Indie Folk Singer Lizzy Hilliard Talks ‘Intentional Whimsy’ in Her Sound, the Double-Edged Sword of Sharing Music Online, and Battling Burnout as a Creative

Liv Mazzola / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Coming from a musical family, songwriting has always run through Lizzy Hilliard’s blood. Her musical career began “on the playground in elementary school,” where she spent her time writing songs and singing her heart out. At 25, she no longer writes her songs on the playground, but she keeps that childlike whimsy alive in her sound. 

Originally from a suburb of Philadelphia, Hilliard now lives in New York City, and is pursuing a career in songwriting full-time. Inspired by folk icons like Joni Mitchell and Priscilla Ahn, Hilliard’s sound can be described as whimsical, dream-like, and often nostalgic. 

“One of the biggest threads in my music and in my art is the idea of having a youthful nostalgia,” Hilliard said. “I try to capture this softness that says, ‘It’s okay to be a young adult and miss the feeling of being young.’ In my art, I approach telling the stories that I tell in the same way I would approach telling that story to a child.” 

Hilliard’s sound has “intentional whimsy, a lot of silliness, and also lots of vulnerability.”With 80 thousand followers on Tiktok, it’s clear that many people relate to Hilliard’s exploration of childhood. The singer-songwriter has found that social media offers musicians and others in the industry a unique chance to connect.

“In the process [of sharing music on social media], you become mutuals with a lot of other songwriters and artists,” she said. “It’s so crazy because the world starts to feel very small in a good way. Suddenly you have easy access to people in your field that you never would have had access to without social media.”

The online music community has been a big part of Hilliard’s creative journey. 

“It’s been a really cool experience creatively to be like, ‘Here’s my music,’ and, at the same time, to find other people’s music that I really resonate with,” she said. 

Sharing music online does, however, come with certain creative challenges. 

“It’s hard sometimes because when you’re writing, you can start to get into the headspace of ‘How will this perform online?’ which is a dangerous place to be in,” Hilliard said. “I try to avoid that headspace.”

Despite this, the good of sharing music on social media far outweighs the bad for Hilliard. She finds that there is a unique artist-listener connection that comes from being able to share works in progress with an audience. 

“It’s cool because you have this intimate moment of writing something that feels very personal to you,” she said. “When you put that online, suddenly you are opening that solitary moment up to a lot of other people. That can be really beautiful because that invites someone who might be feeling the same way as you to that solitary moment to feel seen and understood.”

Though she’s found success in sharing her music, pursuing a full-time music career certainly comes with challenges for Hilliard—especially while also having a day job. The artist is a musician by day, and usher at Lincoln Center by night. Juggling these two things at once “is not for the faint of heart.” .

“When you have a day job and then you’re also pursuing your own career, you don’t really have any days off, because all of your days off from your day job go to your career,” she said. 

Hilliard also struggles with the balancing act that is being an indie artist. Being a smaller artist means “juggling a lot of different jobs,” including content creator, tour agent, and album artwork designer. All of this juggling can lead to creative burnout for Hilliard, but she’s implemented tips and tricks into her daily life to stay ahead of the fatigue.

“There’s this thing I call, ‘Lazy Lizzy Day,’ which is once a month when I take a day where I don’t do anything or talk to anyone.” Hilliard said. 

These ‘Lazy Lizzy Days’ give Hilliard the emotional and creative rest she needs to be able to pursue her music without tiring out her creativity. 

“I had to start putting this in my calendar, because even if I don’t feel like I’m getting burnt out, it will still happen,” she said. “Even if I don’t think I need it, I still need to rest. It’s been so helpful.”

These rest days have been a vital part of Hilliard’s ability to not only continue making music, but to also have energy for other opportunities like going on tour. Hilliard set out for a month-long tour in 2024, performing at venues throughout cities in the Northeast, including Philadelphia and New York City.

Still, touring as an up-and-coming artist is not what fans might expect it to be. 

“It was so fun. In some ways, though, it was very un-glamorous,” Hilliard said. “When you are a really small artist touring, you don’t have a tour bus and you’re not flying, so you have to fit all your stuff into a little suitcase and be walking around on the sidewalk with everything.”

Although “un-glamourous,” the tour was also “so cute and fun,” and offered Hilliard the chance to finally connect with her online listeners. The tour was done alongside her frequent collaborator and good friend, Sofía Campoamor, who “offered lots of her wisdom” to Hilliard while on the road, and during her overall pursuit of music.

“I highly recommend, when starting out, connecting with someone who is a little bit older than you who knows the ropes and can guide you and offer support,” she said of Campoamor.Hilliard’s career as a songwriter has only just begun; she is “currently thinking two albums ahead,” and has an EP in the works. Until then, you can listen to her three-part anthology album growth, available on all major streaming platforms.