Conversations with April Combs Mann

Today we’d like to introduce you to April Combs Mann.

Hi April, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started April Eight in 2008, believe it or not. I had young children at the time and I had been a serious musician throughout my twenties. Friends kept asking me if I was going to write children’s music now that I had kids of my own. I had never thought about that much because I wasn’t interested in writing songs about juice boxes. And then my little daughter who must’ve been about five at that time became obsessed with a fairy book. I read it to her every night for months. While I was snuggled up reading to her one evening, I noticed a little band of fairies walking across the page. I wondered what they sounded like. To my surprise, I could hear exactly the sound of the music that they were playing. I became very inspired by it. I ended up writing several songs in the next few days. And I continue to write children’s songs and as I did, I thought it would be fun to make little stories that those songs fit into and April Eight Songs and Stories.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Well, I was a very busy mother and as any mom would know, that takes up quite a bit of time. So I would say that the creativity of April Eight has always been there, but the time to create has not. April Eight feels really big to me and so it’s always been hard to not chase those songs and stories and performance idea down that I can hear, see, and feel. When I started my podcast, my friends who were already podcasters thought that it was a terrible idea because there was no market for children in the podcasting industry at that time. But I wanted my songs and stories to be heard and so I started a podcast anyway. That was back in 2016 and I’m still in the top 10% of downloads across all podcasting categories. I am proud of that. I have listeners from all across the world!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I write gentle, magical songs and stories for children and share them in my substack newsletter Stay Up Late with April Eight and on my podcast, April Eight Songs and Stories. I’m known for the quality of my writing and the uplifting and gentle nature of my stories and songs.

My work is about children encountering magic in the natural world. There’s Jemi who rescues a fairy from a puddle and helps her find a lost crown. There’s Sander who encounters a lost giant and helps him find his way home, and Mookie who finds a mysterious egg just about to hatch a dragon.

I’m currently booking “The Butterfly Adventurer, a Story Full of Songs” at libraries, and performing arts spaces around the US. I premiered this piece at The New York Faerie Festival a while ago and it was such fun that I’m bringing it back out. It is the story of a spirited young gnome who embarks on a quest to find a legendary magical butterfly. Along the way, he encounters enchanting fairies, mischievous goblins, wise forest creatures, and even a friendly dragon.
It is such fun to tell interactive story that get the whole audience involved. I’m having as much fun and anyone in the audience when they are playing along with me.

Currently, I am developing a story full of songs inspired by my childhood in rural Indiana with bluegrass songs. It’s such joy to write these songs that dig into my country music roots. A Blue Moon Over Yellowwood will launch this in Summer 2025 with an album, a storybook, and a tour.

I’m most proud of the fact that I have consistent listeners all over the world. It’s an amazing thing to write a story at my kitchen table, record it in my tiny office, and make children on the other side of the world happy because the next episode of their favorite stories has arrived in their inbox.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I love the guitar and Irish mandolin lessons at Peghead Nation (pegheadnation.com). I follow several illustrators and writers on substack. I’m currently doing a self-created artist residency as suggested by Amy Stewart in her newsletter, It’s Good to Be Here. I’m diving deeper into my illustration skills preparation for writing and illustrating my own books. I follow children’s author and illustrator Emma Carlisle on Patreon. Carrie Newcomer writes a gorgeous newsletter on substack, A Gathering of Spirits. I love the Endel app for focus soundscapes when I’m writing at the coffeeshop. I also like Focus Noodle for timers for keeping my ADHD at bay. And I love Andy J. Pizza’s podcast Creative Pep Talk – he shares so many constructive ideas for creatives.

Pricing:

• Substack newsletter is free or for more content is $6 a month
• Songs available on Apple music and Spotify etc.

Contact Info:

• Website: Aprileight.com
• Instagram: @Aprileightsongsandstories
• Facebook: @Aprileight
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/aprilcombsmann
• Twitter: April@aprileight.com
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@AprilEightSongsandStories
• soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/FZr4TSio2zCN2mzW6
• Other: Newsletter: https://aprileightuplate.substack.com