FIRST LISTEN: Allie Dunn’s Debut Single, ‘Tom Petty’

Allie Dunn‘s debut single, “Tom Petty,” pinpoints the moment a relationship a relationship falls apart. It’s a song on the radio that starts everything in motion — but there’s so much more underneath the surface.

“”Tom Petty” is a song I hold close to my heart because it was the first song I ever co-wrote in Nashville, and because it tells the story of a once-broken relationship I was in where one slight moment opened a can full of worms called truth,” Dunn shares of the song, which is premiering exclusively on The Boot. Over a steady beat and a folk-rock-y melody, she sets the scene for the moment everything breaks down.

“Tires on the road is the only sound / ‘Cause we’ve been sittin’ in silence / Haven’t talked for miles and / We got things to say, but we both don’t / So I just turn on the radio / And our song started playin’,” Dunn sings. “And you changed it / Didn’t even think about / Didn’t even recognize that melody / No, it didn’t mean a thing to you like it did to me.”

“Tom Petty” previews Dunn’s debut EP, Good as Gone, due out on Oct. 15. The project follows her 2019 single “Lines of That Vinyl.”

Though she’s now ready to make her mark as an artist, Dunn originally planned on becoming a doctor, like her mother. The New York City native — who plays piano and guitar and began writing and performing as a high schooler — was a sophomore studying biology and playing basketball at the College of New Jersey when she decided to go after her musical dreams. She gave up basketball and transferred to St. John’s University, continuing her scientific pursuits but with more time for singing and songwriting, then moved to Nashville right after college graduation.

“I grew up in an Italian-Irish, working-class family, so music was always more of a hobby. That’s just the way it was. And so, naturally, I was like, ‘Alright, well, I’m just going to study biology like my mom and be a doctor, because I love helping people,'” Dunn recalls. “In the end, I wasn’t passionate about pre-med, and I knew I wouldn’t be doing the medical field justice or doing right by the patient, and wanted to give someone who would be amazing the shot to do it.”

In a twist of fate, Dunn was working for an optometrist when her now-manager, Stuart Berk, discovered her — while he was there for an eye surgery. She recorded Good as Gone‘s four songs with Oscar Charles and Ross Cooper.

Fans can learn more about Dunn’s forthcoming EP and her music at AllieDunn.com.