Nat Timmerman, who goes by the stage name Rabbitology, started recording music in 2023 in her dorm room at the University of Michigan. Since the release of her first single “CANDLEBURN,” she has garnered over 300,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and millions of listens across her discography.
Now, just over a month after concluding her North American tour in support of The Oh Hellos, Timmerman reflects on her time on the road. In an email interview with Melodic Mag, Timmerman discusses what life while touring was like, the future of her music, artists she would like to collaborate with and more.
So you opened for Cosmo Sheldrake back in July, recently opened for Madilyn Mei, and you’re currently opening for The Oh Hellos at venues like Webster Hall and Brooklyn Bowl. How does that feel? What are the emotions?
Timmerman: Absolutely surreal to say the least. I grew up obsessed with Cosmo Sheldrake and The Oh Hellos, and like, that’s an understatement. I lived and breathed Cosmo’s production for a while, used to think in Oh-Hellos-ian cadence, and it was quite wild to suddenly look at the people who soundtracked my entire teenagehood in the eye, all to say “thank you for having me.” It’s the kind of stuff I wouldn’t even dare dream of because it felt too indulgent.
While I discovered Madilyn Mei a bit later in college, it’s definitely the same thing, even a bit more surreal because we’re around the same age. I spent a lot of time sitting in the same dressing room as Elio [Madilyn Mei], both of us doing our own thing; we’re quietly putting on theatrical makeup and I’m thinking, “how on earth did I get here? how on earth is this my life?”
Beyond the folks that I’m working with, walking on these beautiful stages and staring at 1,000+ people every night has done things to my psyche that I’m sure will take eons to unpack. It’s an honor deeper than anything I know. I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but I’m forever grateful.
I know touring can be pretty stressful. What has been the most challenging part and what do you do to help offset that?
Our car got essentially totaled in Seattle by a drunk driver. We weren’t in it, so no injuries, luckily. But it was a wild experience to go from the high-highs of literally walking offstage, to someone going backstage, “Your car is wrecked.” The entire night fell to shambles as we tried to figure out how on earth we were going to get to Idaho the next day with no car, where we were going to spend the night, etc. etc.
And honestly, the best way to offset things like this, once all the initial emotions are gone, is to joke about it. Maybe it’s my family lineage of joking in dark situations coming out, but I firmly believe that the step to healing is to joke about it. It helps to highlight the absurdity of everything, to make it seem a bit lighter, but also to process it in a different type of way. Obviously the situation was dreadful, but regardless, the car’s already wrecked, we’re already stranded, and we’re losing so much money that I can’t think about it without cringing—all of this will exist regardless of our attitudes about it. So after some deep cries and screams, our tour car turned to jokes.
We had some big laughs about everything, especially over the absurdity that the driver hit our car while parked on the curb outside the venue. “He said he was trying to turn right—turn right where? Into the building?”
Do you have any pre-show rituals?
I used to sing four songs to warm up my voice: one by the Crane Wives, one by The Oh Hellos, one by AURORA, and one by Florence + The Machine. I had to cut the Crane Wives song after I opened for them last year since it felt awkward to sing an artist’s song in the same vicinity as them. Not sure how to describe it, but it feels a bit like you’re bastardizing their work. I’m sure it’s just the self-conscious warmup jitters that caused that thought. The same then happened with The Oh Hellos. So now I have two songs that I sometimes sing to warm up.
And honestly, after this tour, I’ve shaken all my rituals beyond that. Better not to have rituals when everything is so up in the air like tour often is—one wrong thing with prep and I’d be easily rattled.
What has been your favorite memory from the road thus far?
Marcus Hoh (my guitarist!) and I had an absolute blast meeting all of those who were working at the venues. As openers, we have a bit more time on our hands to hear people’s stories and get to know those that are helping us a bit better. While Marcus did most of the talking (being more extroverted than me), we both have a whole catalogue of stories from venues all around the US.
The biggest highlight was when we performed at the Shrine Social Club in Boise, Idaho, with Madilyn Mei and got 3-4 ghost stories from each venue worker. Literal chills—if there’s a supernatural podcaster that wants to highlight some fantastic storytellers, that’s your place. They could have been messing with us when they told us the venue was haunted, but the world is a magical place if you believe all of their stories whole-heartedly. I firmly believe all the ghost stories were true, especially after having an experience myself.
Pivoting a little from tour, where does the name Rabbitology come from?
I’ve always resonated with rabbits and hares, feeling like one myself. Or rather, if I were to have an animal that represents me, it’d be a rabbit. Rabbitology is essentially the metaphorized study of myself, a memoir of stories turned into this fictional world.
Who or what are your biggest inspirations in both your music and your passion to keep making music?
Cosmo Sheldrake, Florence + the Machine, Hozier, AURORA, Glass Animals, and alt-J were the bands I listened to in high school when I discovered you could make music on your laptop. They inspired me moreso, at the time, to pursue creative writing, which then slowly evolved into songwriting.
Is there anyone you would really like to collaborate with in the future?
Dave Bayley of Glass Animals was the reason I started using Ableton, specifically his dissection of ZABA’s production on the Tape Notes podcast. His way of thinking about production is so inspiring—working with him would be a dream, but honestly I’d glean a lot from just sitting in a room and watching him work.
You’ve released two EPs and a handful of singles in 2025, any other music coming soon?
I sure as hell hope so. Being a college student simultaneously, it’s a bit hard to predict how much free time I’ll have to meditate on music. But I’ve been working on some works unique to this project, which you’ll hopefully hear about soon.
What’s next for Rabbitology and where do you want to take this project?
I think Rabbitology so far has danced in the realm of the horrors of death. I want to explore the other side of that—the horrors of too much life. An overgrown world with moss and vines and loam. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at my past through these songs, and now I’d like to ponder a bit on my strange and fruitful present. I’ll leave it at that.
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