Meet Newcastle's Rising Star Who Played at Glastonbury
Fresh from headlining this year's BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury Festival, Living North meet Newcastle's own rising star Lizzie Esau
‘We’ve been properly releasing music for the past two years,’ she says. ‘Our first break onto the live scene was two years ago when we got selected by BBC Music Introducing to represent the North East at Radio 1's Big Weekend.’ Lizzie has also performed at Hardwick Festival, Coast Fest in North Shields, Kendal Calling, Tramlines and Boardmasters.
She was brought up in a creative household with a painter mum and her dad who’s in a band. ‘Even as young as three I’d make up silly rhymes,’ she laughs. ‘All I ever wanted to do was make people sit down and sing to them. I’d put on a little show for anyone who dared to walk into the house!
‘I remember a friend at school was starting piano lessons and I was like “I want to do that!” From a very young age I learned piano classically until I was about 18.’ Meanwhile, Lizzie would jot down ideas for songs and rhymes in a notepad. ‘When I was a teenager, my mum’s friends would ask me what I want to do and I’d say “maybe a doctor, maybe this, maybe that” but deep down I knew I was just telling them that,’ she continues. ‘I realised that actually this is the only thing I ever really wanted to do properly.’
While Lizzie says her music is definitely in the ‘alternative world’, she’s reluctant to narrow it down to just one genre. ‘It’s definitely alternative. Pop-rock, I would say. But it has this emotional feel to it – I hope!’ she laughs. ‘It’s emotional, not necessarily in a ‘cry your heart out’ way, but it’s going to make you feel something. That’s my main goal. I just want to move people in some way. It’s real topics and very honest music. Alternative, but crossed with [different] genres because we [Lizzie and her band] are not interested in being put in some kind of box. We love so many different types of music and we’re not afraid to experiment with everything. It hopefully constantly keeps people excited.’
She thanks her manager for getting her into the industry and, now with a sturdy team around her, and with constant support, Lizzie is optimistic about her future in music. ‘Getting a little team around you, or reaching out to people and local organisations, is worthwhile,’ she says. ‘If I had any advice it would be to reach out to people.’
While much of the music making process is collaborative, the lyrical inspiration is Lizzie’s own. ‘The production and the music are crafted by so many people, not just me, but the lyrics are mine,’ she says. ‘It’s very much my experiences. It’s very honest and I think a lot of it is very introspective. Our most recent release, Cool, which we brought out in June this year, talks about the insecurities of starting uni. I remember when that was me. I went to Newcastle University, which is where I grew up, but I felt like an alien in my own home city. I didn’t know how to make friends again because I’d been with the same friends from the age of three to 18. I found it really difficult. It’s about that first day and all those insecurities rushing to my head. Everyone was so artsy and cool and I didn’t feel like I was. But it’s also about me reassuring myself. It’s a fleeting moment of insecurity and I was angry at myself for feeling so insecure about it.’
Cool was recorded at Newcastle’s Blank Studios. You might’ve also heard Lizzie’s voice on the soundtrack for the new Amazon Prime Video series My Lady Jane (her song on the compilation album is I’m a Man). ‘It’s female-fronted bands and female solo artists, including Griff and Black Honey, doing covers of ‘60s songs which is really cool,’ she tells us.
Lizzie says our region is ‘incredibly supportive’. ‘Everyone has to work a bit harder up here unfortunately because a lot of the industry is still in the South – but it is changing,’ she reflects. ‘Up here you’ve got to work harder and fight your way out but it makes it so much easier that there are so many amazing organisations like Living North and BBC Music Introducing who really do want to champion you. There’s a lot of pride when people do start doing well from the North. Going to Glastonbury [Festival] we really felt that. It was incredible.’
Lizzie and her band were honoured to headline this year's BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury ‘We knew how huge it was and the second we got the call to do it we were like, we can’t take this for granted in any way,’ says Lizzie. ‘It was absolutely huge. There was a really supportive audience there and some of it was filmed which is great because we can watch it back! It was a really big moment when we could be proud of where we’ve got to, and that was all fuelled by the love we were feeling from the North East and the pride of everyone locally. We were all so fuelled by the love and support and all the messages wishing us well. That’s such a strange, but amazing, but hard to sink in feeling – that everyone really wants us to do well. And [Glastonbury] was obviously the most magical place ever. It’s like the happiest place on Earth.’
Lizzie loves performing live and looks forward to her next big opportunity with the band. ‘It’s the connection of the song with the real world,’ she says. ‘I’ll sit and write these songs and we’ll go through them as a band and get in the studio and go through them again – it’s a labour of love for a long time, for each song. Then you finally get to play them out in the world, and it’s really like this song doesn’t just exist as a digital file – it’s an actual piece of artwork that you get to connect with people via. That’s the only way to fully grasp that for me.
‘Although I love being in the studio and I love crafting music, playing it live and actually seeing someone react to it for the first time in front of your eyes is incredible. Social media comments can display that but I don’t think there’s any other way to get that across better (from the audience’s and artists’ perspective) than live. I know I get that feeling when I see bands I love live. It’s that real connection to the song.’
Lizzie is excited to hopefully to release her next EP in autumn which she describes as ‘a fiery little sister’ to her last EP. Stream Cool and I’m a Man now.
Where do you love to perform in the North East?
The Cluny. I work at the bar there. It’s a great place and it really champions a lot of local music – and I’m not the only up-and-coming musician who works behind the bar (or has worked in the bar or in the building at some point)!
Do you have a favourite lyric of yours?
The chorus of Lazy Brain, I always thought was quite fun: ‘There's been a fall out with me and my lazy brain’. It’s a funny concept that summed up the frustration I was feeling at the time. I’m not blaming me, I’m blaming my head.
Is there a North East musician who inspires you?
There are so many! I love The Peevie Wonders – they’re really cool and really humorous with their lyrics. I think Finn Forster is great and has an amazing voice. There are so many and I’m constantly finding more in the North East that I love.
Where’s your happy place in the North East?
I love going to Tynemouth beach. If I can pick two – I’m in Heaton now but I grew up in Ryton and Ryton Willows has so many memories.
Your favourite place to eat and drink in the North East?
I’ve got a fancy answer and a not so fancy answer. I love Greggs because the vegan sausage rolls are incredible, especially for on tour if you want something vegan and relatively cheap – you know you can count on the fact that there’s going to be a Greggs, and it’s going to be good. Also, The French Quarter is really cool – we go there for birthdays only, but it’s lovely if you want a treat!
