Interviews (252)

• March 21, 2025
• Colleen Johnson
• 197
• 0

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(photo credit: Jesse DeFlorio)

With yesterday being the first official day of Spring, rock and roll and those summer stadium shows are on the near horizon, but for now, before we warm up just a little bit more, the club shows are truly where it’s at. And tomorrow, I have the perfect show for you. No stranger to Boston, Spencer Sutherland, is hitting the Brighton Music Hall tomorrow, and it’s sure to be a pretty dancy affair. You’ve been seriously missing out if you don’t sing his hit “Sweater” when you sling one on yourself. But a very important part of the show tomorrow is his main support act, Cloe Wilder, who, despite still being in her teens, is taking on her third North American tour to the glee of her fans. Cloe has been winning over audiences with her glittery tunes, and lucky for both fans of Wilder and new listeners, her most recent EP, Life’s a Bitch, just dropped today.

The EP was something Wilder started putting together fresh after she made a cross-country move to Los Angeles, and it screams songs that will grow Wilder’s name. While fans already have had a taste of moments like “Tallahassee” and “Cigarette,” the EP is a wildly introspective ride you’ll want to check out. I recently chatted with Cloe about her brand new EP, her last few months on the road with Spencer Sutherland and some of her major inspirations. You can find our chat below, and while there are still limited tickets for tomorrow’s show, you should definitely pick them up quickly here!

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New England Sounds: You’ve been touring nonstop with Spencer Sutherland. You just did Europe together, and a week later, you jumped into this run. Before we get into it, I believe this is your second full North American tour. 

Cloe Wilder: This is my third. I toured with Spencer when I was 17 in 2023, and yeah, with Charlotte Sands last year. And then I’ve been touring with Spencer literally this whole year. 

NES: Perfect, then now that this is old hat, maybe the three things you’ve realized must always be with you on tour, like tour essentials? 

Cloe Wilder: One would be my makeup artist, Sheila Harris. She is with me all the time and is the reason I look the way I do at these shows, and I sparkle. And then, I always like to have an instrument with me because it’s fun, it’s how I keep up with everything, and I get really inspired when I’m on tour. So usually I have a guitar, but right now I haven’t been carrying it with me because it’s an electric one, out on this tour. But I got a mandolin for my birthday, my guitarist Eric gave me that. So I have that with me right now, so I guess my next touring essential is a mandolin. Which is random, and let’s see what else. I mean, the third would probably be the 43 dresses. I’m pretty intense about tour wardrobe.

NES: How long have you been working on that wardrobe? Maybe the inspiration must be a fun or exciting part. 

Cloe: You know, it depends. I collect a lot of things as time goes on. But yeah, I mean, for this one, it was all very curated. Putting it together, packing them for Europe. We left for Europe in January, and I feel like I had everything together in mid-December. So it depends. Then, I went back to LA for a week between Europe and the US tour and was able to get all my stuff together. But it was all hanging on a rack and kind of prepared, but I like to label everything. My mom is with me on tour and is really helpful with that. And so we do that together.

NES: I’m sure Spencer appreciates that. He definitely puts some thought into his shows. 

Cloe: Oh yes, he is total fashion inspiration constantly. I love watching him. Also, we’re such good friends now. It’s fun to talk about that stuff. And it’s cool. I love seeing a man who feels passionate about it. It makes me really happy. He always looks amazing, but it works for him, too. I feel like he’s just so aware of his brand and his identity. It’s really cool, something that I’ve always really liked about him. 

NES: And we can talk about it later, but Spencer, he’s such a road dog. He’s been touring for years upon years. He wrote with you on “Cigarette.” Considering all the time you’ve spent with him, is there anything he taught you or that you’ve learned from him in your time working together? Maybe advice that he’s given you that’s really stuck with you. 

Cloe: Oh yeah absolutely, his whole presence in itself is very mentor-esque to me and has been really helpful. I think we’re on that level now. And yeah, you’re right, he is a road dog. He’s been doing this a lot longer than me. And yeah, we can always just talk about that. I started pretty young, and he’s really helpful at reminding me how beneficial that is. Because he’s just very motivating and is like, “It’s really amazing that you have all this time.” I like that reminder. Also, for little things, he’s so helpful with vocal health, which is something I have never really processed before. He’s one of the best singers I’ve ever seen, he’s so good, and he’s really helpful with that. He’s going and grabbing me water all the time and just making me keep up with it. And I wear body glitter now, he’s definitely been helpful, and also I watch his show literally every night. I don’t get sick of it, and he’s just a really wonderful performer and a really wonderful person. He’s very well-rounded in that way and just really knows who he is. And I really like that. And he’s really also just a great friend and a great writer. We got to hang out a lot after that first tour, and I’m so grateful for this great community I get to be in. 

NES: And then, like we said, you just came off Europe. Were there any big standout moments or experiences? I know you probably didn’t have a lot of downtime. 

Cloe: It was literally magical. There were so many places I hadn’t been, I hadn’t been to Germany and we got to go to Poland, we were in Austria. We were all over. And there were places I have been that I’m just obsessed with. We were in London, and I was just definitely blown away. My grandma came to see me play a show in Paris. It’s pretty wonderful; it’s pretty mind-blowing. It’s so much fun, and I’m with my friends, so it’s been cool to frolic around Europe. But I got to sing with Spencer during his set in a couple of cities. We did it for the first time in Amsterdam, we did it in Manchester, we sang “Dancing Queen” in his set, it was really fun. So that was a unforgettable memory. 

NES: This is to preview your Boston date with Spencer, which I know is about two weeks away. And it’s the day after your newest EP comes out, so you may not want to share too much. You’ve released “Tallahassee,” and a few singles are out in the world. How have you been curating your sets so far on this tour, considering it’s definitely not your first EP? 

Cloe: I have a lot from the new EP on this tour. We’ve been playing “Tallahassee” and “Cigarette,” and I have a song called “Fear of the Fall” on the EP that I’ve been playing. I like giving little previews. Seeing people react to it is fun. So yeah, I’ve definitely mixed a lot of it around the EP. The EP’s called Life’s a Bitch, and the whole thing is very kitschy and fun. In a way, lyrically, I think it is, but yeah, it’s a little more sarcastic. A little more specific with the whole thing. And it was really special singing a song about Tallahassee in literal Paris; it was pretty wild. It’s been really special to me, and I’m so excited for it to be out in the world. It will be cool to release the songs and see people connecting with them and maybe going home and listening to them. Because I have a lot of unreleased material in my sets, I feel like it’s a cool bonding experience for me and a crowd to be like, “This one’s not out yet, but we’re going to do it together.” 

NES: Yeah, for sure, and it’s good to roadtest it. Get an early look at how fans feel about it; having that part is important. 

Cloe: I think it’s the most organic way to do it. It makes me extra excited about things.

NES: You just talked about it, but you recently moved to LA. Right after the move, you started writing this EP. I know you wrote it in just ten days from reading about it. 

Cloe: Pretty much, yeah. In a way. 

NES: In a way. How did you jump into the writing process? Was there maybe a certain song that came first for you that kind of led the rest? How did that come about for you? 

Cloe: So basically, “So 17,” I had written like a year before. And “Cigarette,” I had written at another time, too. But, for most of it, it was my first time truly being myself. Just in really two weeks, just seeing how things felt, I was going back and forth, but I was with my mom and sister. So it wasn’t really an independent thing. But I moved there, but literally, on the ride home from LAX, I wrote down in my notes, “I am a heavyweight champion.” I don’t know why, but it just felt like the right thing to say. I just had been going through some weird things. I was dealing with a lot of relationship stuff that was falling apart. I had just gotten off a tour, and I had some weird relationship things going on, and I had some weird stuff going on, too; it was all just crashing down on me a little bit. So I wrote that. And “Heavyweight Champion,” I wrote quickly after I had that little idea. And then, “Fear of The Fall” was a couple of days later. That was just sitting down at my piano, and that worked out, too. I wrote “Heavyweight Champion” with Sam Nicolisi, and he’s one of my really great friends. He’s on both those EPs, but then I wrote “Tallahassee” with Theo Kandel and Jack Klein, that was our first session together. And that was like a couple of days into this little trek, too. I think “Life’s a Bitch,” was the last song I did, and that was just me writing that one down on my whiteboard, and I was like, “Oh, this also might have to be the title.” I don’t normally have a title track on the album; I usually like to take a lyric out and make that the title, but this felt very right. 

NES: I love it. From reading about it, I know Lana Del Rey is a core influence for you. But are there maybe other artists that you really enjoy or pull from? I know this is a time when female artists are dominating. They’re winning Grammy’s, they’re headlining arenas.

Cloe: Yeah. I mean, yeah, Lana’s my number one. I have her handwriting tattoed on my body. I’m a super fan, for sure. I love her so much, but yeah, I mean, right now, as it comes to female artists, I’m still obsessed with Chappell Roan. That’s a big one for me. I’ve always loved Florence and The Machine. I love Lorde so much. I’ve been back on the Melodrama kick lately. So that’s a big one for me. And yeah, there are so many wonderful people out there right now. It’s been amazing; there is so much new, cool stuff. I love Phoebe Bridgers, I mean I’m still a total Taylor Swift freak. I love all that stuff. I’m going through my playlists right now as we talk. I love Clairo, I love all the stuff that’s happening right now honestly. I think it’s been a good, cool time for music. I’m really into it. People like Chappell, it’s almost punk-y. I feel like it’s all so provocative. I really like it for us. 

NES: I hundred percent agree with what you’re saying. Then maybe to wrap this up, you still have quite a ways to go on this tour. You have about another month on this tour with Spencer, but the EP’s about to come out. If you can, maybe any hopes or goals for you in these next few months? We’re still so early in the year, and touring has fully come back. 

Cloe: Absolutely! I’m going straight back to LA after this, and I’m just hoping to come back with a bunch of new stories to tell. And just write my little heart out, like I usually like to do after a tour. So that’s my plan, and then whatever next tour comes my way, I’m going on it. I basically don’t want to take any breaks this year. That’s my plan. I’m already planning singles for after the EP. I’m really ready just to be out and about.