“No Typical Days”: A Conversation With Guitar Extraordinaire Arianna Powell

Graphic by Curly Arson

Arianna Powell is a phenomenal young guitarist based in Los Angeles. She graduated with a degree in Jazz Guitar from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and created a successful life for herself in the city for many years. She performed in bands, including jazz and rock groups, and she taught — in fact, she was my guitar teacher at Pittsburgh Guitars when I was in middle school! Desiring more, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue work larger than the local, small city scene she had been a part of. She has worked incredibly hard since, and has played for and toured with several pop acts from Nick Jonas to the Black Eyed Peas and, most recently, Halsey. She is someone producers call when musicians are needed to back artists at gigs or TV performances — for instance, if you watched SNL a couple months ago, you saw her playing in Olivia Rodrigo’s band. She is also a composer; she released a solo guitar piece last fall and is working on an album of songs. Arianna is poised for world domination in the guitar world and beyond, and I was thrilled to talk with her about the music industry, her process and talent, and her upcoming projects.  

Growing up, Arianna was interested in art of all kinds, but ultimately decided to go into music professionally after a high school music teacher affirmed her talent and potential, impressed with her demonstrated ability to learn the French horn in one month. She studied jazz in college and credits it with informing how she approaches her playing now and navigates music generally; it is such a profound medium and rich with harmony, which is something that really fascinates her. Learning this theoretical side of jazz instilled her with unique sensibilities; the form allows for such freedom and connection with others, requiring one to follow their intuition and that of the people they are playing with. 

Arianna moved from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles completely blind, not knowing anyone. She doesn’t think a move like that should be so scary, and her fearless mentality is admirable: “You’re only young one time, you only live one time, you have to pursue what you really want.” To put herself out there, she forced herself to sit in on jam sessions, introduce herself to other musicians and simultaneously make friends, forging strong bonds within that high-pressure context. She expected the community to be much more aggressive, but everyone was welcoming and supportive. She realized the importance of going out and just doing the thing. Everyone in the music scene is there because of their shared love for the art, and the tight-knit networks in communication can lead to tremendous work opportunities. Also, “you need mentors,” Arianna said, describing how she does not have one specifically, but many older guitarists took her under their wings when she first moved to help her understand the industry, and she still calls them for advice today. 

Initially, Arianna had the perception that once she booked one big gig or started playing for one artist she would have “made it.” She has realized over time that there is not one moment but a series of different events. The first big tour she booked was with Nick Jonas, about five to six months into living in LA. When he decided to take a new route with his sound, she was let go and just kept auditioning, making her rounds with many different bands and artists. She has worked her way up over the years and now her reputation is such that she frequently gets phone calls to play. A performance she is particularly proud of is Halsey’s BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge from summer 2019, where they played “Nightmare” together and a cover of “Sucker” by the Jonas Brothers. It stands out to her the most because she had a creative hand in it; she arranged their version of “Sucker,” reharmonizing it into a slower, jazzy version and writing a new bridge. It was all acoustic with no tracks, the band meshed well and Halsey sounded fantastic. All of these elements came together to make it feel raw and organic, a particularly memorable show. 

One of Arianna’s favorite things about touring is how it makes the world seem smaller. She enjoys people watching and observing cultural differences, from fashion to architecture, food and nightlife. Her favorite cities are New York, Berlin and Seoul. The most difficult thing about touring is the “general lack of stability.” “What’s good about touring is also what’s bad about it,” each day you have to live in the present but at the same time, you are not building anything for yourself at home or working toward personal goals. 

Lately, during the pandemic, Arianna has been isolated and used this time to focus on creating, writing and recording both solo guitar pieces and dream pop Americana songs. It has taken her some time to get into the groove of creativity, but she regrets not doing it more before. She takes some gigs in between, like SNL and appearing on late-night shows and some live streams with Madison Beer recently. She has also started teaching again for the first time in a few years, which she loves because of the excitement she can sense from her students as concepts are unlocked and musical passion grows. When asked how she tackles all of these amazing endeavors, she said that she is careful to balance her energy and only says yes to responsibilities she feels will fulfill her artistically, intellectually or financially (sometimes a very valid reason). She believes that time and energy are precious in a creative field especially, so she is selective about the jobs she takes, listening to herself and only choosing what will nourish her. She has arrived at this mindset after years of saying yes to everything.

Arianna compared her approach to writing music to being a painter and assessing all of the colors she has to work with. Usually, one feeling inspires a riff, melody or lyric, and this serves as the core of the piece as the rest builds from there. She loves to explore all of the harmonic approaches to a song, leaving no stone unturned or color untouched. She also makes the song her main priority, ensuring everything she produces is serving that final product. With her single “Drains to Ocean,” released in late 2020, she allowed it to take her on a journey, almost letting it “write itself.” She recorded it in a friend’s studio with a simple setup: her favorite amp, a Fender Princeton Reverb and, her favorite instrument out of the 12 guitars she owns, a Gibson 339. She has had it since she lived in Pittsburgh and loves its beautiful, warm tone as well as the sentimentality it carries; it has accompanied her at clubs, while teaching, at massive venues like Wembley and Madison Square Garden, and during particularly prideful memories like the Halsey BBC Live Lounge performance. Her practicing philosophy is “always stay curious.” Her process is less academic now but she is always trying to discover new artists and keep up with the current music being released. When she hears something she likes, she challenges herself to figure out the guitar part by ear: “Why is this special?”  

The number one message Arianna wants to communicate to young women looking to make a career in the entertainment industry is the importance of confidence. She wants people to know their worth and how valuable their perspectives are. Imposter syndrome is unfortunately so common: “It took me a long time to really feel like I deserved what I was doing.” She stressed that in a male dominated industry, the voices that often shape the narrative need to be reevaluated. She encourages newcomers to consistently hone their craft and build their skill. Whatever you are bringing to the table is important, your impact on whatever project you are working on is crucial, and you should believe in yourself. She props up and champions women artists and producers and wants to highlight the important expression and striking resilience that they exemplify, entering this daunting field.

In the near future, she hopes to share more of her own music, both solo guitar pieces and the songs she has been working on, which will be released under a TBD band name. She would also like to keep playing for more artists. As the world gradually returns to semi-normalcy, she said that she misses playing shows, but more than anything, she misses going to shows and festivals. She has really gotten into production and recording and hopes to continue that. Arianna is inspiring and an unsung hero — chances are you’ve seen or heard her play but didn’t know her name, though the role she occupies is integral. Her incredibly hard-working nature, humility, versatility and exceptional talent are commendable. She’s truly a badass performer, outstanding musician and genuine artist who should absolutely be on your radar as she continues to reign. 

“Drains to Ocean” / @guitarianna / website