Now, fresh from a sold-out BBC Introducing night at Newcastle’s Glasshouse and ahead of the release of her next single ‘BUGS’, Lizzie is more confident than ever — but just as grounded. As part of Music Is To Blame’s What’s to Blame? interview series, she opens up about the challenges of being a woman in alt-rock, her fight to keep gigs accessible, and why wearing wings backstage at Glastonbury changed everything.
Hi Lizzie! Let’s start with a quick intro — could you introduce yourself to our readers?
I’m Lizzie Esau, an artist from Newcastle in the UK. I’d say I make alternative music, though it’s hard to pin it down sometimes. I guess I’m definitely part of the alternative world!
What have you got coming up that you’re most excited for?
We’re releasing the new track ‘BUGS’ on the 2nd of May, so that’s exciting! Apart from that, I’ll be in Wales for a bit – I’m half Welsh so I love going back. And then tomorrow [which was on Wednesday, April 16th] we are playing the Glasshouse! It is part of a BBC Introducing night and they’ve really helped us so much.
Yay and it’s sold out - congrats!
Yeah thank you! We are headlining. It’s BBC Introducing that’s putting it on, I don’t know how many tickets were available, but it’s sold out, so yeah that’s cool!
I’ve seen that it is a pay-as-you-feel gig which is nice!
Yeah, I think that came from the Glasshouse and BBC Introducing, but I’m really glad opportunities like that exist. I totally understand it’s not always doable — artists, sound engineers, and venues need to be paid — but when there’s a chance to make shows more accessible, it’s amazing.
As an independent artist, how do you balance fairness with affordability?
It’s really tricky. Even a £10–£15 ticket is a big ask for many people — it could be meals for a few days. There’s travel, food, drinks… I mean if you have tap water all night and walk there maybe it’s doable, but it’s a very conscious decision to go to gigs at the moment. It becomes a luxury. And it shouldn’t be one. So I definitely appreciate any ticket that was ever bought to come and see us.
I truly think it’s a bigger problem. The cost-of-living crisis makes it harder for everyone — not just artists, but also people working minimum wage jobs to make time for their passions. I also speak for myself. It’s difficult, but as an artist, we need to remember that we also deserve to be paid fairly and that it shouldn't always be the art suffering, as well as making it accessible to as many people as possible.
And then there's streaming — if we were paid fairly there, maybe costs could come down for gigs. The distribution of wealth in this industry is just unfair. Hence why I’m involved with the Ivors Academy because they’re trying to change that, and they’re doing amazing work!
I feel like bigger artists tend to make their tickets more and more expensive. Maybe the issue is there first, since they have bigger budgets than indie artists and labels covering the costs of touring?
Yeah. To be honest I don’t really go to a lot of the bigger gigs. I like to go to the smaller gigs where you find something new! I think the biggest I’ve been to recently was Fontaines D.C. at Glasgow Arena – it was more than I would normally pay for local and smaller gigs, but it wasn’t extortionate for an arena though. It’s nothing like the stadium gigs prices. I mean, if you can and if it’s what you like more than anything just go for it! But it’s so beyond where I am right now, that I can’t even imagine a scenario where tickets for a gig that I’ve put on could be that price. In the future, I don’t know, but I feel like it should be accessible.
Your lyrics often feel deeply personal. What’s to blame for your songwriting process?
It usually starts with a voice note, I make a lot of voice notes — I have about 2,611 of them now! (laughs) I just collect ideas when they pop up. I usually write into Logic or sit here, at my piano. I make loops, develop demos, and slowly build them into songs. Sometimes my band brings ideas or stems and I sort of remix them into something new. It’s collaborative, but it always starts with something personal. I keep songs to myself for a while — but I like that, it’s kind of secret. Just me and the song for a while. Then I let more people in over time. But at the end of the day, I have to like it for me.
Is your sound influenced by where you come from, Newcastle, and in what ways?
I think, naturally yeah! It should be. Just by growing up here, seeing local gigs…. I feel like everyone up here works hard, cause it is harder. A lot of people are trying to change that, a lot of bands are breaking out of that – so I'm definitely inspired by that! Growing up here also inspires a lot of subject matter of a lot of the songs. Many are introspective and personal so they gotta be influenced by where I am.
As a woman and an indie artist in the music industry, what challenges have you faced and what do you think should change to make it more inclusive?
It’s definitely male-dominated. It’s hard not to compare yourself to these models that the industry knows how to sell. A lot of my favourite bands are straight white men — nothing wrong with that, it doesn’t take anything from the quality of the music, but it’s just been the norm for so long. And you do wonder, “Would I have gotten that opportunity if I were a man?” It’s not just about being overlooked — it’s also the inappropriate comments, being talked down to, mansplained to… I’ve had people say things after gigs that made it clear they didn’t respect me, either as a musician or as a woman. The industry should be more biased towards other genders, ethnic minorities… But I think it is consciously changing, rightly so. It’s a wider respect issue, really.
You often wear angel wings on stage. What’s to blame for that decision?
I always wanna be truthful in this story – I’ve got some funding from Help Musicians for my last EP. Part of that funding was advice sessions, it wasn’t money, which at first I was like "I need to pay for so many things for the EP!" – but it was by far more valuable.. I didn't even realise it at the time. If you know you know, when you’re an indie artist, money goes fast. The advice I got from these people was incredible – I had sessions with a guy called Jeremy who’s doing marketing. He asked me to draw cartoons of the artists I loved, and then to draw myself. It was all about "who are you as an artist?" I knew the music I was making, and I knew who I was. But I was kind of lost – I was putting out this EP but I didn’t know what I was trying to say. I always thought "oh maybe I’m gonna have to put on a front, have a different persona" as an artist. Jeremy told me "you just have to be a different version of you". So I drew myself on stage, playing guitar. And Jeremy said "oh I love the wings! It works really well with your air-headed personality!" – but I didn’t draw wings, I drew the outfit I wore for a music video. So I was like "but it’s not wings!" and he said "well, it could be wings!’"
Then we played Glastonbury. I wore wings backstage, got this picture taken cause I thought it was fun and it just felt right. I made it my profile pic, and people loved it! It wasn’t like a big meeting about fashion like "what can we do?" – it was really natural and organic.
You’ve started incorporating themed dress codes into your shows, which creates such a fun, immersive vibe. Are artists like Chappell Roan to blame?
Yes! I saw quite a few artists also doing this, obviously Chappell Roan is amazing. I remember my friend telling me about Chappell Roan like a year ago, asking me if I wanted to come to this small Manchester gig and they were dressing up for the gig with friends. But I didn’t. A year later, I was like "this person has blown up – I’m sure it was who you were telling me about!"
For me, I think it was a fan at a gig that gave me the idea. It became a thing because of Chappell Roan for sure. So for this Glasshouse gig, since it’s a huge moment for us, I wanted to do something special and fun. Who wants to dress up does it. I haven’t figured out my outfit yet though (laughs). I don’t know yet if that will be a consistent thing, but for a big headline thing I just thought it could be fun.
Absolutely. The crowd and the artists are connecting more, and I really like this sense of community. I think people are often dressing up for gigs now - think of the Pitbull shows where everyone was showing up with bald caps!
(laughs) Yeah I just love that. I just want to make gigs more fun. I don’t wanna get all spiritual, but sometimes we just wanna dress up and see a band we love. Just have fun, just do it!
Are there any acts local to you that should be on our radar?
So many! Peevie (formerly The Peevie Wonders), Smith & Liddle, especially if you love Fleetwood Mac, Cortney Dixon, Nadedja, and Look Terrified — that’s my drummer’s other band. The North East is full of talent. It’s harder up here, but we’re breaking through that.
I feel like the northern sound is always the best - it must be the north in me!
Yeah! Exactly!
Thank you so much Lizzie for your time! Have fun at the Glasshouse and see you hopefully in Paris sometime?
Paris is definitely on our list — I’ll make sure you’ll be there!
Lydia Sedda
Images: Storm Hudspith-Walker
