{"id":2068992,"date":"2026-07-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2068992"},"modified":"2026-07-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T21:00:00","slug":"wonderland-309","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2068992","title":{"rendered":"Wonderland"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\tWonderland<\/span>
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\n\t\t\tAUGUST PONTHIER<\/span>
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Across a trilogy of EPs and their recent debut album, the \u201cnon-binary cowboy\u201d August Ponthier has been on a steady crusade of musical self-interrogation. Their artistry, meanwhile, remains pointed at the same people it always has: anyone who\u2019s ever felt slightly out of place.<\/h3>\n
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\"August<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

August Ponthier knows who the fuck they are. Across a trilogy of EPs, the Texas-born, self-proclaimed \u201ccowboy\u201d has been on a steady crusade of musical self-interrogation. By the time their open-hearted debut album Everywhere Isn\u2019t Texas <\/em>arrived in February, they had come out as non-binary. The 10-track record traces their queer coming-of-age set against the taut conservatism of their home state. August drags that tension through twanging guitars, blown-out indie rock and flashes of polished pop, shapeshifting country storytelling into an unbuttoned-shirt, tie-off kind of looseness. <\/p>\n

Now based in New York, tours with Bleachers and The Japanese House have placed them firmly on the map, with Sir Elton John and Brandi Carlile among their early champions. August and their flame-red shaghave quickly become one of alt-pop\u2019s most distinct new arrivals. The music, meanwhile, remains pointed at the same people it always has: anyone who\u2019s ever felt slightly out of place.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your earliest memory of music having an effect on you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I went to a small, religious school when I was little, and I found myself on the periphery often as a quiet child. To my surprise, I got a solo at the Christmas pageant to \u201cGo Tell It on the Mountain.\u201d When I sang, it was the first time I felt like a room really paid attention to me, and that I could fight through my fears to perform. I\u2019ve been doing that ever since.<\/p>\n

What does it mean to you to be original? <\/strong><\/p>\n

To be original is to completely follow your own north star. I always ask myself: Who would I be if I could be anything? Who would I be if no one was watching? That\u2019s what I\u2019m always trying to chisel away at. Whether it\u2019s music, my inner world, or gender. We have to take away what isn\u2019t us and see what\u2019s left. <\/p>\n

When did you last get in trouble?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I spill drinks on people who make my friends uncomfortable on the dance floor. I would say sorry, but\u2026<\/p>\n

What\u2019s turning you on creatively right now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Older country music that gives a huge middle finger to what people think country music always was. There\u2019s this false narrative that country music can\u2019t be a progressive genre, when that wasn\u2019t the case for a long time. Whether it\u2019s John Prine singing against weaponising religion or Loretta Lynn talking about \u201cThe Pill\u201d in 1975, I love listening to storytelling music for a great cause.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s been your greatest act of artistic rebellion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

After years of performing with a different name and identity, I finally came out as non-binary in October 2025. I had to reintroduce the world to myself, something I\u2019m still doing, in order to be who I actually am in every facet of my life. I knew the possibilities: it could be confusing to my current listeners, controversial to those who are not affirming of trans and non-binary identity, and, most of all, it could throw myself into an unknown world I hadn\u2019t yet gotten to live in. But it was clear what I had to do. If people don\u2019t \u201cget it,\u201d I won\u2019t miss them. And now I get to be August Ponthier: non-binary cowboy.<\/p>\n

WONDERLAND SUMMER 2026. GUEST EDITED BY MILEY CYRUS. SHOP NOW.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Photography<\/strong>\u00a0Mario Sorrenti
Chief Creative Officer & Styling\u00a0<\/strong>Alastair McKimm
Words<\/strong>\u00a0Ella Bardsley
Hair<\/strong>\u00a0Bob Recine
Make-up<\/strong>\u00a0Diane Kendal
Set Design<\/strong>\u00a0Philipp Haemmerle
Executive Producer<\/strong>\u00a0Dana Brockman
Producer<\/strong>\u00a0Max Bonbrest
Casting<\/strong>\u00a0Alexandra Antonova for Samuel Ellis Scheinman<\/p>\n

Lighting Technician<\/strong>\u00a0Lars Beaulieu
1st Photo Assistant<\/strong>\u00a0Kotaro Kawashima
Photo Assistants<\/strong>\u00a0Paolo Afante, Kurt Mangum
Digital Tech<\/strong>\u00a0Charles Meyer
Fashion Assistants<\/strong>\u00a0Taylor Wood, Kassidy Taylor
Hair Assistant<\/strong>\u00a0Jeelan Aleem
Make-up Assistants<\/strong>\u00a0Eduardo Jiminez, Breanna Harmon
Set Assistants<\/strong>\u00a0Oscar Haemmerle, Xavier Mozejewski
Production Assistant<\/strong>\u00a0Din Morris<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t30 July 2026\t\t\t<\/div>\n
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Magazine<\/a><\/div>\n
Music<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tCortisa Star<\/span> <\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\tTowa Bird<\/span> <\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wonderland AUGUST PONTHIER Across a trilogy of EPs and their recent debut album, the \u201cnon-binary cowboy\u201d August Ponthier has been on a steady crusade of musical self-interrogation. Their artistry, meanwhile, remains pointed at the same people it always has: anyone who\u2019s ever felt slightly out of place. August Ponthier knows who the fuck they are. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,257],"class_list":["post-2068992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-wonderlandmagazine-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2068992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2068992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2068992\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2068992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2068992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2068992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}