Owl Ampersand was born in Mount Kisco, NY on October 10th, 1989. As a baby, her parents moved to a neighboring town by the name of Greenwich located in southern Connecticut. Her distaste for the homogenous culture there became apparent as she aged, fueling her desire towards self expression. Money spoke volumes, authenticity was discouraged and materialism was praised. “I felt energetically drained all the time because the people around me lacked so much integrity. The general attitude there is that everyone is out for themselves, highly selfish, self centered and self absorbed.” 

She developed a love for music at a pretty young age. Owl Ampersand started playing classical piano at age 6 but felt extremely frustrated with the rigid teaching style and expectations put on her. “I was always an average student. School, piano, violin, singing, you name it. My family had this idea that you had to be Beethoven to succeed so I never imagined pursuing music as an actual career.” She fell in love with the guitar upon entering high school and decided to start a female fronted band with her friends which was based around the Riot Girl Movement. “Looking back, that was the only time period in my life when I felt deeply connected to myself and my purpose here on earth.” 

Growing up in a queer friendly family during that time period was also challenging because women and queer rights weren’t entirely accepted yet. Speaking out passionately about these issues made you the angry freak. Like many students, Owl Ampersand was bullied growing up and was starting to deeply resent the fact that women didn’t get the same credit that men did.

She originally moved to California when she was 17 to attend UC Irvine and then, UPENN years later to pursue a doctorate degree. All the schooling she attended was heavily forced on her by her parents who were convinced she’d end up a low life if she had pursued a career in entertainment. “They were physically, emotionally and mentally abusive so I didn’t argue at the time because there was so much drama going on. I always knew I was never suppose to further my education past high school.” It wasn’t until she was homeless in her 30’s that she decided to start recording her music and posting on instagram. She was astounded by the amount of support that trickled in from people she hadn’t heard from in years. “It just felt like I was back on the right path and I was encouraging others to do the same.”