Can’t do an actual, IRL tour at the moment? Take it to URLs instead – that’s L Devine’s thinking. All the benefits of fans, music, and new scenery (kind of), with none of the smelly tour buses, dodgy hotel rooms, or incomplete riders (where’s the bloody Haribo?!). Following a digital live run of her own, she’s also performing at virtual festival Homeschool this weekend.
Hello! How’s it going? Are you feeling okay amid all this virus madness?
Hey! I’m doing fine, thank you. I’m back up north in Newcastle, staying with my mum, so I feel really lucky I’m quarantined at home with family!
How has it impacted you so far?
It’s pretty much put life on pause, which I’m sure is the same for everyone. I’m so used to being constantly on the move and travelling a lot, so life being so slow-paced has been very strange. As a musician, I can definitely write and make music from home, but like so many other artists, it’s the touring side of things which the virus has really had an impact on. My support slot on Fletcher’s tour was postponed this month, as was my headline UK and European tour in May, along with a bunch of festivals. So re-planning these next few months will be interesting!
You’ve been doing some nice and fun things to boost morale, can you tell us about them?
I planned this thing I’m calling a ‘URL Tour’ to make up for the fact I won’t be touring across Europe this month. The idea was to do different live stream gigs across different social media platforms. I thought by doing it this way, I would still be reaching different fans in different spaces. For instance, the audience on TikTok isn’t the same as the audience on YouTube, similarly, when playing shows in different countries, I’d be performing to different fans each night.
Have they been well received?
It’s been so lovely and rewarding so far. The responses from fans have been heart-warming. A lot of people have sent me messages saying these URL shows really help take their minds off of things and have helped with anxieties. Which I think is what live music is all about – you all come together and forget about the outside world for an hour or so and just enjoy the music in front of you.
Do you have more in the works?
I have a few more dates on the URL Tour coming up, but I’m planning some other stuff too. I had just started recording Season 2 of my podcast – L Devine’s Growing Pains – before this all started, so I’ve been exploring how I can continue to do that remotely. Some live stream episodes of the podcast could be really cool! So hopefully, that’ll be coming in the next few weeks too.
Is there anything you’ve seen someone else do around this that you thought was a great idea?
Rina Sawayama let her fans download the chords and lyrics of her new song before its release so they could interpret it how they want and create their own version. I think that’s such a fun idea!
Have you been self-isolating? How do you fill the time?
Going out for my once a day exercise, which at the minute consists of walks along the Fish Quay, has been really nice. I’ve also been taking really long baths. And I’m absolutely addicted to the House Party app. I’m pretty sure my friends are getting sick of me.
What’s your favourite ‘can do at home’ hobby that isn’t music?
Cooking is great!! It’s actually so therapeutic, and I can still be pretty creative with it too. Especially since I’m being extra conscious about not wasting anything at all, I think I’m definitely becoming a bit more experimental in the kitchen.
Are there any tracks or albums you’ve been listening to a lot to help get through this period?
My friend just showed me this song called ‘Stay Alive’ by Mustafa. I love it, it’s so gorgeous.
What do the next few months look like for you?
I don’t know if anyone knows what the next few months look like, to be honest! But I am releasing quite a lot of new music which Is awesome. I’m not totally sure when it’ll all come out exactly, but I’ll definitely be dropping a few songs over the next few months.
L Devine is taking part in new online festival Homeschool, which runs from 8th-10th May – visit homeschoolfest.com for details.
