Maggie Antone Proves Her Musical Worth on “Rhinestoned”: 'It's About Coping — and Sometimes Not Coping' (Exclusive)

"It's a story album," the musician tells PEOPLE. "Side A is relatively upbeat and happy, and then side B is 'rip my heart out, throw it on the ground'"

Maggie Antone treasures time on her back porch, watching the grass get higher in the backyard of her Nashville home while she enjoys the taste of a beer and the sounds of music coming from some distant speaker.

"I get to do it more than you would think," Antone, 21, tells PEOPLE in a recent interview while doing some double-duty during her chosen alone time. "But I think here shortly, it's going to ramp up and I'm not going to be able to sit out here as much."

But she's OK with that, considering Antone finds herself basking in a career upswing that has been occurring since she went viral courtesy of her cover of Tyler Childers' "Lady May" back in 2022. The additional attention put on courtesy of her cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" and John Prine's "Spanish Pipe Dream" later that year has not only resulted in a slew of tour dates this fall with 49 Winchester, Marty Stuart and Brent Cobb, but also the release of her debut album Rhinestoned.

"Rhinestoned is very much a concept album," says the Virginia native with the telling eyes. "It's a story album. It's about coping and sometimes not coping, even with the best of coping mechanisms. Side A is relatively upbeat and happy, and then side B is 'rip my heart out, throw it on the ground' type of thing."

And both sides of the physical version of Rhinestoned is about love in one way or another. "I would say it was definitely inspired by a very short little situationship that I had back in 2023," Antone says with a chuckle. "I will say most of the songs are based off things that have happened to me, but I kind of just mushed them all together into one story that was more tangible, if that makes any sense."

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The whole idea of love is a complicated one for Antone, along with the rest of her generation. "You are just constantly obsessing over people that you don't even really know," says Antone, whose current single "One Too Many" tells the all-too-relatable story of late-night overabundance. "It's a hard life to live, but it makes really great songs."

One of those songs is the already-viral "Johnny Moonshine."

"Natalie Hemby has been a dream co-write forever," she says of the legendary songwriter who joined her and Aaron Raitiere on the writing of "Johnny Moonshine." "She's just the best. She's a fairy godmother. I love her so much and feel super blessed to have been able to bring that song title into the room and just create something that I really love, but also something that a lot of people really identify with."

Antone can identify with it too.

"I'm writing songs about people, but to be honest, these songs are more about me than anything," Antone says. "And maybe that's selfish." She pauses, thinking. "I feel like Rhinestoned is about me and how I feel, and how these heartbreaks have left me. I feel like they've left me sad, but a little sparkly as well."

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It’s a teeter-totter of emotions that it seems the whole world can relate to these days. "I feel pretty good, right in this very moment," says Antone. "But I won't lie, I have been on the struggle bus mentally lately. But it comes in waves. There are times where I feel really good for a long time, and then I feel really bad. But I think without the bad times, I can't appreciate the good times. As a person who lives with clinical depression and anxiety, it makes me appreciate when I'm happy 10 times more than the average person."

Dealing with this constant sway of emotions gets a little easier whenever Antone steps on stage. "There's nothing I love more on this planet than playing a live show," she says. "There's something about just playing in front of a crowd that knows your music. It's amazing. And it feels really good to be around people that get you, feel you and relate to you."

This relatability caused her not to even be fazed recently when a fan came up to her to tell her she had listened to one of the songs off the new record over 500 times already.

"I was like, 'Are you OK?!'" Antone remembers of the fan interaction about her song "I Don't Wanna Hear About It" that she wrote alongside Carol Karpinen. "I was like, 'Do you need a hug because that's absurd.' But I'm also so flattered, and I appreciate it. But also more importantly — how are you doing, because that's a really sad song?'"

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