Who is Hana Bryanne?
I am a cowgirl who can’t drive a stick, a pseudo intellectual wearing jeans, a former ballerina from Northern California, and a weird little freak.
How’s been preparing for the tour?
We’ve been rehearsing a lot with my buddy Ben, who’s playing cello for me. I finally finished packing today and we leave early tomorrow to San Francisco.
What are you most excited for this tour?
I’m really excited to play Chicago, we are playing Shubas Tavern, I’m excited to go to Minneapolis which is where my best friend from college lives, and I’m excited for this show… It’s going to be a good time!
What’s a song people should know to prepare for your set?
We are playing the hits and we are playing some new stuff. It always makes my heart sink when people know the words to “Clementine” – that song is about my mom and it’s really sweet to hear people sing it back to me. I just want to put on a good show and if Jake’s fans don’t know me yet, I want to give them a good show time.
How do you typically build your sets?
I try to ride and end like an energy wave and have peaks and valleys enerygetically. When I’m playing with Ben, it’s a pretty locked setlist but when it’s just me, I really like responding organically to the room and what people are vibing with and what they are not as jazzed for. For this set, I chose the songs that I have more fun singing because you can tell when a singer is like “Oh, I have to sing a song, so I’m going to.”
My grandma is here tonight and I sing a little bit about cum and sex and it’s a lot to sing to my grandma. I always play my song “Jesus Or Harrison Ford” and people usually think of a folk/country song about Harrison Ford and then they’re like “what?” when I play it.
What are your essentials on the road?
I have a backpack full of books, I am currently reading I Loved You More by Tom Spanbauer and I just picked up 10:04 by Ben Lerner and I have a couple more in there! Other than that, I always have electrolyte packets, a good neck pillow, and noise cancelling headphones.
Do you have any pre-show rituals?
I do yoga before the show, I scream into a pillow sometimes, and I jump up and down really high and that’s kind of it.
What’s on your pre-show pregame playlist?
Garbage country radio is what gets me hyped and Chappell Roan as well–singing Chappell’s songs before a show works my whole range up and helps me warm up.
What are some up and coming artists everyone should know about?
Jake Minch, Kate Stephenson, Madeline Kenney, Eli
What’s your favorite song to play live?
I love playing “Clementine” because it’s so different from the version on the record. My music is really emotional and often sad but with playing live music, musicians are fundamentally in the pleasure business and try to disregard ego and not let my connection to the song get in the way of other people’s experiences of the songs regardless of being autobiographical or not.
I think being a songwriter is all about catching a feeling in your hands and showing it to other people and being like “Look at this, do you feel this too?.”
What can you tell us about the upcoming music?
I have a couple songs on my set that are going to be on my record that I’m working on right now. This record is more country than my first one and I’m really excited to be on the road, get my boots a little dirty and have fun. I love to see how people respond to new stuff, especially when you are an opener, a lot of the time all your work is new to most of the fans in the audience. So, getting to try new things out on audiences before you put it on the record is so fun.
How do you prepare before a show to stay healthy and prioritize your mental health?
I feel like sleeping is the most crucial part, if I’m not getting good sleep after the show then I’ve cut through the next day. Having a really consistent wind down routine, trying to get off my damn phone and doing yoga. I also try to take a lot of walks while I’m on the road. This whole crew is so great and we live on top of each other for a month in the vans so it’s pretty intense, and I love it–I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world but sometimes you need 20 minutes to put your headphones on and listen to ambient music to refresh and be more fun to be around.