With a burst of shows this June from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, Pearl is the new face of women in rock n’ roll.
Stream: “Party Baby” – Pearl
In the dim red light at The Virgil, cheetah print balloons floated onstage while I drank a cranberry soda.
Behind me in the entryway, a table was filled with yellow t-shirts, matchbooks, and stickers that all said the same phrase: Let Girls Be Hot. It was the Los Angeles release show for Pearl’s single, “Party Baby,” a last minute show that she and her band planned in just a handful of days.
But when things are thrown together last minute for Pearl, it’s a sign that everything is going to turn out just perfect. On social media she’s often referred to as a type-B icon – a fitting description for her coastal cowgirl aesthetic, nomadic touring patterns, and authentic posts about her spontaneous, scrappy lifestyle. The room was full of people wearing pointed paper party hats, fur coats, and cowboy boots; eager to hear their favorite songs and new tracks. When Pearl got on stage, the first thing she said into the microphone as the room applauded and whooped was the command: “Girls to the front!”
Soon, the air was filled with Peal’s iconic raspy vocals, swooning basslines, and a rock and roll sound that holds equal parts nostalgia and new horizons. The lyrics to her popular 2024 song, “Backwash” echoed back to Pearl from the mouths of her rapt audience: “I don’t feel my pain quite like I feel yours, we’re all backwash baby.” When it came time to sing her new song, “Party Baby” – which had only been out for a handful of hours – the room was equally as entranced. “He carried me home babe, I’m all about it / wasn’t looking for love, not sure if I found it,” she sang in the pre-chorus. Partway through, someone carried a cake onstage, alit with birthday candles. During an instrumental break that the band carried with ease and precision, Pearl blew the candles out, eyes closed, making some kind of wish. And yet it felt like there was nothing more she could wish for – watching her onstage, she seemed free and fulfilled like no other, happy to be playing with her band, happy to be sharing her songs, and in complete embrace of wherever her music takes her.
At the very end of the set, it was time for her biggest hit so far, “No Man.” Pearl called for girls in the audience to join her onstage. Immediately, they raced onto the platform, effortlessly representing the eclectic spectrum of girlhood: some threw their tattooed arms up in the air, others reapplied lipgloss onstage, and some vaped. But everybody sang their heart out, and Pearl threw her arms around these strangers, united in implicit sisterhood. “I just wanna sway to the band / I just wanna dance / I don’t wanna worry ’bout no man,” came the passionate chorus.
When the show ended, I asked one of the girls descending the stage staircase what it felt like to be up there during the iconic song.
“That was so awesome, it felt like women empowerment, you know?” answered Mariah Dae. “To be up there with her is magical.” I asked Dae if this was her first time at a Pearl show. “First, but not the last,” she nodded eagerly. “Her stage presence is just amazing, she’s gonna blow up so fast, tickets will be $100 soon.”
On my way backstage for the interview, I stopped at the merch table one more time, quickly flipping through several small black notebooks that fans had been signing for months across cities and states, mostly tagged with their social media handles. “Almost crashed out because I couldn’t find parking, but we’re here!!!” said a message signed by @brylee-t with a smiley face. “I’ve been waiting for this for 3 years, I can’t believe I finally get to see you in person!!! I love you diva, keep doing you. Pls come back to Oklahoma!!” said @agingersnaps.studios.
In the green room, Pearl greeted me with a hug, thanking me for coming. Her bandmates and roadies chatted amicably nearby while she and I sat on the couch. Inspired by the newest single, my first question was Pearl’s take on what makes for a good party.
“Good music, that’s essential,” Pearl said. “Good friends, I think that’s important.” She paused for a moment, and added, “Dare I say, like, a good lipstick or lip gloss. You need a good lip product. And a carefree attitude.” I affirmed that the evening had had all of these things, including girls retouching their lipstick onstage while they danced with her, to which she smiled and nodded. I then asked about the party hats in the crowd, wondering how so many people simultaneously came so prepared to celebrate “Party Baby.”
“Anything of my concerts that ends up cool is because of my friends,” Pearl said, gesturing to the cluster of people chatting and laughing across the green room. “Those are my girls. And my girls are like the backbone behind so much. They decorated everything and they got party hats and they got the cake and they got candles. It’s always my girls, my best friends.” As I glanced over, I saw the cake that had been onstage earlier. One of Pearl’s girls flicked a lighter, reigniting the candles before carrying the cake over to Pearl, setting it on the coffee table in front of us. Pearl uncrossed her legs, placing both black boots on the ground, and leaned over to make another wish as her friends danced and sang. After the candles went out, she told me she’s going on tour in June: June 7th in Salt Lake City at The Complex, June 9th at the Marquis Theater in Denver, June 11th at the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix, June 12th at the Voodoo Room at the House of Blues in San Diego, and eventually she’ll be back in Los Angeles to play The Roxy on June 13th. Ricochetting through cities matches Pearl’s vibe; she’s moved around plenty in the last few years.
“I was living all over California,” she explained. “And then I moved to New York City. I moved to Georgia. And then I moved back to California.” Between all this, there was “A lot of time on the road. And I wrote “No Man” while traveling. I wrote “Methamphetamines” while driving.” I tell her I am picturing her driving her van while singing to her phone’s voice memos. “Yes, that’s how I do it,” she laughed.
I then turned my attention to her set list, asking her how she decided on including a cover of Lana Del Rey’s “Radio.”
“Now my life is sweet like cinnamon like a f***ing dream I’m living in – I just love that. Like a f***ing dream I’m living in. I just love that line. That’s why. That’s where it really hits for me,” she explained, adding that it’s the only cover she does other than That Smell by Lynyrd Skynard. I mentioned that I noticed Lana Del Rey follows her on instagram.
“I literally died when I saw she followed,” Pearl affirms. “I don’t know why she followed, but she followed from a video I did talking about romanticizing life while being broke. I was like, of course she gets it!”
I asked her if there’s anyone or anything else she channels in her music or life. Pearl quickly names Pamela Anderson and “a lot of ‘90s stuff” when it comes to fashion. For songwriting, she says it all started from falling in love “with metaphors and paradoxes,” and “having [her] parents read the Bible growing up.”
At this point in the night, someone from her crew called out that it was time to leave, and I walked down the stairs with Pearl, rounding the corner to see several fans on the pavement.
Without hesitation, she began signing t-shirts and taking photos. I struck up a conversation with another fan outside, asking a girl with an armful of merch what Pearl’s music made her feel.
“Sexy, confident… edgy. And just rock n’ roll,” said Liis Vira. “It just really makes me feel rock n’ roll.”
With the June concert dates now around the corner, Pearl’s shows are the best gateway to hot girl summer that I can think of.
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© courtesy of the artist
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