I got to catch up with three singular artists fresh off the Sofar Sounds Discovery Tour.
The “Portraits and Memoirs Tour” is sponsored by Salt Lick Incubator, a nonprofit artist development organization featuring board members including Jon Batiste, John Mayer and Charlie Puth.
Each artist Modern Frequency interviews illustrates individuality, creativity, and independence in their own rights. The tour speaks volumes on new music and these three following females are making names not only for themselves, but for the genres they represent. I talked to pop/soul singer Alex Blue, folk artist Claire Ernst, and R&B maven LÉA THE LEOX.
Claire Ernst Interview
How did you get started in the music industry?
My entire whole family is musical, my dad is a jazz pianist and my mom is a singer/actress. They actually met on tour for Mary Wilson in the 90’s so music has always been in my blood. I applied to Belmont because my oldest brother went there and I fell in love with the campus and the fact that you could major in songwriting, so I ended up going from 2018-2022! I actually got my publishing deal from SeaGayle Music Publishing my junior year because Chris Dubois was my professor over zoom Lyric Writing. Since I signed in May of 2021, I’ve stayed in Nashville after graduation and have just been writing for my artist project and cowriting all around town for myself and others! It’s been literally my dreams come true, and Nashville is definitely my home.
Your music is a mix between pop and soul. Where do you find yourself fitting into today’s musical landscape?
I take influence from so many different genres and artists, and I feel like Nashville has really defined my love for storytelling songwriting and the elements of country music that I can take into my own space. My music, and especially my album that will come out this year, showcases all of my favorite parts of all of my favorite genres like the commerciality of Pop, the musicality and chords of R&B and jazz, and the intricate, symmetrical songwriting of country music. I believe I bring something unique in that sense of not necessarily being strictly one genre or sound, but everything still feeling like a representation of me.
You earned the recognition of R&B star “H.E.R”, Jacob Collier, Jo Jo, Jason Derulo, and Andy Grammer. How does that feel to get the recognition from your peers?
It honestly feels surreal. HER and Jojo are two of my biggest influences when it comes to singing and melodies, so to have them even recognize my existence is mind blowing to me!
Your full length is out soon. What can we expect from it musically and lyrically?
This album is going to be everything that represents me, musically and lyrically. There are some straight pop tracks, some more acoustic guitar focused “country-ish” inspired tracks, some classic- Claire bouncy Rhodes upbeat tracks, and a few that really showcase my voice. I’m so excited to just show the world everything I can do and what I love to do. This album is going to be me introducing myself to the world, and I hope there’s something on there for everyone to grab on to and feel represented by.
What does it mean to go out on the Sofar Sounds Tour?
This opportunity is huge for me, I’ve never been on tour before! My ticket history outside of Nashville is pretty sparse, I’ve only done a few shows out in LA at the Hotel Cafe and I’ve never performed in most of the stops on this tour like Boston, DC, Baltimore, and even NYC. So this tour is allowing me to build up some new demographics to maybe be able to play in these cities again in the future. Being from Jersey, my first ever gig was a SoFar show when I was 16 years old that my parents took me too, and I remember it being such a warm, welcoming environment even for the tiny nervous teen that I was then. Being on a tour with them seriously means the world, and for it to be an all-female tour is so magical. I’m forever grateful to Salt Lick Incubator and SoFar for including me on this bill and giving me the opportunity to play in front of new and listening audiences.
Alex Blue Interview
Who are your influences?
I grew up hearing classic folk and rock artists from my parent’s generation, like the Beatles, Joni
Mitchell, Jackson Browne, and Fleetwood Mac. Those artists are definitely in my blood and their music feels like home. As a growing songwriter, I really took to Patty Griffin. Her raw delivery and storytelling is something I aspire to. Allison Russell is a huge inspiration to me as a queer woman of color prioritizing community and equality. Gaby Moreno influences me a lot with her songwriting and musicianship. I could listen to her sing all day.
What is your song “May It Change You” about?
This is a song I wrote as a blessing for my son. It’s about the hope that he will stay open to the world and let it change him. It’s also a promise to him that I will continue to be changed too—to grow so that I will always be a safe place he can come home to. I’ve had a lot of disconnection from my family of origin due to rigidity and fear. This song is a promise that I will not be passing that down to my son.
Where do you think folk music is headed?
I think folk music has always been accepted by its audience, although the audience seems to be
expanding more into the mainstream these days. Within the folk community, I’ve experienced a lot of acceptance. We’re a diverse group of artists telling diverse and personal stories. On the one hand, this makes folk a very inviting genre—one that strengthens our collective sense of empathy and our willingness to look within ourselves. On the other hand, I’ve seen a lot of backlash, especially for women of color in folk music as their music gains traction and popularity. This is something our industry needs to grapple with—to do more to protect and accommodate so we don’t lose artists whose voices are so important to the folk movement.
We live in the social media age now. What pressures did you feel from social media that made you step away from it?
I was a bit of a show-pony on the internet for a majority of my online career. That lifestyle ended up nearly destroying me. It’s hard to have an understand of your own identity when you are constantly shifting identities and editing yourself to always be a palatable, marketable artist. The pressure to be constantly exciting and interesting, constantly trying to convince people to engage with my content… it was just too much. I was obsessed with analytics and my follower count and lost sight of why I was even an artist in the first place. I was getting sick all the time and I realized my life had no balance. I shifted priorities for my holistic well-being.
Your songwriting is very cathartic. Is it difficult to come up with lyrics first or does the music come first?
Thank you! It’s cathartic for me to write. It really is a mixed bag for me. Sometimes lyrical inspiration will come at a time when I’m not sat down with my guitar. I will write my thoughts in my notes app and then come to it with a chord progression and melody later. Those are actually my favorite songs that I write. Other times I won’t know what I am writing about until I have my guitar in hand. In those instances, it’s the chords and feel of the music that inspires an emotion or story.
What can we expect from you on the Sofar Sounds tour? What is the Alex Blue live experience like?
I am a storyteller first and foremost. I like my live shows to feel welcoming and intimate. Almost like I am reading you a story, placing you into whatever feeling or memory my songs evoke. My wife says I’m sort of like the eccentric grandmother of the tour. You can expect bad jokes, funny blunders (I almost fell out of my chair mid song during our first show), transparency, and hopefully some wisdom. I’m both earnest and unserious. You’ll just have to come to a show to get the full effect 🙂
LÉA THE LEOX Interview
You already toured with Mariah Carey for her Christmas tour. How did that come to fruition?
My step mom has worked with her a few times and was tasked with putting together the choir, so I got the audition. What started as just a few start dates ended in us joining for the full month long tour.
You covered Miley Cyrus’s “The Climb”. What do you enjoy better your original material or doing covers?
I definitely enjoying doing my originals more than covers so if I’m going to cover a song it has to be one I love or feel a personal connection to.
Your music touches upon soul and R&B. Did you grow up on R&B? Do you think there’s a place for R&B today, as the genre continues to branch out to hip hop?
I grew up listening to a pretty wide range of music. My dad is a musician so we’d be listening to classics like Stevie Wonder, Minnie Riperton and Alicia Keys. I definitely think there’s a space for r&b. Music is a reflection of society and culture. I think just like we see trends from the 70’s, 80’s, 90s etc. make a resurgence in fashion and pop culture, we’ll see R&B have its time again. We’re already seeing it happen.
The Purpose EP shows your growth as an artist. Would you agree?
The Purpose Ep shows my growth as both an artiss and person. We go through so many ups and downs and changes through our lives especially in our early 20s and that’s definitely reflected in my music, like most of my life experiences. I think my sound grows and shapes with every new song I write.
What’s next for you?
I just released the acoustic version of my EP Purpose, and I’ll be releasing some more music this summer that I’m super excited about along with new visuals. I’m currently on tour but once I get back home I’m focused on getting my next project finished and getting some more music out into the world!
