Header photo credit: @j0yb0i
It’s no coincidence that Lizzie Lakes — the Raleigh-based project of singer-songwriter Lizzie Willix — draws from the same stillness and quiet observation of being by water or bathing in nature. She’s channeled that energy into a self-professed indie sad-girl dream pop, sitting comfortably alongside Soccer Mommy and Freak Slug, and equally lyrically vulnerable.
And yet, her path to Lizzie Lakes was anything but straightforward. She wound through choir rooms in Florida, a college band in Lakeland, and four years on the Nashville circuit. It took a pandemic-era dare from her partner and producer to make music she wanted on her own terms. So she did.
Now, Lizzie’s reaping the harvest of that effort. With a debut single out, another about to drop, and a full EP on the horizon, she’s focused on planting deep roots in the Triangle’s welcoming indie scene.
What’s something you’ve been listening to lately?
Lizzie: Do you know the artist Lights? She’s amazing. I’ve been bumping her new album [A6], it is really, really good. I feel like she’s kind of under the radar, but her sound is honestly very indie pop, which I just really love. It’s super dancey.
Who was the first artist or band you remember discovering on your own and just thinking, “This is me”?
Lizzie: Passion Pit was the first band where I was like, “What is this?” And then Vampire Weekend, the Contra album, but their self-titled album too. I was like, “I love this! I love boys who sing like girls. I need more of this.” So yeah, they were some of the ones that really piqued my interest. And then Two Door Cinema Club was coming out around then, and Tokyo Police Club, all the club bands. I was like, “I’m an indie girl. This is what I want to listen to.”
As I got older and in college, some of the female artists around that time were Chvrches, Purity Ring, just these kinds of sprite-sounding female artists. And I wanted to sing like that. So that’s where some of my early influences came from, just immersion in that.
Before that, I think I was listening to butt rock, or just whatever was on the radio. Screamo, all the scene kid stuff, seemed cool, but it didn’t feel like me, if that makes sense. And then I heard Phoenix, and I was like, “What is a synthesizer?” That was the door I was looking to have opened, I just didn’t even know it.
At what point after that did you start writing your own music or begin that journey?
Lizzie: I was in choir growing up, so I had the technique of a choir singer. I was actually an alto, which is hilarious because now I sing in a much higher register. I think my voice either trained itself or changed to sing how I wanted it to.
I joined my partner’s band in college. He was like, “Do you want to do this with me? You can help write, be kind of a backup singer.” I said sure, and we started that in 2016. I learned from him how to write music, how to play shows, how to do everything, literally. We moved to Nashville and did that for four years. Through that experience, I learned about production and what it means to write a song from the ground up.
Then one day in 2020, during COVID, he said, “Hey, you have all this poetry. Why don’t you just sing it?” So he put down a drum loop and said, “Just sing over this.” And I had some ideas. So now I have this separate thing from what we were doing in our other band. I felt like I had enough ideas for it to be its own project, one that I wanted to lead. So that’s kind of the journey, in a nutshell, of how I came to Lizzie Lakes.
Are you still doing the band alongside this project?
Lizzie: We’ve kind of put it on the back burner. It’s on hiatus, that’s what people always say. But yeah, I’m really focusing on Lizzie Lakes now. My partner still plays guitar in it and is my producer. He also has a separate pop punk project he’s getting off the ground. We both doing these other ideas that aren’t the band, because we just genre-bend a lot and it doesn’t quite make sense for that project anymore.
Before you moved to Nashville, where were you based? And what brought you to Raleigh?
Lizzie: My partner is from Raleigh, and I’m from Florida. We were going to college in Lakeland, Florida — it’s a really cute little city — and that’s where we started the band. Then we moved from there to Nashville, and eventually to Raleigh, to be closer to his family.
When did you all move to Raleigh?
Lizzie: Back in 2021. After COVID, many of the venues in Nashville were understandably slow to reopen, and many friends were moving away. We’d been there four years and felt ready for a new chapter. We were also thinking, you know, we can do music anywhere. People were doing a lot of stuff online, focusing more on producing and releasing music than on a live-show push. And we knew there was such a good scene in Raleigh. The Triangle music scene is alive and well, so we knew we weren’t going to be sacrificing that much by leaving Nashville.
How has it been putting down roots in the local music scene here?
Lizzie: I feel like we’re still doing that, still meeting different people. It’s been really cool because when you meet one person, everyone kind of knows everyone. It hasn’t been as big a barrier to entry as Nashville was. In Nashville, people were more in their own cliques: the Belmont bands, the Americana scene. There wasn’t much of an indie pop scene when we were there.
But here, it doesn’t really matter what genre you play. Everyone’s supporting each other, and it’s just so friendly. Like, “Yeah, I’m going to the show, you want to join?” It’s a lot more casual, and there are no bad vibes, at least from what we’ve experienced. Slowly but surely, we’re getting back out there.
What has it been like going from a different role in your partner’s band to leading your own project, with your face and name front and center?
Lizzie: It’s been a bit of imposter syndrome. I actually have a song about that coming out, hopefully next year. It’s that feeling of, “I know I can do it, I know it’s inside of me.” But with me as the front person, I’m used to blending with someone. Now it’s just me.
It’s been a really cool experience, though, because I feel like I’m growing a lot in self-confidence. I like the songs, and that’s half the battle. If you believe in it, other people will too. This gives me life. It makes me feel fulfilled, like I’m doing something worthwhile. If I can focus more on that than the insecurity, that’s how I’ve been able to balance it.
Shout out to my vocal teacher right now, Grace Krichbaum from the band Shallow Alcove. She’s taught me so much about how to be a confident singer while still having a baby voice, and how to really sustain that over time. Before, I was kind of resting on my laurels, but going back to the basics and fundamentals has helped me show up. I feel a lot more confident because I know I’m not going to lose my voice from doing a show.
You put out your debut single in October, and there are mentions of an EP in the works. What’s been the process for writing and recording those songs?
Lizzie: Well, the next single [“Walk at the Lake”] is coming out in May. We’re also working on a music video for it, which I’m really excited about. The reason we’re putting so much into this one is that it was the first Lizzie Lakes song we ever wrote, way back in 2020 or 2021. It’s a special one because it’s just been in my life for so long. I’ve been listening to the demo forever.
The other three songs on the EP are also from writing we’ve done over the years, finding the different sounds. There’s one that’s kind of Crumb-inspired, a really slow one that’s more Men I Trust meets French vibes, and then another one where I’m just singing as high as I can. They’re all really different. At this point, it’s just a matter of finishing the production, mixing, and mastering. The demos are honestly so close that when I show them to people, they’re like, “You could put this out now.” My internal goal is to get the EP out by the end of the year.
Is the recording process fully DIY, or are you going into a studio?
Lizzie: Fully DIY. Our studio is literally in our bedroom right now. We’re moving into a house next month with a separate room for studio space, which I’m really excited about. But right now we’re truly doing bedroom pop. I’ll record vocals on my bed sometimes, which probably isn’t the best for your form. We’ve recorded in professional studios before, and that’s fun too, but we’re just DIYers. I think we have control issues, honestly.
Who have been some of your favorite local or North Carolina artists you’ve gotten to play with or become familiar with?
Lizzie: My best friends have a band called M. Roomie. They’re also new to the scene, just started playing this year, and my first show as Lizzie Lakes was with them. It’s really fun to play shows with your friends, and they’ve been huge in supporting me as I support them. They’re my homegirls.
There are so many others I’ve made connections with. Edna Mode is really sweet and doing cool stuff. The band dreamscent plays shoegaze and they’re super sweet too. Modern Moxie from Charlotte has been almost like a mentor to me; she sent me a huge list of Charlotte bands we could play shows with if we’re ever in the area, and I didn’t even ask her for that.
It’s been really cool to see so many people starting out and all being in it together. I’m looking forward to meeting other new bands and established people too.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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