Q&A: Ahead of Clearwater show, Remi Wolf talks building community and letting your freak flag fly

Remi Wolf is bringing her pop party to town—and spending some extra time with fans to try our local eats. Touring her acclaimed second studio album, Big Ideas, Wolf has been hosting food popups before concerts to build community and support tasty, local businesses. Keep an eye on her social media for the popup before her May 1 stop at The BayCare Sound.

Wolf talked to Creative Loafing about the highs and lows of touring and what she’s eating.

You recently told Dazed that live music is a “dying art.” As someone so passionate about touring, what are you seeing in the music industry?
I feel like touring now, it’s maybe the most difficult it’s ever been in the industry. But just because there’s a lot that goes into these shows, and a lot that has to happen in order to make a really good show happen. And it’s, I just really value it. There aren’t a lot of places that you can go to really connect with other people. Like a lot of stuff now exists online, and live music is still one of the pillars of in-person community building. It’s really important to see people in that setting and kind of unite under music as a cause. It’s a beautiful thing to witness and to be able to facilitate. I love touring and meeting people in every city. And I haven’t been to Florida in a long time, so I’m really excited to see this down there.

What do you want to see more of from fans at your shows?

Oh, my god, my fans are perfect. You can’t choose your fans, and I just feel like I’ve lucked out with some of the best people ever coming to these shows. Truly, everybody’s so respectful, so friendly, and just there to party. I would say, just go crazy with the outfit and show up ready to shake out all of the demons. I want it to feel like a big party, and I want everybody to have fun and to really let themselves be free for like two hours. That’s my goal. Let your freak flag fly.

You told Clairo that you’re a big crier. What’s your favorite place to cry?

I’ve been doing some crying in my green room. Sometimes I’ll just burst into tears at, like, a dinner. Me and my band, we go out to dinner all the time, and we’re all very emotional people, and we’re all really close. So sometimes we’ll all just like burst out crying at dinner, and it’s quite therapeutic. It’s better than holding in the tears. I’ll cry anywhere, though, truly—green room, restaurant, friend’s house, shower, wherever, wherever I need to cry. I’ll let it fly.

You’ve mentioned how important it is for you to work in a studio. How do you translate that work/life creative separation when you’re on tour?

When I’m on tour, I really try to keep it focused on my show. Where I get creative is kind of in how I use my voice during my shows, like I try out a bunch of different kinds of vocal techniques and stuff. I’m already so warmed up that getting creative with my voice and using it as an instrument is where I flex my creative muscle on tour.

When I’m back home, I really try to not write in my house. I like having my house as a space where I can unwind. But yeah, I love a studio, and I love an Airbnb. Me and my friends will rent out an Airbnb for five days, and the entire purpose of the trip is just to be creative, write songs, cook good food together and focus on that without having to go back home and think about your home life or relationship, or whatever. So I really value the separation. I know it’s not possible for everyone, but for me, it’s the only way that I can work.

What’s the best thing you’ve cooked recently?

I haven’t been in the kitchen in a while, but me and my drummer, Connor, and my guitar player Isaac, we went to Target and we bought ourselves a panini press. So we’ve been making a bunch of grilled cheeses with assorted meats and sort of spreads on the bus, and that’s been actually super fun. At one o’clock in the morning, we’re making an absolute mess in the bus with all these grilled cheeses. At home, I like to make a lot of pasta, but it’s not possible out here. Grilled cheese and the little panini press is what we got.

Tickets for Remi Wolf w/Dana and Alden happening Thursday, May 1 are still available and start at $29.50.

Readers are invited to submit their own events to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s things to do calendar.

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This article appears in Apr 17-23, 2025.