Artist Spotlight : Bailey Grey
In this conversation, we go beyond the music with Bailey Grey — diving into the moments that shaped their soul.
MusicsWeek: Can you tell us about your journey into the music industry and what inspired you to become an artist?
Bailey Grey: I live my life through sounds— you know how some people think in inner monologues or images? I have a constant orchestra in my head and I’m always finding the music in everything. A bird chirping in polyrhythm with the car passing by, for example… so I always knew I wanted to make music. I got into musical theatre very early on, and ended up working professionally as an actor since the age of 10, which really began my love of the arts. I love telling stories of all kinds, and at some point during the pandemic I started releasing my own music, full of my own stories. My producer Sam reached out to me around that time on TikTok asking if I’d be down to collab, and we’ve been working together ever since.
MusicsWeek: How would you describe your musical style and influences?
Bailey Grey: I have a really eclectic music taste which is why I end up leaning into a wide variety of genres in my own music. As a kid, I listened to artists like The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Dar Williams, and Simon & Garfunkel. I loved a specific Harry Connick Jr. album called Songs I’ve Heard, a collection of jazz covers of various classic songs we all know. My background is in Musical Theatre, so I’m also a huge fan of intricate orchestration.
Indie-pop is the umbrella my music lives under, but I love adding elements of folk, jazz, blues and rock. Some of my songs are even cinematic in nature.
MusicsWeek: What is the creative process like for you when writing and producing new music?
Bailey Grey: Fortunately, it happens really organically for me. Sometimes it starts with poetry I write through journalling, other times I’ll hear a melody in my head that connects me to a specific theme. It’s almost like I’m channeling something that needs to be written, and I’m always happy to be a vessel. I’m not one of those people that is able to sit down and say ‘I’m going to write a song now, let me brainstorm a key and some lyrics. The music comes to me when it comes to me and if I try to force it, it’s never as good. While I haven’t released any of these yet, I’ve been challenging myself to write songs from the point of view of TV Show/Film characters. My acting background helps me with discovering the innermost parts of a persons character.
My producer Sam Cook-Stuntz and I just get each other, so when we’re working on production, I’m able to communicate exactly what I’m hearing instrumentation-wise, and he is the magic man that makes it happen. Sometimes we even discover sounds and instruments we want to include by joking around— “USE ME” has actual bone percussion because of a funny idea to drive to a pet store and buy dog bones to bang together. Our collaboration has always been so much fun.
MusicsWeek: Which song or project are you most proud of and why?
Bailey Grey: My album Love It All. It’s truly an amalgamation of experiences and feelings that are very personal to me. I chose the songs I had written that were able to feel both personal and relatable. Being my debut album, I wanted to introduce myself to the world. I’ve got songs about racing the clock, feminine rage, hook-up culture, falling in love at an inconvenient time…. all deeply human things. My overarching theme for the LP is being able to embrace the bits of life that matter…Beyond society, governments, and the shackles that try to control us. I’m talking about falling in love with new sights, textures, characters, songs. That just makes you feel more alive, and I want to help people feel alive.
MusicsWeek: How do you handle challenges or setbacks in your career?
Bailey Grey: One day at a time. That’s what I live by. I’m a very anxious person with a brain that tries to always go a mile a minute in 7 different ways. If there’s something weighing on me, often rejection and lack of replies from the industry, I need to breathe and not get too in my head. If an opportunity falls through, it’s because it wasn’t meant to happen, and that’s okay. I try not to let myself hold on to the setbacks. Tomorrow is a new day.
MusicsWeek: Who are your biggest musical inspirations, and how have they shaped your sound?
Bailey Grey: I love songwriters who transport listeners into a feeling and a distinct story. I remember hearing Sara Bareilles’s Kaleidoscope Heart album for the first time on a car ride with my dad and thinking ‘I want to write music like this.’ Her writing is so intelligent and all of her arrangement/ lyric choices are intentional. This is what I do with my music now… every sound choice is intentional. Every lyric is intentionally connected to the melody in a specific way. I often delve into folk-based elements because I feel really deeply connected to that style.
Another band I’m inspired by are The Beatles because of their specific eras and experimentation— The White Album is at the top of my list because it’s giving ‘We’re really high in the studio….What are some new sounds we could play around with?’ Creating music is so joyful and I love when I can tell how fun a song was to make.
MusicsWeek: What message or themes do you aim to convey through your music?
Bailey Grey: This is a tough question to answer because I never tie myself down to any style or theme. I write about relatable human things. The atmosphere I want to create is open and fluid. I’ll write about sweet things like falling in love, but I’ll also write about revenge, politics, or existential dread. Things we all have our own relationship to. I take pride in my range as an artist, and I want to make people see things through new lenses.
MusicsWeek: How do you connect with your fans and build your community?
Bailey Grey: I’ve been making a lot of content across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram and my fans are finding me! I’ve made some good friends as well who started out fans of my music. I think I have just the most lovely people supporting me, and I’m incredibly grateful. I have some merch out that people have sent me photos of themselves wearing, which makes me smile so hard. I try and respond to as many people as I can. One day I’ll be able to go on tour and see them all in person— I feel like that will be the biggest win. I see it all so clearly in my head.
My goal is to open people up to new styles. If someone comes to my discography for the indie-rock vibes, maybe they’ll stumble across some of my ballads and my jazzy pop songs. And maybe they’ll like it. Maybe they’ll even start listening to more of that style. The people who listen to my music range across all age groups, which I think is a testament to the music.
MusicsWeek: What has been your most memorable performance or moment as an artist so far?
Bailey Grey: I have a cute story for you. When I was living in London, there was an open mic every week at a bar just an 8 minute walk from my flat. My friend Rhys and I would meet there every Wednesday and play the new songs we were writing. I challenged myself to write a new song every week to play at that open mic. The people in that bar became a little family of characters we would see each time. Before I moved back to America, I wrote a song called ‘Wednesday’ about this open mic night and all the people I had grown close to because of it, and I played it the last time I went. It wasn’t a sold out crowd, or a big budget show, but it was so wonderfully sweet and I’ll never forget it.
MusicsWeek: What are your goals and plans for the future in your musical career?
Bailey Grey: TOUR, baby!!! I want to see my fans and get to dance together in a big room. I would also love to open for Hozier, so if anyone knows him…. LOL.
I’m already planning my next album that will be based on ‘’fairytales’ and everything that word could mean. That’s all I’m going to say for now.
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