Often describing herself as a “singer-athlete gal,” Allison Eide is a singer-songwriter based in Minnesota. She released her most recent EP, “idk,” in February 2026, where she wrote openly and honestly about mental health, grief, and faith. 

PEER: You grew up in a very worship-filled family. Did you grow up in the church? Did you always know Jesus? 

ALLISON EIDE: I grew up in a Jesus-loving family. My dad was a singer-songwriter and worship artist, and my mom did a lot of discipleship training, and they both worked as a team on both of those things. I grew up in church, in a Christian community. I was very curious about God and the Lord since I was really young. That was my upbringing, but at the same time, I also struggled a lot with my mental health. It’s been a unique journey holding both of those at the same time.

P: You talked about growing up with a dad who is a worship artist. Did that experience of growing up with a dad who was a famous worship artist lead you to ever being a musician? Who are your musical influences? 

AE: Totally. When I was five or six years old, I remember seeing my dad play a concert and he was performing and singing. I was in tears as a little one, because I felt the Lord was saying, this is what I want you to do as well. I felt like He was inviting me to do this music thing. But I also loved to sing, and loved to create and write songs. All I did was create stuff all the time, whether it was a song, a music video, a book, or a movie. I just loved to create. But I remember telling my parents “I’m going to be famous someday. I’m going to make songs that are going to change the world.” Big dreamer kid. My dad saw that love of mine and paved the way for me to fall in love with it and blossom in it.

But I also loved sports as well. I played basketball through college. Those are my worlds.

That was to answer your first question. The second one? Who inspires me? I feel like every time of my life has been like a different era of music that has inspired me. My favorite band is Lawrence. They’re a brother and sister duo. They’re awesome. I love Jon Foreman from Switchfoot as a writer. Love Jon Bellion. I was also influenced a lot by more of the modern funk era, like Cory Wong or Cody Fry or Ben Rector. I’m a miscellaneous box. I was raised in CCM (contemporary Christian music). There are a lot of little influences, but I think the things that always moved me the most were songs that had really good melodies and really raw, honest lyrics. I think I’m a product of that in my songs.

P: You often describe yourself as a “singer-athlete gal.” How did you balance those two interests and passions: sports and music? Did you ever feel pressure to lean towards one or the other? 

AE: I was homeschooled, so I had a lot of agency to do these things.

I also was a pretty go-getter kid all through college. If I had an idea, I’d go for it and figure out how to make it happen. The music and sports thing, I did at the same time a lot in middle school and high school. When I got to college, I focused more. I paused traveling — because I used to tour with my dad. I paused that and played basketball for those four years. I didn’t really pursue music as a career yet. I wanted to enjoy basketball, but it was a roller coaster for my mental health, and I wrote a lot of songs during that time. The first album I released is called Love Who I Am, and most of those songs were written in college. They’re just a reflection of that journey. When I graduated from college, I was like I’m going to endeavor this as my job. That’s when I went to Nashville for the first time to start building a team. Then I released my first single, “Love Who I Am,” which went viral.

Balancing both is not a perfect system, but I would say taking it one day at a time and realizing there’s a season for each one helped me be equipped to do both. I love them both. 

P: What inspired you to write very openly and honestly about your mental health? Specifically, in your newest EP, with the songs “chemically messed up” and “idk.”  

AE: When I was growing up and struggling a lot with my mental health, I struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder. It’s less bad now. A lot of therapy helped. But I felt the safest on the basketball court and the safest when performing on stage. Everything else in life felt really debilitating. People thought I was thriving, but behind the scenes, I was really struggling. It was the one thing that would bring a lot of safety or relief for me, besides Jesus anchoring me, even when I didn’t know how to approach the world.

It was a song by some artist that got me to the next hour, the next day, and it was like the hug I needed to keep going. When I was in college, when my mental health was actually at its lowest in a lot of ways, I thought to myself, if I could write a song that would do that same thing for someone, meet them in their bedroom in their most vulnerable moment, and it brings them closer to Jesus in their mess, then I’ve done my job.

In college, I realized it comes back to the song. I want to write songs where you realize in the Lord, you can take Him wherever you want them to go. I was in college when I realized during OCD, you feel like your mind is your enemy. But I learned that people who struggle with OCD are often really creative or really intellectual. All I ever did as a kid was create. And the Lord led me to 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 where Paul talks about the thorn in the flesh. He says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9, NIV). I felt like the Lord was saying when I try to fix my mind, it turns into OCD but when I allow Him to hold my mind He takes what the enemy meant for evil and uses it for good and He turns it into creativity. I realized I don’t need to chip this issue away. My brain is not going to keep me from doing God’s kingdom. In fact, it’s the gateway through which the Lord will do what He wants, and so I’m allowing the Lord to come into that mess and turn it into something really genuine and beautiful. That’s when I wrote “Love Who I Am.” 

P: Is that something that you hope to write about in future projects? Mental health? 

AE: I would say the “Love Who I Am” record really tapped into what it’s like being in the shoes of someone struggling with their mental health. The songs are just me processing out loud like journal entries. That record did that already. This next record, “idk,” actually came from a new hard season. I lost my dad to cancer almost two years ago, and that process was one of the most painful and life-uprooting. Things I went through in the songs from “idk” reflect what grief and identity look like. A different version of what it looks like to be a mess in Jesus. He does not repel our mess. The Lord draws near to it. I hope the songs I wrote helps someone else struggling to be able to be a mess with Jesus. They can make the song their own, and that’s how they can process with the Lord. Those are the themes of those two projects, and I think they umbrella mental health and what navigating that looks like.

P: What advice do you have for teens and young adults who listen to your music and relate? Like those who are struggling with their mental health?

AE: I always love to say this: The heart of Jesus is not repellant to mess. His heart is like a magnet to it. It’s uncomfortable, but once you allow Jesus to come into your mess and brokenness, and that disgusting part that you’re like, I don’t want anyone to see it? When Jesus is close to it, it is one of the most irreplaceable, safest places one can be. We’re not meant to have the answer, the conclusion of what is right and what is wrong. The Lord actually loves to dwell in that hard place.

I wanted to create songs that equipped people to walk their journey with the Lord in the thick of it. I hope the songs help people be a mess with Jesus.

P: What helps you stay grounded as you pursue music full-time and go on tour? 

AE: Oh goodness! I’m still learning in real time. This past tour, I had the honor of opening up for Seph Schlueter on his headline tour. Honestly, we’re getting to tour with very good people, very kind, supportive people, and a healthy culture. Movement helps me so much. Oftentimes, the really hard parts that make me feel really ungrounded or anxious are because my brain is going 100 miles an hour. But when I can just allow my body to get present, then I stay really grounded. Those are really practical things, but they affect everything else. We figure out how to do it.

P: Do you have anything exciting in the works? What do you hope to work on in the next year?

AE: We are working so much behind the scenes. I just signed a record deal with an incredible label and team. I have a wonderful team in Nashville already. We’ve been working on a lot of new songs and themes that are going to be released soon. I can’t really say much about it yet, but it’s my favorite song and project that we’re endeavoring on. The message in general, though, is just again, a reflection of the journey I’m on, learning how to be a mess in Jesus, and it’s all about what it looks like to be a daughter, and that’s it. That’s what these songs say.

P: How do you practice self-care when you’re on tour? 

AE: Three things. One, I have this little thing. I have this thing called a “Brick.” You place your phone on it, and it locks all your social media apps and you can’t even get them on a browser. I’m telling you, with social media, that thing has good boundaries. That’s the first thing I block when I’m not doing work stuff on there. The second thing is quality sleep. Sleep gives a night-and-day difference in how I feel. The third thing again is movement. I’m at the gym, or I’m going on a walk. I also just love fitness and am an athlete by nature. Anytime I can exercise that part of me and get that competitive energy out, it is better.

Following the success of her latest EP, “idk,” Allison released a funk version of “that’s my life” on YouTube. For timely updates on music and tour, follow her on Instagram @allison_eide.