Lissie moved to Iowa and, unlike most people who say they’re going to leave California, actually left. “I think a lot of people before you know it, it’s like you’re 50 and you’re single and still trying to chase the dream in LA,” she says. “All the more power to those people, but that wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t want to just sit on my porch forever.”
So she bought a farm. Moved in with her parents while she fixed up the place. Said goodbye to California and put out My Wild West, her first fully independent album—funded, produced, and promoted on her own dime. “I think this record’s different,” she says. “It’s me looking at the last 12 years of my life and saying, ‘OK, that was my Wild West.’ Now I’m starting a new chapter.”
The album, written in the thick of personal upheaval, straddles nostalgia and reinvention. There's a track called “Hero” that finds her repeating “I could’ve been something,” which sounds like regret until she explains it. “People assume when you’re a musician, you must want world domination and riches,” she says. “But I don’t think that’s what I want—or maybe even what I’m capable of. It’s more about the process now, not the outcome.”
And then, in true Midwest fashion, she pauses. “Also, I’ve been watching a lot of Big Bang Theory, so the line was also influenced by Schrödinger’s cat.”
It’s not just career pivots and farm life. Lissie’s Iowa chapter landed her in the middle of the 2016 presidential caucuses, and she didn’t shy away from making her views known. “I want people to know who I am,” she says. “I’m for Bernie.” She knows that comes with fallout. “I’ve had people say, ‘I’m unfollowing you. I used to like your music.’ And it’s like—OK. I don’t have superstardom in my sights. I just want to be myself and talk about the things that matter to me.”
She’s not blind to the risks artists face when they speak up politically. But she also doesn’t care. “Bernie challenges the corruption of our system. He keeps it real. If people would really research the issues, they might realize he could actually make their lives better.”
As for Hillary? “She’s smart and capable,” she says diplomatically, “but I wish I had more than one woman to choose from. She’s a politician. She plays the game. If she’s the nominee, I’ll support her—but I’m a little skeptical.”
Her politics also bleed into the music. On her previous album, she took on environmental destruction with “Mountaintop Removal.” On My Wild West, the track “Daughters” imagines a world with women at the helm. Still, Lissie says most of her writing is about more personal terrain—feelings, quests for peace, mental health. “I had my first panic attack earlier this year,” she admits. “I thought I was having a heart problem. I went to the hospital. They told me it was just anxiety. I realized the pressure and scrutiny of the industry was making me hate making music.”
So she pulled the plug, left the industry machine, and started over. “Now I can just sing the songs I want to sing. I know I can always get in a car with my acoustic guitar and make a living. That’s freedom.”
That freedom includes putting out music when she wants, not on a two-year label cycle. “I already have an album of acoustic folk songs ready. And five new songs I just did in Nashville. I’m trying to figure out how to get them out. A deluxe edition? Another EP? I love EPs. They don’t have to be so serious.”
What’s next? She jokes it might be called My Mild Midwest. Whatever it is, it'll be on her terms—and that’s exactly how she wants it.
Watch the full interview above and then check out the video below.
