of the most painful experiences are happening because they are making us stronger and showing us that the best is yet to come. With “New Wings” I wanted to inspire & uplift listeners that had been through a similar thing.

Away from your own music, you’re an established song-writer, having written for Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Jessie James Decker. Which of the songs that you’ve written for someone else are you most proud of and why? 

“I Make My Own Sunshine” is a song I’m super proud of because it really was my first big break! I wrote it when I was living in Liverpool & it was raining all the time haha! It seems to be a song that makes a lot of people happy and that means so much to me. It was SO cool and a complete honor when Steven Tyler cut it! 

You’re playing a show in the UK, alongside Twinnie, this Sunday. After so long away from a stage and a live audience, how does it feel to know you’ll soon be back ‘at home’ so to speak? 

I cannot wait to play in London with Twinnie! She is a huge supporter of female musicians and I just think she’s an inspiration to a lot of people and I’m excited she asked me! It feels amazing to play live again to people and connect with them: that’s what music is all about!

What can anyone attending the show expect from your set? 

Hopefully my music can be an escape for people and put a smile on their faces! I share real stories in all my songs & really love to get the crowd singing along so hopefully I’ll get their voices warmed up!

Which of your songs do you find go down best with a live audience, and which do you most like to perform? 

“New Wings” has really been connecting and that means so much!! 

Are there more tour/performance plans in the works? 

Oh yes. Back to America for a bit to finish the album & then will plan for 2022. 

Finally then, what else do the remaining few months have in store for you and for fans? Have you started looking to 2022 yet or are you just taking things one day at a time and enjoying life slowly returning to some semblance of normality?  

I think it’s really important to take things one day at a time as everything changes so quickly these days! So I’m following the music wherever it leads me!

Give “New Wings” a listen below and for more information on Alyssa Bonagura, visit her website, give her page a like on Facebook or follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Header photo credit: KatieQ.