EVAN GIIA’s Headline Tour Starts March 5th: Tickets

Rising artist EVAN GIIA is kicking off her debut headline tour and she’s going to make you sweat.  From her latest single, “Switch Off” which immediately blasts into a bass-heavy electropop rager to her “GIIA MOVE” partnership with CycleBar, the Brooklyn-based artist will have your heart racing one way or another.

While the classically-trained vocalist has already taken the stage at unbelievable venues like Red Rocks with Louis the Child, and at massive festivals like Bonnaroo and Firefly, this latest tour finds EVAN GIIA eagerly standing on her own two feet, ready to take the spotlight she deserves.

Ahead of her multi-date trek across the U.S., which sees her D.C. debut at U Street Music Hall on April 3rd, I caught up with EVAN GIIA to talk her new single, upcoming projects, using apps to meditate, cycling and more.

INTERVIEW

Hi EVAN – thanks for taking the time to chat. We’re connecting a few days before your first headline tour. You must be excited.

Yeah, I’m very – very anxious and ready to do this. We leave tomorrow morning, so it’s a very big moment for me right now.

You’re just coming off a tour with Big Wild, you have festival dates lined up and later dates with Louis the Child. How does this upcoming headline tour feel different?

It feels night and day different. I’ve spent three years opening for other people and it’s been incredible and has gotten me to this point but I always dreamed of a time where I’d have my own stage and people are buying tickets just to see me. I’ve never been able to walk out onto a stage yet and have everyone in the room be there because they like my stuff, so I’m just beyond excited. I’ve worked really hard and beyond that, the show is going to be much more elevated and upgraded. I have more production and lighting, I’m so excited.

I think anyone that’s been playing your new single “Switch Off” would be too, it’s so good.

Thank so much – we love that track! It’s so much fun to play live as well. It really bumps on the big speakers.

Was that track directly inspired by anything?

Yeah, the idea for that track started because one of my friends was going through a really rough time and they’re the type of person that if they’re in this type of space, we used to put on a song and just like dance together and go crazy and just try to forget about it. So I wanted to write a song with that in mind and I came up with the lyrics around that. All of the beat and everything is written by MEMBA and I wanted a song that really knocks live, so we kind of wrote it with that in mind. We wrote the first version and then I started playing it live and we kept tweaking it for a year and a half, so it’s been through a lot of different versions.

When you were tweaking it live, was that with MEMBA or did you later go back to them in the studio to continue making it?

It’s always been with them, they actually created it from scratch with me and every step of the way, I come back to Brooklyn from my tours and we edit it in our studio a little bit more. I’ll say “hey, they loved this part but they want this part to be bigger.” I can just feel what the audience needs, so from there we came up with this version and it’s just so epic to scream “kiss that shit goodbye” with everyone on stage.

MEMBA are your frequent collaborators but you’ve also recently worked with AOBeats on “Sidelines” and a few other producers through Astralwerks. How has that expansion felt?

It’s interesting. Working with MEMBA, who is my fiancé, Ishaan, and my friend Will, it’s a very comfy safe space (laughs) but coming from that and then flying out to LA to start doing sessions with big writers and producers was one of the more nerve-wracking things I’ve done in my career.

I’m never nervous when I perform or do anything else, I think I was just born to do that, but writing for me is a very vulnerable and big deal. So getting in that room and just feeling comfortable took a bit but I’m really proud because now I’m in a space where I love to collaborate with other people. I love just getting in the studio and meeting people, and I think it actually pushed me in a lot of ways that I probably wouldn’t have gotten if I had just stayed in Brooklyn and worked here.

You’ve self-directed or have been heavily involved with the visuals tied to your music. Will you make one for “Switch Off”?

No, well… there are no plans right now but I absolutely love the visual and music video side of things so you’ll definitely get another one in the future.

We’ve gotten a handful of singles from you recently — will we see an EVAN GIIA EP or anything similar this year?

Yeah – so we are definitely still going to focus on a few more singles. I have a few more singles that I really need to get out there and show you guys before the EP but that is something that is always… it’s one of those things where you don’t really sit down and say, “Okay, now I’m going to write an EP.” It’s almost always a compilation of stuff that you’ve written and kind of put together, at least in my experience. Some people might do it that way but I feel like the touring side of my business is what I’m feeling really strong about but it’s crazy because when you’re an artist you have to think of all the different aspects, and one side is streaming, which is doing well, but I just feel like I need to build a bit of a stronger presence on there. I have my core fans listening now but a little bit more before the EP comes out.

Speaking of your tour, I saw you also recently teamed up with CYCLEBAR to lead a few cycling classes. Do you have a background in cycling?

Yeah, I’ve always been dying to meld my fitness and movement background with EVAN GIIA. I was a yoga instructor for a few years and then a cycling instructor. So I fell in love with coaching people and creating playlists that kind of take people to the next level. I was really missing it one day while on the treadmill and I was like “how do I bring this into my career?”

I don’t want to just be an artist, I want to be an artist that’s known for taking care of her body, working out, meditating, and doing all of the things. The other part of me, I feel like I’m EVAN GIIA and then the other half of me – I love to do anything that makes me feel good – physically and mentally and everything. I want to spread that message to my fans so I came up with an idea for a meet & greet.

I know a lot of artists do meet & greet pop-ups with signings and merch but I wondered what if I did mine and just said, come work out with me. I came up with the idea, we pitched it around and CycleBar loved it. I got certified, it took a while, it was really hard (laughs) but I got certified in the CycleBar method and now I’m teaching. I’m so excited because three of the cities on the tour have it and I think it’s just a cool way to get an intimate experience with my fans and then get them jacked up for the show the next day.

During those classes, will fans get to hear the “GIIA SWEAT” playlist you have on Spotify?

Yes! So that’s the best part. There are some EVAN GIIA songs on there and I just made the playlist and it has songs from the GIIA SWEAT playlist. I made that playlist to get people jacked up for the cycling event so they’re like “Oo, I love this one, I’m ready to go.” I feel like if you know the music, it makes it a little more intense and much more fun. I just made the playlist, it’s so fire. I’m so excited to show it off. It’s like the perfect arc.

Well, we have CycleBar in D.C. – just saying!

Yeah, I know! I’ve gotten a really good response and if these go well, I will 100% take them out on the road with me to other locations. Tons of other CycleBars are asking if we can do it there, so it’s a good sign.

You mentioned enjoying meditation – how else do you keep centered while on the road so much?

I drink a ton of water, I know that’s lame, but it’s definitely the most saving grace ever. Just with planes and trains and whatever else I have to take. The travel is really grueling but I use the app, Calm all the time, it’s my meditation app. It’s the best. It gives you the quick little versions of meditation that you need. Whether you want to go to sleep, have anxieties, or whatever it is.

So I meditate and then the other thing I try to do is have a second where I’m not in EVAN GIIA-mode so maybe I’ll go for a good lunch somewhere or I’ll go for a good walk and go see something in the city. Something that makes me feel like a little bit more human rather than… because if you tour for two months, sometimes you come out feeling non-human, it’s a really big grind.

Thankfully, there’s a lot to see in D.C. You’re here on April 3rd at U Street Music Hall. Have you played here before?

I just got so excited that you said you’re in D.C. I’ve never played in D.C. and I think that’s one of the markets where I’m so excited to go into because it’s close. I’ve always grown up in Boston and New York and stuff, but I’ve never been and it’s so weird. I’ve told almost every person from D.C., I’m playing U Street Music Hall and they’re like “WHAT?! That’s the best venue,” so I’m really excited.

U Street Music Hall is amazing – especially with your 808s and everything behind your songs, it’s going to be an insane show.

It’s going to bump? I’m so excited, I need a good sound system, it’s going to be epic.

How would you describe that upcoming show without referring to music?

ENERGY. It’s not even the music, it’s literally a vibe that’s created that I’ve found just happens at all of my shows where my biggest thing when I’m on stage is like legitimately connecting with everyone in the room. I make actual eye contact with people and I stay with them and dance with them for a second and they get so excited. Like, whoa, we had a moment. That’s kind of how I’ve created my fans, I feel, I try to make everyone in the room feel like damn, she saw me, we had a moment, that was so fun. That’s my goal. Energy and connection, that’s how I would describe it. Then, I just want everyone to leave sweating their balls off, because they just raged so hard (laughs).

U Street will be perfect for that. Before we disconnect, I know we just got “Switch Off,” but can we expect some new music mid-tour or anything around then?

Definitely! During the tour and before Louis the Child, you can expect another single.

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EVAN GIIA‘s highly-anticipated tour kicks off March 5th in San Francisco, with a must-see set promised at CRSSD Fest, and additional headlining dates in Chicago, Toronto, Austin, Nashville, and more. For all future tour dates and tickets, click HERE.

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