Autumn Johnstone

Avenue Music Reporter

Autumn Johnstone is a freshman journalism/art student and a music reporter for The Avenue. When they're not writing, you can find them enjoying a nice cup of coffee at a nearby café or thrifting for vinyls.

Finding balance and growth in college life, from first year to senior year.

Juleidi Machuca

THE AVENUE | LIFESTYLE

Maintaining the spark: Avoiding college life burnout for future prosperity

By Autumn Johnstone | Aug. 14

Whether it’s students who spend hours applying to medical school each week or UF faculty members teaching more than six classes a semester, Gators often balance multiple lives at once. To balance schoolwork, occupational duties and social lives, blocking out time can set students up for success.

Sara Stovall and Grant Peeples perform at Heartwood Soundstage on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025.

Jordan Klucharich

THE AVENUE | MUSIC

Folk artist uses ‘revolutionary’ storytelling to address political divide

By Autumn Johnstone | Aug. 7

Sixty-eight-year-old Peeples is often accused of writing protest songs, but the feedback doesn’t discourage him. He doesn’t hesitate to tell people exactly what he’s passionate about, he said,

THE AVENUE | MUSIC

The times, they really are a-changing: Modern folk and the power of queer representation

By Autumn Johnstone | July 31

From playing original songs with her loved ones on her pontoon boat at Smith Mountain Lake to covering traditional folk hits in marinas, Helena Boling saw firsthand how music can unite hundreds of strangers.

A cat named Pepper has proven to be an unlikely research assistant for virologists at the University of Florida in their efforts to identify rare diseases.

Henry A. Moore

NEWS | CAMPUS STUDENT LIFE

Pepper’s paws and pathogens: How one cat pioneers viral discovery

By Autumn Johnstone | July 25

Behind 68-year-old John Lednicky’s Gainesville home lies a vast array of greenery that makes for the perfect place for Pepper, his cat, to prey on smaller mammals. Patrolling his territory, Pepper often leaves rodents on the UF research professor’s door.

Women have faced the effects of internalized misogyny since the beginning of time. One of the more modern effects of this is hating the color pink, but thankfully, this has begun to change.

Dylan Speicher

THE AVENUE | LIFESTYLE

The evolution of pink: Reclaiming a color beyond gender roles

By Autumn Johnstone | June 19

“The ‘I hate pink’ phase was never about the color,” an Instagram post reads. With more than 20.9 million views, the post’s comments are rooted in a concept that has driven society’s perception of femininity for the past eight decades.

The Queer Eclectics art exhibit at Library West showcases artists during Pride Month on Friday, June 6, 2025.

Michael Goston

THE AVENUE | ART AND THEATER

‘Queer Eclectics’: United through division

By Autumn Johnstone | June 10

“Queer Eclectics,” an exhibit inspired by the queer community’s diversity, was put together by UF art organization Common Craft and curated by 20-year-old UF art junior Jade Bennett. Bennett invited queer artists from her first show, “Picking it Up,” to showcase their work in a smaller, more intimate setting near the literature and silent hallways in Library West.

Lorenza "Lo" Weaver snaps his fingers while watching "Bridging Troubled Waters: The Life of Coach Jessie Heard: Lincoln High and Buchholz High School" during the GNV Film Festival on Saturday, June 6, 2025.

Libby Clifton

THE AVENUE | ART AND THEATER

‘Bridging Troubled Waters’: A lifelong commitment to Gainesville’s education history

By Autumn Johnstone | June 8

At the Juneteenth Gainesville Film Festival, the Hippodrome Cinema screened three films honoring emancipation and Black history.

Crooked Counsel plays an evening show at The Great Outdoors in High Springs, FL on Saturday, May 24, 2025.

Michael Goston

THE AVENUE | MUSIC

Van Halen meets Wild Cherry: Crooked Counsel rocks on after 30 years

By Autumn Johnstone | May 29

After she decided no one was going to invite her to be in a rock ‘n’ roll band, Shuri Pass formed Gainesville-based Crooked Counsel 31 years ago, covering familiar classic rock hits on stage.

In today’s dating world, situationships are becoming more common, and many distraught lovers are turning to music as an outlet for their uncertainties.

Henry A. Moore

THE AVENUE | LIFESTYLE

Situationships: How many times can you ask ‘What are we?’

By Autumn Johnstone | May 22

Situationships are situations that resemble a relationship in some ways, but they lack clear boundaries, commitment and, most of all, labels.

Zack Emerson (left) plays the keys alongside saxophonist Jose Piñeiro (right) with opening act Dionysus at Heartwood Soundstage on Wednesday, May 14, 2025.

Libby Clifton

THE AVENUE | MUSIC

Jazz fusion artists Michael Feinberg Trio and Dionysus light up Heartwood

By Autumn Johnstone | May 15

Heartwood Soundstage’s listening room housed about 15 jazz fans eager to listen to jazz-fusion band Dionysus and the Michael Feinberg Trio for a night of creative and passionate music.