Singer-songwriter Sara Kays took the internet by storm in 2020 with her raw, relatable hits “Chosen Last,” “Home for the Summer,” and “Remember That Night.” To date, the Nashville native has collaborated with Anson Seabra and Cavetown and has toured with artists like MAX, Alec Benjamin, and Dean Lewis. Sara’s stripped-down acoustic style coupled with her authentic and vulnerable lyrics resonates with listeners and is capturing the hearts of fans worldwide. I sat down with Sara before her show in Santa Cruz to discuss her tour with Dean Lewis and her upcoming single, “Scream in My Pillow.”
Payton: You’re five weeks into the tour with Dean Lewis. How’s it been so far?
Sara Kays: I didn’t realize it’s been five weeks. I think it’s six and a half weeks total. It’s been really good. It’s just me and my guitar player Val taking my car and following their bus basically, but it’s been awesome. Everyone on Dean’s crew is so great, and we’ve become friends with everyone. It’s been a very nice environment to be in.
Payton: Your songs all seem so personal and raw. What’s it like to perform them live in front of a bunch of strangers?
Sara: It’s awesome because when I see someone who is singing along and feels that emotion too it’s just really comforting.
Payton: Do you have a favorite song to perform live?
Sara: I’ve been loving performing “Show Me Off” because it’s a newer song and I hadn’t performed it live until this tour. So that has been really fun. But obviously when I play “Remember That Night,” it’s a lot of fun because some people who are in Dean’s audience who maybe didn’t know me hear that song and be like, “Oh, I know this song.” And that’s the one that everyone’s kind of singing along to, so that’s nice.
Payton: How did you find out that you were gonna be opening for this tour?
Sara: Me and Dean have been following each other for like, a year or something. He DMed me once and we had one conversation like a year ago. I think he just had his manager reach out to my manager because my manager texted me “You want to do this?”
Payton: Do you have a favorite moment or memory from the tour so far?
Sara: The Nashville show is awesome because I live there and a lot of my friends were able to come out. I feel like there’s a lot of my friends who haven’t been able to see me perform, so that was cool. And my mom was there. I don’t know that many people around the country so it’s nice to have people to hang out with after the show. It feels like home a little bit.
Payton: How’s this tour been different from your previous tours?
Sara: This is the only tour I’ve done this year. Last year, I did three. I opened for Alec Benjamin, I did my headline, and I opened for this artist called MAX. This one is the smallest crew. It’s just me and Val. Last year, we had three of us: me, a guitar player, and someone acting as a tour manager and front-of-house person. It’s just us two doing everything, so it’s more work. It’s kind of great though because it’s pretty relaxed and just like not, not that much pressure or anything. My favorite tour I’ve done is probably been my headline tour just because it’s so intimate and I have like my full band. Everyone’s singing along and stuff.
Payton: Are there any venues or cities that you’ve been to? On this tour that you’ve enjoyed other than your home show?
Sara: There have been so many good shows. I think my favorite might have been New York. That was probably just the best. I’m picturing the audiences and I’m like “That one rocks,” but then I can’t remember where it was. We’re playing some [cities] that I wouldn’t think would be on a tour. Even like Santa Cruz, I wouldn’t have expected to play here. It’s cool to be here and so many random places like that. Like San Luis Obispo I wouldn’t have expected it to be on the tour, but we did it.
Payton: It’s interesting that you’re playing so many California venues.
Sara: I know. I think it’s seven shows in California.
Payton: Have you had time to do anything in Santa Cruz?
Sara: I went to a vintage store but that was it because then we just had soundcheck and now I’m here. Is there anything you recommend?
Payton: There’s a lot of good food. Maybe try some Mexican food? You have to go to the beach if you can.
Sara: I don’t know if we’ll have time. We leave in the morning because we have a show in San Francisco tomorrow.
Payton: Santa Cruz has the best vibes so I would just walk around and stuff.
Sara: I’m sure after the show we’ll walk around and pop in somewhere.
Payton: Can you tell me how you decided on your setlist?
Sara: It’s a 30-minute set and “Remember That Night,” and “Smaller Than This,” I pretty much always play. “Chosen Last” and “Home for the Summer” are some go-to ones. I was trying to decide between my songs “Backseat Rider” and “Traffic Lights” but I put “Backseat Rider” in there. I’m thinking about swapping it out though soon because I keep getting people asking me to play that song. I put “Show Me Off” in there and then “Bored” the newer song before that. They have both been super fun to play. And then “Fireflies” by Owl City.
Payton: Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Sara: If I remember, and I’m not too scattered, I do a little five-minute vocal warm up. And then I just chill with Val and wait around. A lot of times there’s an hour where I’m standing like “What do I do?”
Payton: Let’s do some fun questions. You have a song called “Watching TV.” Are there any shows you’ve been hooked on lately?
Sara: I haven’t been watching much TV at all recently. Not on this tour at least. We have like no time. What was the last show I even watched? My favorite go-to if I’m just going to put something on is Gilmore Girls. Are there any you’re watching right now?
Payton: I’m watching Sex Education. I think you look a lot like Maeve.
Sara: Oh yeah! I’ve been meaning to watch that. I remember when that show first came out… my comment sections on TikTok were full of people saying that because everyone was watching it at the same time.
Payton: One of your lyrics is “If you were alone and out at sea, and there were only three things you could bring…” We’re kind of at the beach, so what are your three things?
Sara: This question is funny because you want to be smart and say “I’ll bring a boat to get away” but I’m going to go off the assumption that I’m stuck there. I would bring water [laughs]. I’m assuming if I’m alone at sea I’ll die after like two weeks though. So like water. And then some White Cheddar Cheeto Puffs and my guitar.
Payton: You want your last meal to be White Cheddar Cheeto Puffs?
Sara: [Laughs] I love those things. They are so good.
Payton: So you released several singles in the past year. What’s next?
Sara: I have a song coming soon called “Scream in My Pillow.” I have a lot of songs because this year has mostly been writing for me until this tour. I have a lot of stuff that I’m just working on putting together into another EP, so that is what I’m doing.
Payton: How did you write “Scream in My Pillow?”
Sara: I wrote it with this dude named Aaron Zuckerman. It’s kind of about people not expecting you to speak up or feeling like people will only stick around if you’re quiet and don’t speak up. So just saving up pent-up rage for when you’re like at home in your room.
Payton: How do you think your music style has evolved over the past couple of years?
Sara: I think that my writing especially has matured a lot in the past couple of years. I was writing a lot about my experience in high school with body image and stuff, which I still do some, but I feel like I’ve grown up so much in the past two or three years so I’ve kind of shifted over to less adolescence in my songwriting which is cool. I think the sound is pretty consistent still because I love the organic acoustic sound. I will say that “Scream in My Pillow” is a little bit different sound-wise for me. I would say [my style is] maturing a bit more, but I’ve always loved storytelling-type songwriting.
Payton: Can you tell me a little bit more about your EP?
Sara: I don’t have a set title for it yet, but I have more than enough songs that I’m choosing between and I have five or so that I’m definitely using and then a few others. It’ll probably be seven songs, but I don’t know the title yet.
Stream Sara’s latest single, “Show Me Off” here!
