Bess Atwell

Atwell was born in South London and grew up in Cambridgeshire and Sussex.^[3] She attended Brighton College, where she was a member of Seldon House. She began her studies at Falmouth University, but withdrew and moved to London for her career.^[4]

Atwell released her debut full-length album, Hold Your Mind, when she was just 19 years old.^[5][6] Atwell released her first EP three years later, titled Big Blue.^[7] Atwell released her second full-length album in 2021 titled Already, Always.^[8] In 2024, Atwell released her third full-length album, titled Light Sleeper.^[9] The album was produced by Aaron Dessner,^[10] who had reached out to Atwell inquiring about producing her next record.^[9][11] The album received positive reviews.^[12][13][14]

Having begun to learn guitar via Taylor Swift songs, Atwell attended a Johnny Flynn concert with a friend, which she considers the moment "I really became influenced by music, in a way that shaped me as my own artist".^[3] Through Flynn, she discovered London's early 2010s nu-folk scene. As a teenager, she listened to the likes of Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Dry the River and Joni Mitchell, as well as Beach House, The National and Sharon Van Etten.^[3]

In a 2019 interview, Atwell cited an admiration for women singers such as Julia Jacklin, Stella Donnelly, Phoebe Bridgers and Soccer Mommy.^[15] Other artists Atwell has named include The Beach Boys, Gillian Welch, Lana Del Rey and Maggie Rogers.^[15][3]