Hailing from Atlanta’s vibrant indie scene, Faye Webster has gone from strength to strength since her debut album Run and Tell, which she released in 2013 at just 16 years of age.
With her fifth studio album on the horizon, Webster is set to perform for the first time in Australia at Laneway Festival, the one-day trans-Tasman touring festival that has been a favourite of indie-rock fans since its inception in 2005.
As she gears up for her inaugural tour Down Under, we delve into her hobbies, unexpected collaborations and the unique inspiration behind her latest album.
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Fresh from captivating audiences on a triumphant US tour last year, Faye Webster is set to make 2024 a landmark year with the launch of her eagerly anticipated album, Underdressed at the Symphony, scheduled for release on March 1. Featuring her trademark candid lyricism, the album draws its evocative title from her personal refuge at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
“I found myself there at the symphony a lot during a hard time for me,” she explains. “And just for how much I was going, I was kind of just like, this is […] a meaningful thing in my life at this point. I just felt like, yeah, I should just name the project that.”
Though Webster has become a household name thanks to the viral sensation of songs such as I Know You in 2017 on TikTok, she remains a grounded approach to her craft. Where other musicians may approach songwriting with the intention of creating that perfect snippet to go viral, Faye instead upholds that “mostly when I’m making music […] I’m making music for myself.”
In fact, Faye intentionally doesn’t have a presence on the app. “I don’t really know what happens [on TikTok] other than like, friends sending me videos every now and then,” she explains.
One standout collaboration on her upcoming album is the track Lego Ring, featuring rapper Lil Yachty. The surprising fusion of indie and rap finds its roots in a longstanding friendship that dates back to middle school. “We both just still live in Atlanta and like, yeah, just maintained our friendship.”
For Faye, the decision to collaborate felt natural, as they are longtime collaborators. “It just feels more like making something with a homie […] it just felt like it was meant to be.”
Accompanying the song is a unique music video with a playable online game, adding interactive dimensions to Faye’s artistic expression.
With this project, Faye Webster showcases a willingness to experiment and push creative boundaries, stating, “I had my friend [Kyle Ng of Braindead Studios] direct all the visuals for this project. He had the idea of creating a game and [having] us playing the game in the video. So yeah, I kind of just put all my trust in him for this release.”
When asked if she held any high scores on Lego Ring’s accompanying game, Faye laughs: “I’m not as good as my bandmate – she is really good at the game […] she got like 10,000 I’m like in the 6,000s when I played I think, yeah.”
Faye Webster’s press release describes her as – among other things – a “full-time yoyo enthusiast” and I couldn’t resist asking her about the craft. “The yo-yo community is really beautiful,” she tells me.
To my surprise at the revelation that yoyoing harboured an international community, she informed me that “there’s a very big yoyo community […] I’m excited to tap into it in Australia.”
While Faye Webster has previously visited Australia on holiday, this tour marks Faye’s first official performances in the country. Expressing her excitement, she reveals, “I’ve never played in Australia before. I think that’s what excites me the most, to be honest.”
Having just been announced on this year’s Coachella lineup, Aussie fans have the chance to catch her much closer to home when she performs live at Laneway Festival on February 10.
Sharing the stage with the likes of Stormzy, Dominic Fike, Steve Lacy and more, she has also announced a sideshow at the Croxton Bandroom on January 31 for fans who want to get up close and personal with Faye before her Laneway performance.
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