Adia Victoria recently stopped by Seattle’s KEXP to perform a live session at the independent radio station. The singer-songwriter played a pair of songs from her 2021 album, A Southern Gothic and another from 2019’s Silences.
KEXP DJ Cheryl Waters hosted the solo performance on June 30 and chatted with Victoria between songs and at the end of the session. The A Southern Gothic single, “Magnolia Blues” kicked off the three-song set. The fellow album track, “Mean-Hearted Woman,” came next. Waters and Victoria then discussed the challenges of touring, prompted by Victoria dealing with damaged gear. Prior to ending the session with “Heathen,” Victoria introduced the Silences song, stating:
“This is a song, it’s called ‘Heathen.’ It’s one of the first songs I wrote in Nashville back in 2012. I wrote it thinking about my own sexual life, my history. And I thought about the different ways that men and women are judged when it comes time to, as I like to say, ‘get your freak on.’ I thought about how there’s one set of rules for men and then one for women and how women are expected to hold all the blame and the shame. And this song ‘Heathen’ was me just saying I didn’t want to play this game. It’s also a song about a woman’s right to autonomy over her body. I think that is a timely thing. It’s always a timely thing. This song is a protest, it’s a cry from my heart, it’s a big ‘F You’ to all these weird dudes that are trying to do damage to our bodies in the name of control because they can’t control them their ownselves. So, in solidarity, this song is called ‘Heathen.’”
Following the performance, Victoria and Waters discussed the former’s relationship with her native South Carolina, current residence in Nashville and visiting Paris as a source of inspiration. The interview touched on other aspects of A Southern Gothic, Victoria’s songwriting process and other topics. Watch Adia Victoria’s KEXP live session below:
