INTERVIEW // BRI NG SCHWARTZ
PHOTOGRAPHY // MALLORY TURNER
If you’re like me, suffering through the freezing temperatures of an East Coast winter dreaming of sunshine, Lulu Simon’s summer-like soundscape is exactly what you need. With 2025 marking her biggest year yet, Lulu continued to define her sound and live presence from embarking on Aidan Bissett’s Shut Up and Love Me US Tour, to releasing her folk-pop single “Summer Dog”. A shift from her dance pop roots, “Summer Dog” builds on the slower, acoustic sound she introduced us to with singles released in 2024.
Lulu closed out her year with an acoustic set at Los Angeles’s El Rey opening for Ben Barnes, and by speaking to us about touring, embracing change and developing creative routines.
This Fall, you went on tour with Aiden Bisset. What were the most memorable parts of that experience?
The whole thing was so much fun because it was my first really big tour, I probably could have kept going and going forever — & I love putting my little wig on every night, it makes my hair look so long. A highlight was probably the Salt Lake City Show, which was so insane. They were fully popping off, opened up a pit and were doing back flips.
Were there any other stops that either you look forward to when you’re on the road?
New York was fun because it was a hometown show.
You’re an East Coast girl, just like me! Do you have any favorite venues to play in the tri-state area?
I don’t really think about things like that, but I’ve played Baby’s All Right, the Mercury Lounge and Irving Plaza. Irving Plaza is fun because there’s a lot of people. I just love being able to perform at all, no matter where it is.
You wrapped up 2025 with Ben Barnes’s show at the El Rey. I’d love to hear more about that show and what that experience was like for you.
That was also very fun. I mean, every show is fun, except for the ones where people don’t laugh at my jokes.
My friend Kevin Burke plays in Ben’s band and has for a very long time, so he called me up and asked if I wanted to open. That was the first acoustic show that I’ve done in a really long time and I was nervous because when it’s just me and a guitar, if I mess up, it’s obvious. But that crowd was so nice and I loved them, so I had a really good time.
Your single “Summer Dog” that was released in September was heavily inspired by growing up with your pets. How did you connect to your inner child during that writing process?
In 2021, my parents sold my childhood home and in 2022 the last of my childhood pets, Django, died. And I was like “Oh my God, that’s the death of my childhood all over. There’s nothing there anymore.” I pulled from that because you can’t go back and physically revisit any of it. You can only think about it. All of these things were changing, and so I was thinking about the inevitability of change and how uncomfortable it is.
There’s that saying “let go, or be dragged” and I’m really a creature of habit. I do not like change whatsoever. I have a routine and I stick to it religiously. So when things change, I’m so uncomfortable. But there’s such permanence in those two major changes that happened where I was like, “I can’t sit here and wallow. I have to keep going even though it’s uncomfortable and I don’t like it.”
Being a creature of habit, do you have any creative rituals or things that you do to get centered before getting into the studio or into a creative practice in general?
I really like writing outside. I think that that’s probably where it’s easiest for me and where I’m most inspired. In fact, when I’m swimming I come up with a lot of my lyrics. I’m a Pisces. I get my guitar, I get out my little notebook and I try not to look at my phone. I do have a hard time. This past year I started embroidering a lot and so if I feel a bit stuck, I’ll start embroidering and thinking, then go back and try again.
To talk a little bit more about your family and your upbringing, you come from a really musical family. Not only your parents, but your siblings too. How would you say your family has influenced your artistic voice?
They’re all so talented that there is a certain level of excellence to aspire to. When you hear something that’s so good, it makes you think, “Okay. I think I can do better with my work because they’ve done so well. It’s possible.” It’s not like looking at a random artist that you admire, it’s looking at someone that you’ve known forever. My older brother is so talented, and I send him my stuff all the time.
Did you grow up knowing that you wanted to get into music, or did that come later?
It started on my sixth birthday. I had a Barbie birthday cake, and I wished that I had written the song “Lucky” by Britney Spears. That’s when I learned that wishes don’t come true, I didn’t even really understand how to articulate the feeling of wanting to do it until I was around 10 and said “Okay, let me try my hand at this and see what happens.”
What or who would you say is inspiring your artistic voice currently?
I don’t know if there’s any specific entity. I think it’s more that I’m growing up and my taste is kind of like a revolving door. Listening to any kind of music, if it’s good, makes me want to write music. This past year, this record called Downhill From Here by Anna Vaus came out and it was my most played record of the year.
Do you have any new year’s resolutions?
When I’m on stage, I don’t feel loose and free. My instinct is to just stand there, and I think that has to change. I need to learn how to move my body and improve my stage presence.
In terms of music, what can we expect coming down the pike?
I’ve got a lot of stuff that I’ve been working on, and some that’s done already. I’ve been trying to maintain a better work ethic where I force myself to sit down and write. Turns out sitting down to work actually produces work, so I’ve got a bunch of songs that are being cooked up as we speak. I’m excited to share.
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2026 is sure to mark another memorable year for Lulu. Whether her new releases get us on the dance floor or in our feelings (or both), we will surely find pieces of ourselves in Lulu’s relatable storytelling.
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