Bellemare to introduce herself to L.A. with show
With all the ways to stream, buy and play music, it only makes sense that everyone’s iPhone is filled to the brim with playlists. There are playlists to rally you before going out on the weekend, playlists to study to, playlists to soundtrack your shower and morning routine and playlists for everything in between. But up-and-coming singer Geneviève Bellemare has an EP that won’t allow for that reduction. With a sound so unique and rooted in multiple genres, it’s not so easy to simplify her music down to just one playlist.
New in town · Geneviève Bellemare has just moved to Los Angeles and will attempt to find a new audience with a show at The Mint on Dec. 5. – Photo courtesy of Sacks & Co.
The Oregonian singer has moved to Los Angeles and as her first show in the city, she’ll be performing at The Mint on Dec. 5. She’ll be doing songs from her new EP, “Live and Die,” which was released Aug. 5.
Before beginning her solo career, Bellemare had been in three bands — a process that wasn’t easy for her to be in or get out of. She describes herself as a very indecisive person, a fact that she swears anyone who’s gone to a restaurant with her can testify to, so confronting her band and explaining to them that it was time to go separate ways was a self-described traumatic experience. It didn’t help that Bellemare had just broken up with her boyfriend. Despite her dreading having to tell them for weeks, it wasn’t the aspect of going solo that she feared, but rather upsetting those around her. One day the decision just set in, and she knew.
“It’s a band, but it was always kind of my stuff and me trying to come out as a singer but also working with everybody more as like, kind of in a team way,” Bellemare said. “That was the issue. I don’t have the right kind of personality to tell people that this isn’t a democracy, that this is something I really need to be right, to present myself.”
But her journey to find her identity as a singer is still ongoing. Bellemare admits very openly that she still doesn’t have a clear performing style or a go-to explanation for where her songs come from. And somehow, that is where the magic in her music comes from. Bellemare’s confident uncertainty speaks to the part of the listeners that’s still trying to find its place but also inspires them to continue doing so. It’s refreshing to hear an artist who’s still searching for herself since it’s something so many of her listeners are doing as well.
But that’s not to say her music suffers from this uncertainty — in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Bellemare’s exploration of herself allows her music to be unlimited and unchecked. Without having to overanalyze where her music is coming from or going, it can bleed into multiple genres and reach into various emotions without feeling forced. Everything about “Live and Die” is fresh and organic in a way that enthralls and invigorates the listener.
“I don’t think that there’s a clear definite message I’m trying to send, but I think there might be a theme happening that I’m still kind of unaware of,” she said. “I’m pretty submissive emotionally in life, and I think through my songs I’m trying to figure out that really strong side of me as a person.”
Bellemare puts an openness into her music that she hopes to also get out of her performances. For her, concerts are about the connections that she makes with the audience. Instead of focusing on grandiose displays of entertainment, Bellemare just wants the audience walk away with “that feeling where they say, ‘I like her EP but it’s so much better live.’” And when everything aligns and Bellemare and the audience connect, she says the stage fright is worth it because the feeling afterward is priceless.
“When the audience is really into it and it just seems like they’re listening, it creates a stillness in the room, that’s when the connection happens,” Bellemare said. “When the whole room feels like that, it becomes this one awesome thing that happens.”
It’s hard not to feel connected to the music with Bellemare’s beautiful, crooning, sultry vocals accompanied by jazzy tones, a pinch of rock rhythms and hints of the indie world. It’s the kind of music that feels like it should be listened to through old-school, D.J.-style headphones while slowly swaying around the bedroom.
When asked what was next for the budding, young singer, her reply was simple: “Europe.” With no set plans to go overseas yet, Bellemare just wants to get out and see the world one day with music as her ticket.