Q&A: Jade LeMac Makes Fearless U.S. Festival Debut at Lollapalooza
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY KIMBERLY KAPELA ☆
Photo Credit: Audrey Hertel
CANADIAN BREAKOUT POP ARTIST — Jade LeMac boldly kicked off her debut U.S. festival performance at Lollapalooza on opening day, Thursday, July 31, marking a defining moment in her rising career. The 21-year-old singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist brought an electrifying presence to opening day, turning heads and winning hearts with her distinctive style and emotionally charged performance.
Known for her fearless storytelling and genre-blending approach to pop, LeMac took to the stage with confidence and clarity, embodying the raw vulnerability and boundary-defying spirit that has earned her a loyal global fanbase. Born and raised in Vancouver, LeMac draws powerfully from her half-Asian heritage and her deep connection to the LGBTQ+ community, creating music that is as intimate as it is expansive.
Her Lollapalooza set included the live debut of her latest single “Running Home,” a deeply personal track that quickly became a crowd favorite. With its confessional tone and soaring chorus, the song explores emotional uncertainty within a relationship, navigating love, doubt, and the search for reassurance.
“The song is about being in a relationship with someone, and then not being sure about your feelings towards them,” LeMac says. “I feel like there's been times in relationships where I've either been in that position or been in the other person's position before. It’s a song about reassurance, because I feel like I've needed reassurance before. It's talking about reassurance and about running home to the person that you love no matter what happens.”
LeMac’s set was an exciting one to catch as she performed on one of the country’s biggest festival stages. And with “Running Home” already resonating with listeners and more music on the horizon, Jade LeMac’s Lollapalooza debut is the beginning of a bold new chapter.
Still buzzing from her set, the songstress was glowing with a mix of adrenaline and gratitude. After commanding the stage at Lollapalooza for her debut U.S. festival performance, LeMac sat down with Luna for an exclusive interview, offering a behind-the-scenes look into her new single “Running Home,” her pre-show rituals, and what’s keeping her creatively lit in this new chapter of her career.
Photo Credit: Audrey Hertel
LUNA: Welcome back and thank you for talking to Luna again. It's super exciting to have you back since the last time we talked about your single “Narcissistic.” I would love to catch up and see how life has been treating you and what have you been up to since the last time we talked.
JADE: There’s been so much. I've been working on this new EP that's coming out in the fall. I've put so much of myself into it, and I'm so excited for it. The first single off the EP “Running Home” is coming out August 15. I'm very excited about that. I performed that for the first time here at Lollapalooza, and it was so awesome. I feel like it came across really well with the crowd and everything.
LUNA: You are about to release your newest single “Running Home” later this month. What is the inspiration behind the single and what themes and emotions do you explore?
JADE: The song is about being in a relationship with someone, and then not being sure about your feelings towards them. I feel like there's been times in relationships where I've either been in that position or been in the other person's position before. It’s a song about reassurance, because I feel like I've needed reassurance before. It's talking about reassurance and about running home to the person that you love no matter what happens.
LUNA: Congratulations on your debut U.S. festival! What’s the atmosphere like at Lollapalooza, both on stage and off? How does it compare to other shows you’ve played?
JADE: Performing at a festival, I find is always nerve wracking, because I know that a lot of people are here to see so many other people, and so for me, I take it as a way to get my name out there. With a festival as big as Lollapalooza, it's so exciting and so fun. I think that as my first US festival debut, it turned out really well, and I'm very happy with what happened. The crowd was really energetic and were having a blast.
LUNA: Do you have any specific pre-show rituals or routines that help you prepare for a big performance like Lollapalooza?
JADE: I basically just read over the lyrics like 100 billion times because I get so nervous that I'll forget lyrics. Other than that, I literally just get so nervous. I get so scared, but I think that's just me. I am just a more nervous person. Other than that, the waiting is always the worst. Once I get on stage, it's so much fun.
LUNA: How do you curate your setlist for a festival performance, and did you do anything special or different for Lollapalooza?
JADE: I threw in the unreleased song, the new single that's coming out. Like I said, it was the first time performing that, so I wanted to do that for Lollapalooza and make it special. I also performed another single off the EP, “Sleeping With The Lights On,” which I'm also very excited for. But for this one, I wanted to make it feel really great, and just make sure that I felt like everybody could have a good time during the set.
LUNA: What inspires you to push boundaries within your sound? Are there any specific experiences, artists, or moments that have encouraged you to explore new musical territories?
JADE: Sleeping At Last, their writing is always something that I loved, and I remember that inspiring me a lot from when I was younger and still to this day. I always loved The Weeknd and how he has a lot of R-rated songs, and with me, I love including these sensual, intimate lyrics in my songs, but doing it in a pretty way. I took inspiration from him with that.
LUNA: What kind of atmosphere or emotional space do you aim to create for your listeners?
JADE: Something where they can all just feel what they need to feel. I'm making it a goal and a challenge to try and create songs of every emotion so that no matter what people are feeling, no matter what they're going through, they at least have one song that they can really relate and resonate to.
LUNA: What’s your favorite song to perform live that really gets the crowd into your set?
JADE: It’s a hard one. “Running Home” was really fun to perform. I feel like when creating that song, I had that intention of making it something that can be really fun live, and I'm really proud of how that came out. “Constellations” will always be a classic. I love her and how the crowd reacts, and hearing people sing that song, it always gets me.
LUNA: What’s fueling your fire right now—musically or personally—that’s pushing you into this next chapter?
JADE: My friends and family will always be my biggest supporters, and they're the ones that really push me and make me challenge myself, as well as my team around me — my producer, my management, all those people. I think it's really the people I surround myself with that keep me going and keep me focused on what my goal is.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like for you that you would like to share with Luna?
JADE: I'm just really excited with the music I've been able to create, and I'm really excited to get it out to be able to perform. There's just so many amazing opportunities I’m excited to experience.
