Ella O'Connor Williams gave herself the nickname Squirrel Flower as a kid growing up in Arlington, Massachusetts, and started performing under it in college — at Grinnell College in Iowa, where she picked up her first electric guitar in 2014 and began opening for artists like Big Thief, Jay Som, and Moses Sumney.
Her self-released 2015 debut EP, early winter songs from middle america, led to a 2020 label debut, I Was Born Swimming, followed by the disaster-themed Planet (i) in 2021. Tomorrow's Fire, her 2023 album, marked a heavier turn — a rock record built to be played loud, after two records that leaned closer to indie folk.