INTERVIEW: Tessa Violet

By Allie Antonevich

Tessa Violet, known previously as Meekakitty, is currently touring for her 2019 EP, Bad Ideas (Act One). Though I was unable to make her show at the Sinclair last minute, I was able to connect with the popular YouTube vlogger-turned-singer songwriter over email to get a sense of what she’s up to now and what’s on the horizon.

Allie Antonevich: How was Lollapalooza?! What was the craziest thing you saw there?

Tessa Violet: Dude Lolla was awesome. It was my first festival I’d been to let alone played. Like 2-3,000 people came to my set which blew my mind. The awesomest thing I saw was Ben Gibbard singing I Will Follow You in to The Dark. And TØP’s set! Incredible.

AA: Can you talk a bit about what the transition from YouTube to songwriting was like? Did you feel like you were losing a part of yourself when you made the switch or did you feel like you were finding your whole self?

TV: Songwriting felt like finding myself for sure. Coming into who I was and what I have to say. What a lovely way to put it!

AA: What does an average day look like to you?

TV: On tour right now, so wake up at eleven, hop in the van for two hours, grab a quick lunch, load in, sound check, meet and greet/pre-show, eat dinner, play the show, load out, drive two hours, sleep, rinse/wash/repeat. On tour everything is on a real tight schedule. It’s great though, I love the shows, the travel, and my band and crew. Truly no complaints.

AA: Who (or what) do you draw inspiration from?

TV: Lyrically I write from my life and experience, songwriting is a way to figure out what you’re feeling and make sense of it.

AA: Who would be on your dream collaboration?

TV: Probably Jack Antonoff.

AA: Disappearing from the internet for a bit… I really feel you on this. What’s something you learned during your hiatus that stuck with you?

TV: I have taken breaks that were very intentional breaks with a purpose, this last one where I wrote the record was truly just not having the bandwidth or anything to share. I’d just gone through a break up and poured it in to the music. I’m not sure I can speak to something I learned.

AA: When are you the happiest?

TV: On stage, on tour, in the studio, or spending time away from everything with my loved ones.

AA: What can we expect to see from you in the future?

TV: My album comes out this fall!!