A Q&A With the Sounds Like Summer Road Ready Promotion Winner, April Sutherland
American Songwriter has published a Q&A with April Sutherland, winner of the publication's Sounds Like Summer Road Ready promotion, recognised for her unreleased song "Follow Through." The piece is part of a recurring contest series in which the outlet profiles winning songwriters, offering them a platform to discuss their creative process and career ambitions.
Sutherland said the song grew out of frustration with excessive phone use, written as a message to the version of herself who intended to read before bed but never did. She traces her musical roots to her mother's early encouragement, cites Sara Bareilles, Brandi Carlile and Madison Cunningham as key influences, and says she plans to work on releasing her debut EP in 2026. She described winning the contest as "thrilled," adding that the submitted track is one of her favourites, and encouraged other artists to enter similar contests without hesitation.
- April Sutherland wins American Songwriter's Sounds Like Summer contest.
- Winning song "Follow Through" was inspired by excessive phone use.
- She plans to release her debut EP in 2026.
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April Sutherland is a songwriter recognised by the music publication American Songwriter through its Sounds Like Summer Road Ready promotion, a contest in which the outlet regularly picks a winning song and profiles its writer. Her winning entry is an as-yet-unreleased track called "Follow Through," inspired by her own struggle to put down her phone and do the things, like reading, that she actually intends to do.
The article takes the form of a question-and-answer interview, a format the publication uses to let contest winners talk about how they write, what shaped them as musicians, and what they hope to do next. Sutherland points to encouragement from her mother as the start of her musical journey and names songwriters Sara Bareilles, Brandi Carlile and Madison Cunningham as influences on her style.
The piece matters mainly as a career milestone for an emerging artist rather than a major news event: it gives Sutherland wider exposure and lets her set out her ambitions, including a debut EP she hopes to release in 2026.