In the last two years, Bartees Strange has opened for Phoebe Bridgers, Courtney Barnett and Car Seat Headrest, among others, but this November, the 33-year-old Washington, D.C.-based indie rocker will embark upon his first North American headlining tour, which begins Nov. 3 in Pittsburgh. “I’ve been opening for so many people and getting a feel for what all of these different bands’ crowds are like, and I’m curious what my crowd is like,” he says. On a day off from touring with The National, Strange shared his plans for the trek in support of his second album and 4AD debut, Farm to Table.
Set the Stage
I’m seeing a floral kind of vibe, this farm vibe. I have a huge table right in the middle of the stage that I have all my vocal effects and crazy kinds of toys on, and [the band is] dressed between the worlds of agrarian farmers to businesspeople. Kind of playing it up, like farm to table.
Make Space
[My tourmates] Spring Silver, Pom Pom Squad and They Hate Change are all Black people, and I’m Black, and I make music in a world that’s mostly white. I’m trying to force a deeper conversation about, “We’re good enough to do this too. We deserve the same space and the same shows and the same fans.” It [was my] mission for the lineup.
Be Kind
Hanging out with The National, they were [thoughtful] with every aspect of the tour, from the drives to how much we got paid to the soundcheck times to the set lengths to them watching the shows and talking to us and being really interested in my journey and giving advice. With Car Seat Headrest, when we had to cancel a bunch of shows for that tour [due to illness], they still paid us for all the shows. They didn’t have to do that at all, but they’ve been in our position before, so they’re like, “Yeah, we got it now.”
This story will appear in the Aug. 27, 2022, issue of Billboard.
