I sat down with Lissie, a CSU (almost?) alumni and singer-songwriter, to talk about how she got her start in music, and how Fort Collins influenced the beginnings of her career.

Ava: Tell us about yourself, is there anything you’re excited for on this upcoming tour, any new stuff, any fun stuff you’re doing?

Lissie: Yeah, so my name’s Lissie. I’ve been making music and touring and putting out albums, for about 20 years. I play guitar and sing and write songs. I grew up in the Midwest, in a town called Rock Island, Illinois, but I actually went to Colorado State for a couple years, which was an awesome time in my life. I did drop out in my junior year to move to Los Angeles to pursue music and I think I was just delusional enough to think that I could make that happen. 

I just, you know, started making music professionally and I’ve toured a lot. I played in Fort Collins at a ton of open mics. I opened for people. I knew a lot of the local, other artists who were local at the time, definitely felt like I was part of a community. My time in Fort Collins really informed my trajectory as a musician for sure. I saw so much music when I lived there and got to meet lots of cool people.

Ava: What were your favorite places to play in Fort Collins? 

Lissie: I lived in Westfall, which was my dorm at the time. This was in 2001. There was a place called Woody’s Pizza. On Wednesday nights, they had an open mic, and so I kind of just started hitting up open mics. I sort of graduated to when people would come through the Aggie, just from being around, like people would actually call me and be like, “Oh, hey, do you want to open up tonight for whoever?”

I got to open up for G-Love Special Sauce, Ozomatli, a lot of cool artists that would come through like on a national level. I think I got paid like 50 bucks or something. I got to get up and I got to play in front of these crowds and it really built my confidence. 

I would just play around my dorm. I was such a dork, I would put my flyers up all over. I would go around town and hang up my homemade flyers for my concerts at various places. But yeah, Fort Collins has changed a lot in the last 20-25 years. 

Ava: After you dropped out and moved to LA, what did you do? Like how’d you move forward after that? 

Lissie: Yeah, I mean, again, it was, it was kind of a different time, this was before streaming and stuff. The music business was very different.
I moved to LA, and didn’t know anyone. I went to a place called the Musicians Institute for about six months to just learn some recording skills. I was pretty, extroverted then in a way that I’m really not anymore. I was able to start playing shows in LA, got discovered early on, had a couple record deals. My first album was actually popular in Norway and the UK. So a lot of my early career, I spent touring more Europe, I was kind of more indie in the US. On the back of that I have been able to sustain this, you know, I’m not like a household name, but a music career. I learned a lot about how to play music, my rhythm from jumping up and like jamming with people or getting up and singing with people, really helped with my confidence in terms of being able to really lock into the rhythm, to improvising. 

You know, it was mostly dudes. There weren’t as many like women in the mix too. As I’ve gotten older, I love how I work with so many women now, but back then it did feel very male dominated. 

Ava: Who’s the coolest person you’ve ever got to, like, collaborate with or play with before? 


Lissie: In 2019, I got like a DM on Instagram from Lana Del Rey, I got to open for her on a couple shows and she got up and sang one of my songs with me. This is all right before COVID. So it was kind of this great connection in that moment and then like the world got weird. 

Ava: What is your advice to any of the musicians that are trying to start out here at CSU? 

Lissie: I think sometimes when younger people ask me, I’m like, gosh, like the music industry is so different. So much of where people’s attention goes is really dictated by social media and the internet in a way that maybe it wasn’t, but I also think people are kind of swinging back to like in person, authentic experiences. I mean, I know for me, it was just showing up. Oh, there’s an open mic. Oh, there’s someone that I met, I got their information and said, hey, if you ever need an opener, you know, I’m here. I think it is being open to something that you think like, oh, I’m not interested in that, but you never really know how chance experiences or opportunities will take you. So it’s staying open, but also staying safe. 

Ava: What is the vibe of the tour?

Lissie: Yeah, I’m playing solo acoustic, but you know, I really feel comfortable doing that. I’m just coming basically, my songs, my acoustic guitar, I have some great openers who are joining the evening. It’s just sort of pretty straightforward, like, pop funky rock music. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you come. You should come check it out. If anything, it’ll just be a sweet vibe. 


Ava: You haven’t released an album since 2022, so it’s kind of just like an overview anthology type tour?

Lissie: I haven’t put out a full-length album in 4 years, I just got back from being in LA, and we’re working on some new music. You know, it’s sort of the way my life looks now. I got married a couple years ago. I have a farm in Iowa, but my husband’s in Minnesota and I have stepkids, so sometimes I am up there. I’ve been able to really enjoy where I might go out and play like 3 or 4 shows, and get to scratch that itch and love singing. I love connecting with people and then I might come home for a few weeks. I’m just kind of trying to define my own version of doing it and then hope to have new music sometime, like next year, probably.

The show is November 4th at the Aggie Theater, with Brandon Lowry and Gabby Marie opening! Thanks to Lissie for her time and perspective!