Singer-Songwriter Adia Victoria has been making major waves since the release of her single "Stuck in the South," and now she is hitting the road for her first US headlining tour. Praised for her rawness and honesty, her music doesn't seek to fetishize the South as so many others do, but rather boldly and starkly she sings about her experience growing up to immigrant parents in South Carolina.
Adia Victoria is definitely going to be one to watch out for in 2015! We caught up with the songstress prior to her show at MOTR Pub on Monday, January 19th with Smut.
For those not in the know, give us some background on Adia Victoria…
I write songs about the world and people around me.
I am in love with your honesty within your songwriting. Myself also being from the south.. side of the Midwest, we are taught to smile and nod… Have you always been so honest or did you grow into it?
Firstly, I don’t want to get anointed with some ‘honesty crown’. I have a song that’s about being a pathological liar, which I have been at points in my life. I don’t want to be the poster woman for whatever people think of as ‘brutally honest’. The way I see it is I have this one human life and I report about my experiences, what they do to me and my perceptions of the world. I think the fact that this seems somehow shocking or extraordinary to people might have more to say about the cynical, slick, pre-packaged, neutered songs we are accustomed to being spoon fed.
What prompted your music career?
Deeply seated resentment for my daily life, mostly. I felt stifled in my cubicle selling cable at 21 years old for 9 hours a day and talking about things that I didn't care for with people I didn't care about.I saw what the world had in store for me and I wanted out. I wanted away from everyone and to just be alone with myself and my thoughts. And from there I began writing songs as a way to process my life and to build my own world.
What can we expect at an Adia Victoria show? I’ve heard your shows to be intense and exciting…
You can expect me to come out and play my songs and to tell you a bit about my life. My live show is the best way to gain perspective of what’s going on inside my head. I let the woman who lives in there come out and play.
What is next for Adia Victoria?
Who can say? Life.
