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You’ve had your own headline tour this year, and you’re about to join Gracie Abrams and Olivia Rodrigo on tour. How are you feeling about that?

Grace Ives: I feel very, very lucky. It’s like two of like the most famous people I can think of. So I’m excited. I’m like a little less nervous now because I just played with Robyn at Scotiabank, which is just massive. And after that experience, I was like, okay, I can do this. I’m a little bit primed and ready to go. So I’m excited.

You recently opened for Robyn in Toronto; what have you learned about sharing the stage with these artists?

Ives: Well, it’s amazing to see somebody like Robyn, who I’ve kind of idolized and just like respected for so long, see how she moves and how she kind of like gives herself to the audience. You know what? How much of, you know, seeing her as an entertainer in real life, kind of like connecting with people, which is really such a talent. I mean, I was in the audience for a lot, for the end of Robyn’s show. And there’s like, I don’t know how many people in the audience, like thousands, I’m guessing, you know, but I felt connected to her because of just the way that she was being so generous with her, herself and her personality and her body and mind and voice. So I was definitely inspired. I learned that like, that it’s actually less scary than I thought it would be. Also, it’s like looking out into the sea of thousands of people. It’s, it’s a little less intimate, you know, than playing a smaller, I mean, a lot less intimate than playing one of my own headline shows where I can see people and look them in their eyes and I can see if they’re like, you know, they’re not really feeling it or if they’re into it. So it’s kind of like that huge audience just kind of felt like a backdrop. It felt less scary than I thought it would be.

What has been your favorite city to perform in?

Ives: Well, I did love Toronto. I love Toronto, I love Montreal, we love Canada. In the US, I think I’ve loved, I’ve had really great … experiences in like Minneapolis and kind of like middle of the country, Midwest, those cities. I’ve had a lot of fun there. And New York is always fun, obviously. But yeah, Minneapolis. I had a really amazing show in Wisconsin once. Yeah.

You took roughly three years between Janky Star and your most recent album, Girlfriend. What was happening during that time?

Ives: I was changing a lot. I mean, I was like working on myself and changing, kind of making big changes to my lifestyle of just trying to be a, you know, better version of myself and a better friend and girlfriend and daughter and everything. And that kind of took a little, took some time to get, become willing to do, you know, or to kind of like be like, okay, I’m ready now. But it also took a long time because in those three years, there was a lot of like just playing and experimenting that is so much fun, but can kind of be endless, especially when you’re in a studio that has like so many different options. So that’s, I think part of the three year journey is like trying everything and realizing that I only need a few things. And that took a while, but it was very formative. Like, I don’t really, I don’t expect myself in the future to have that same creative process of like so much searching. You know, it was kind of like defining a creative process and defining a sound that took a while.

Are you approaching any part of your career differently than you did when you released Janky Star?

Ives: Yeah, it feels really different this time around. It feels like I felt like a— I was more of a perfectionist this time around, making the music. I think I approached the music, yeah, with way more like I put way more pressure on myself to make it, you know, good. But I also just like, I feel more like I’m engaging more with the world and with like culture this time around, it feels like I’m busier and I feel more a part of, you know, art and life this time around.

What’s something that you’re hoping to do in your career that you haven’t done yet?

Ives: Something I’m hoping to do. I would love to kind of just like have, try making albums in different ways. Like I’ve done the kind of thing where I— I’ve done the version of making an album that took three years and I would love to, you know, do a version of making an album that is like a month, you know, like, I would love to experiment with different ways of working with myself to kind of just like, see what is possible on my own and, you know, with certain limitations or without them.

If your album Girlfriend was a person, how do you imagine they would show up to a party?

Ives: Oh my God, they would show up like— they would show up really already really drunk. They would like smoke inside and the host would be like, “can you not do that?” And they’d be like, “oh, sorry.” And they would take it really personally and get really sensitive about it, but then probably still do it. They would be like a bit of a mess, but also endearing, maybe. Yeah, there would probably be like how I was once. Just kind of making a mess at someone else’s house.

I absolutely love the line in your song “Stupid Bitches” that goes, ‘I’ve been through the needle, now I see.’ What’s your process of songwriting, and how are you able to capture such an emotion or feeling using only a few words?

Ives: That’s, I mean, that’s a compliment in that question that I want to say thank you for. I don’t know, I think I, I mean, this on the, on that album, I was really, it took a long time. I was really afraid of like saying the right thing and saying it well. So my process is kind of like a lot of rewriting, you know, writing and rewriting, like a lot of different versions, especially on stupid bitches. I mean, it took a it took, oh my God, months of trying different lyrics and they were so bad at first. And then they were like, good, but not great. And then I kind of hit it. But my process is, yeah, a lot of trial and error and a lot of reading and collecting, you know, other authors language as kind of like something that I can return to for like light for inspiration, just kind of like. Yeah. I like to gather lines and quotes and stuff and just go back to it when I’m feeling lost or stuck.

If you had to describe your song “Lullaby” using three emojis, which would you choose?

Ives: Oh my gosh. I would do the moon. I do like a crescent moon. I would do a pillow and, like, a light blue heart. 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received from another artist?

Ives: Whoa! Okay. Whoa. From another artist. I’ve been told to, like, enjoy the moment, you know, enjoy this stage of my career. Uh, which seems simple, and seems like something I don’t need to be told, but that kind of like loosened me up inside. And in terms of like, how I was my anxiety and my anxiety about like the future and about what will be and what, how good something is. And I think that was good. But I also was told earlier on by an artist, a visual artist, uh, who was just like a family friend also, or she was like, uh, everybody is thinking about themselves. Like, don’t worry, nobody is like thinking about nobody is like judging you, like judging you that harshly or thinking about you the way that you think of yourself. Like everybody’s kind of walking around thinking about their own life and, and themselves and how they’re being perceived. So I can kind of relax a little bit. That was helpful.

What are you most looking forward to as the year wraps up?

Ives: Well, in New York and I’m sure maybe where you are, it’s colder now. Is it colder for you? Yeah. Oh, yeah. I’m looking forward to just like— it’s so nice to be on the East Coast with, with these seasons that, like, it feels like such a actual marker in my life, like an actual end of a chapter and a, in a new beginning. So I’m, I’m looking forward to that. But I’m also, I mean, in terms of like my work, I guess I’m looking forward to settling back into like my own home studio and, and working on new things. You know, like seeing where I’m at creatively and like what I come up with. I’m looking forward to that.

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