by kendall nicole yakshe
photo by luke rogers
Blending genres and painting vivid sonic masterpieces with her dainty yet punchy lyricism, rising pop sensation Georgia Webster gets candid about her creative upbringing, her brand new EP SIGNS, and her journey thus far in the music world. Having moved to Nashville straight out of high school, Webster has spent the last few years honing her skills and putting them to work alongside various collaborator s— such as opening for Kelsea Ballerini on tour and working alongside decorated producer King Henry. She has an open mind, an open heart, and a whole lot to say with SIGNS — a project that will appeal dearly to her veteran fans, as well as something that will draw in new listeners and get them completely hooked for what’s next.
Congratulations on the release of your EP SIGNS! How are you feeling about it, and what are you wanting to say to the world with it?
Georgia: “Thank you! I’m so, so excited about it this EP — I truly feel like I have found my sound with it and have made songs that I’m so proud of sharing. It’s sort of what I’ve been calling an anti-breakup-breakup album (or EP) and I just want anyone going through a situationship breakup or something similar to feel seen and hopefully find comfort like I did while making the project.”
Which song on the EP did you begin writing first, and how did it inspire the rest?
Georgia: “I actually wrote a lot of songs for this EP... there are around 30 in my notes app that were geared towards this project but it wasn’t initially intended to be towards anything specific, I was just writing a ton because of how much emotion I was feeling at the time. So I honestly forget which one was first because there were a bunch that I wrote by myself before I wrote any of these!!”
What kind of music did you grow up listening to? Did you live in a music-oriented household?
Georgia: “My dad is a huge dead-head and loved jamming on acoustic around the house when we were growing up. He taught me how to play some cowboy chords and bought me my first guitar, a Taylor GS mini. I immediately became obsessed with learning my favorite pop songs — this was at like age 11 or so — and I started by learning One Direction, Taylor Swift, Coldplay and other similar artists. My mom loved Eva Cassidy and Keane, and my grandma is a huge music lover and got me on Kacey Musgraves and some country-er/ folk stuff early on. So there was definitely a variety!”
You take influence from a variety of genres and artists. If you could collaborate with any one of them, who would that be?
Georgia: “Hmmm that’s so hard. I’ve been loving this artist Medium Build who lives in Nashville — I would love to write with him someday or do some sort of collab. Also Post Malone because people say we have similar tremors in our voices [laughs]!”
Do you have a favorite lyric or two from the EP?
Georgia: “‘I would have killed my every dream if it meant some of yours would of happened’ — (Wedding Song)
‘Nashville will hurt you more than I will’ — (Town Talks)”
You’ve opened for Kelsea Ballerini in the past and have been on the Town Talks Tour this year so far. How have you managed stage nerves from being an opener to a headliner?
Georgia: “Honestly I’ve been a lot less nervous being a headliner! I’ve only done a couple shows of my own, but so far they’ve been great and I think my brain just puts a lot of pressure on myself when it’s on me to make the vibes good at someone else’s show; like I know that’s not how Kelsea was thinking of it, but I am just sooo much more comfortable when people are there for me and there’s no risk of ruining the show or me being anxious that something is going to go wrong for the headliner.”
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received that you’d pass on to a smaller artist who’s just starting out?
Georgia: “‘It’s just music.’ Literally, it’s supposed to be fun. So don’t stress. Best advice I’ve ever received!”
How would you describe your musical evolution from your first EP, First Goodbye, to SIGNS? What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned about your creative process?
Georgia: “Moving to Nashville and pursuing music professionally allowed me to grow so much as a musician and writer and just opened my mind so much to collaboration and how amazing it can be. Almost all the songs on this project are co-written, compared to First Goodbye where everything is literally just me. I want my fans to know that I still write on my own quite often and there will be some stuff coming out soon that’s just me, but I truly have just been loving making music with friends and writers that I trust and I think it’s helped me evolve exponentially as an artist.”