The Beaches on Opening for girl in red, Winning Over Crowds, and Being Crowned "Lesbian of the Year" [Q&A]


Photo: Meg Moon

Last week, indie rock’s favorite all-female band The Beaches took the stage at the Greek Theatre for their girl in red opening set. Alongside the success of their beloved cheeky hit “Blame Brett,” fans were further graced by their electric performance energy and collection of smashes from their sophomore album, Blame My Ex. With personality oozing through every lyric, it's easy to see why audiences are falling in love with memorable tracks like “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Paranoid,” “Shower Beer.” and more.

We chatted with Jordan, Kylie, Eliza, and Leandra about their experience on tour with girl in red, the weight of playing venues like the Greek, and more.


Ones To Watch: What are the main aspects of opening a show that you enjoy or notice versus performing your own headline show?

Jordan: Well, obviously when your headlining people are there to see you, whereas if you're opening you don’t know what to expect vis-à-vis the audience. I personally like the challenge of playing to a group that doesn’t know you and trying to win them over, cause I get to flex my performing muscles.

Do you look forward to connecting with an audience of potential new fans or is it daunting? 

Kylie: Playing live is so much fun!!! We love connecting with our audiences—with old fans and making new ones.

Leandra: I love it! I like the challenge, it makes me jump higher, run around more and try to prove myself.

How does it feel to prepare to play a venue as iconic as The Greek? Have you ever been to an unforgettable show there?

Jordan: I’ve never been there, but I’ve seen Get Him to the Greek.

Kylie: I saw Phoebe Bridgers there a few years ago and it was truly one of the most incredible concerts I’ve ever been to. The energy of the venue is iconic and we’re so excited to step on that stage.

Leandra: It feels so surreal! I just watched Get Him To the Greek to prepare for the insanity. Kylie and I saw Phoebe Bridgers there a couple of years ago and it was so dreamy and magical.

Which song has been connecting with the girl in red crowds more than you expected?

Jordan: “Cigarette,” which is the last song on our record seems to be a big hit with the girl in red fans.

 Eliza: I love playing “Edge of the Earth” to the girl in red crowds, the lyrics really seem to resonate with them.

Kylie: All our new songs seem to be connecting but especially "Blame Brett." It’s so cool having new fans sing along to the chant of, “Don’t blame me / Blame Brett”.

Leandra: The crowds have really been bopping to “Shower Beer” which has confused me because most of the girlies are too young to have had a shower beer. Babies also like dancing to it, so I think that might just be a music vibe and not lyrics.

Any special fan moments during this tour so far?

Leandra: I was just crowned “Lesbian of the Year” at one of the shows.

When planning a collab or feature, how do you know when an artist is right for a certain song? How did the Royal & The Serpent collab come along?

Jordan: I guess when it comes to knowing which person or which collab is going to work it really varies song to song and artist to artist. I usually just look out for what makes that artist unique (whether it’s a certain vocal quality or a certain vibe that’s in their lyrics) and see if it matches or vibes with any of our songs. It’s usually really obvious when something’s going to work or not.

Eliza: I love releasing new versions with artists that we really look up to, we were so happy when Royal reached out on Instagram.

Leandra: Honestly if they’re an artist that we’re fans of and respect, the collab will usually just feel right and sound great. We have very talented friends.


Do you have a dream collab as a group or individually?

Jordan: For group or individually, I'd actually love to write and collaborate with girl in red. I think she’s an exceptional writer and performer and I think we could learn a lot from her.

Eliza: I think it would be so cool to write a song with Olivia Rodrigo, I feel like we would really get along and could write something really cool.

Kylie: I’d love to do something with Phoebe Bridgers or boygenius.

Leandra: I think girl in red is a genius, I would love to do a Beaches x GIR collab!

Ones To Watch: What's your favorite thing to do on a day off in a new city?

Eliza: I like to check out the local coffee shops, Kylie will usually direct us to the best restaurant in town and we’ll usually grab a local bite and shop around a bit!

Jordan: I honestly just like to walk around, maybe peruse books at an independent bookstore, or get pho or ramen if my voice is tired.

Kylie: I love checking out local restaurants, cafes, and markets! Food is definitely the thing I look forward to exploring most in a new city.

Leandra: I love going for a run with Kylie in new cities. I think it’s the quickest way to get some sights in and get those endorphins to start your day off right.

Is there a dream venue for you to play one day?

Eliza: Red Rocks was my dream venue! I can’t believe we’ve been lucky enough to play it.

Jordan: I’ve also always wanted to play Glastonbury.

Kylie: We’ve been fortunate enough to cross off a lot of venues on our bucket list! I’d love to play in Japan soon.

Leandra: I think all four of us have dreamt of playing Red Rocks and The Greek, so it is pretty crazy that we’ve crossed both of those off of our bucket list on this tour.

For each of the members, who are your Ones to Watch? 

Jordan: Ethel Cain. I’m obsessed with her at the moment.

Eliza: Little Simz, I’m obsessed with her.

Kylie: Del Water Gap!

Leandra: Just this small artist called Chappell Roan.

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