When you’re a musician who has been in the spotlight like Natalie Prass has for the past year, whenever you’re home you need to make the most of it. Our 30-minute conversation takes place on the singer/songwriter’s mini-road trip from her Richmond base up I-95 to Washington, DC to take a quick trip to Ikea. You know, little things that you can’t handle when you’re on the road. While she pooh-poohs the trip, one thing is certain: Prass is a singer you need to know right now.

If you aren’t familiar with the Richmond-dwelling singer/songwriter, have a look at these 10 things you should know about her and a better glimpse will be shone on a star on the rise.

She Used to Run an Etsy Shop

Prass would go thrifting both at home and on the road and would cultivate those vintage items into her own store. She’d put outfits together and sell them in one place. Now, due to the strenuous nature of her touring schedule, she only goes antiquing when necessary. “It took a lot of time, but it was a lot of fun,” Prass says. But she wishes she still had time to maintain the store and go thrifting more often.

She Knew Matthew E. White as a Middle Schooler in Virginia Beach

Little did they know it at the time, but the two collaborators actually crossed paths at a battle of the bands. White took over for Prass after she “chose to move on.” As they got older, they became reacquainted when White’s new band performed at Prass’ art show a few years later before eventually producing her eponymous debut in 2015.

She Loves Drawing, Painting and Art

Coming from a creative family, Prass actually was more into art before she became enthralled by music. She enjoyed drawing at a young age and that hobby continues today. “I used to draw dogs and nothing has changed,” Prass says with a chuckle. “Then I got into writing and playing music when my parents bought an electric keyboard when I was in first grade.” She went to high school for visual and performing arts so she could harness both of her talents.

She Started Off Playing Music Just For Fun

Enthralled by the electric keyboard her parents bought, Prass would come home after school and noodle around on it and figured out how to play Elvis songs.

She is a Self-Taught Musician Who Plays by Ear

Whenever Prass had the chance to play on the keyboard, she’d teach herself some chords and work on melodies without knowing how to read music. Though it’s a regret of hers now as she wishes she could have taken lessons to understand music theory a bit more, it allowed Prass the freedom to play the music she’d hear in her head.

She Played in Jenny Lewis’ Band

Through the recommendation of a friend she knew from Nashville who relocated to Los Angeles, Lewis was looking for a guitarist for her all-girl band. Her previous guitar player dropped and Prass took over and hasn’t looked back. “I’d been touring for a long time, but never to that extent,” she says. “Getting to see how a band like that functions was amazing.”

Her Full-Length Took Three Years To Be Released

Prass released a few EPs between 2009 and 2011 and recorded an album when she was 25, but it never saw the light of day. She reconnected with White though a mutual friend. Despite the back-and-forth between her, White and Trey Pollard while they were figuring what to do with their Spacebomb label, her album was released in 2015 and those songs she wrote three years earlier put her on many people’s radars.

She’s Part of the Emerging Richmond Music Scene

With her label and collaborators based in the Virginia capital, Prass is helping usher in a golden era for singer/songwriters in Old Dominion. “It’s nice that people are listening and care about it, I think it’s really cool.”

Her sound is Influenced by Country and R&B

Calling herself a traditionalist, Prass’ sound is inspired by great musicians, performances and arrangements. But, when you put those elements, combined with creepy gothic elements on top of the rhythmic nature of her vocals and sound, it’s easy to hear how important country music (living in Nashville didn’t hurt) and R&B played in defining her sound.

She Loves Covers

In late 2015, Prass released her Side By Side EP that included several covers. Her favorite that she’s tackled has been her interpretation on Slayer’s “Raining Blood,” which was recorded at 9am in a hotel room. “I really love taking music and turning it into something else,” she says of her indulgence of covers. “We’re touring on a nine-song record and it’s fun for me to throw in songs that people know.”