runo plum (Music 2016) Debuts with “patching”

November 17, 2025

Nearly ten years after high school graduation, runo plum (Music 2016) found herself in very different surroundings than her northern Minnesota upbringing. It was while runo was on tour in Europe that we connected with her to celebrate her debut album, “patching”. runo, who was known as Emma while at Perpich, was quick to respond and share how Perpich shaped her journey.

runo plum (Music 2016)

After finding out about Perpich Arts High School from her aunt, runo moved to the Twin Cities to study music and went to college to further her education. After dropping out of college in 2019, runo learned how to produce her own music. She labels it as a mixture of indie/folk rock/singer songwriter.

Her debut album, “patching”, was released on November 14th. It was co-produced with Lutalo Jones (from Minneapolis, but currently based in Vermont). runo and Lutalo rented a cabin in Vermont last winter and recorded the album with help from runo’s girlfriend, Noa Francis. Noa recorded all the guitars and bass on the album, and also attended an art high school in the Twin Cities.

runo plum will be touring the U.S. in February and March, 2026, including a show in Minneapolis on February 21st at 7th St Entry.

Perpich – What was the experience of attending Perpich like for you?
plum – “Perpich saved my life in many ways, and opened my world wider than I could’ve ever imagined. I wish everyone could experience it. It’s a dream!”

Perpich – What are the connections to your arts high school experience and your current work?
plum – “One of the biggest things for me was the community aspect and learning to work with other artists. There’s all kinds. I will carry my Perpich experiences with me for the rest of my life.”

runo plum painted the butterfly on her album cover, and all the artwork for the vinyl/cassette/cd layout

Perpich – Are there any people or experiences that were particularly important that you’d like to mention?
plum – “Bob Frey [Social Studies Instructor] was always the sweetest. So kind, welcoming, and supportive. I took a watercolor class with Sandy Woodhull [Visual Arts Instructor], and she was lovely. That was my first experience with painting, and she was so encouraging. I am still painting today because of her. Over the years, it’s become my second focus besides music. I painted the butterfly on my album cover, and all the artwork for the vinyl/cassette/cd layout. And of course, dozens and dozens of fellow artists at Perpich who opened a new world of inspiration that I had never experienced before. Artistically, socially, and politically.

When I was attending Perpich, I lived in my brother and his wife’s basement in south Minneapolis. He has kids, they were 3 year old twins at the time, and I would spend a lot of time with them. That feels sort of like a special parallel memory to my time at Perpich. It was also really nice being able to experience living in Minneapolis at that age after feeling so ‘trapped’ in rural Minnesota my whole life. And it’s all thanks to Perpich!”

runo plum (Music 2016) grew up in northern Minnesota before attending Perpich.

Artist Link: https://bio.to/runo-plum

Tour Dates: https://www.runoplum.com/live

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0pouttXEXIHvguV90fhB39

From the First Avenue & 7th St Entry website:

patching, the intimate debut LP from Minneapolis-based singer and songwriter runo plum, gracefully captures the contraction, expansion, and release of an intense period of emotional repair, in soft-edged, radiating indie rock. A lush debut statement born from heartbreak, patching is filled with rich sonic moments that balance out emotional vacancies, creating expansion from an ending. The record’s unbridled sincerity isn’t anything new for runo plum, who’s been writing and quietly sharing bedroom dispatches of her intricate folk for a half-decade. During the pandemic years, she steadily caught the ears of a widening circle of listeners and began independently releasing a series of singles and EPs, all while cutting her teeth on the live side supporting Searows, Angel Olsen, and Hovvdy.

Cataloging the double edged sword of love and loss in an aching freefall of indie rock with the same unabashed candor of early Julia Jacklin and Big Thief records, patching was recorded in a cabin in rural Vermont over the course of two weeks. Together with Lutalo, the Minnesota-born, Vermont-based musician and producer and runo’s collaborator, instrumentalist and girlfriend Noa Francis, the trio centered the honeyed, time-worn timbre of a centenarian acoustic guitar and the easeful warmth of runo’s voice. Across patching’s twelve tracks, runo paints melodic arcs that swirl and tumble, crafting songs that capture both the hazy highs and the dark blue lows of all the natural cycles that make the world turn.