On June 13, 2026, indie-pop singer-songwriter Leanna Firestone brought her Victory Lap Tour to the Crystal Ballroom in Somerville, Massachusetts, marking the 13th stop on a nationwide run. The Victory Lap Tour is Firestone’s third headlining tour, with shows extending across both the United States and Canada, showcasing her continued expansion as an artist. Firestone has been able to elicit a loyal fanbase through her use of candid lyricism and an autobiographical writing style that is part of an increasingly crowded landscape of independent pop artists shaping the genre through emotionally direct, narrative-driven songwriting. Firestone’s songs have collectively accumulated over 100 million streams on Spotify career-wide, with about 286,000 monthly listeners. The evening before Firestone’s June 13 show, I had the great honor of sitting back with Firestone and asking her some questions about her rise to fame, her background and her overall journey as an indie artist claiming her spot in an unforgiving music industry. 

The first thing Firestone and I discussed was her initial rise to fame. Well before Firestone had any tour dates lined up, she was recording music from her home during the COVID-19 pandemic, sharing pieces of her life on TikTok. During the pandemic, Firestone was enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University in the Recording Industry program. Firestone shared how she had started posting songs she wrote for classes or just for herself on TikTok, leading to some success through social media. “I think so much of my success is luck and timing; I just happened to be doing the right thing at the right time and got caught in the right place,” she said. While the rise of an online audience was a success, Firestone never assumed that online engagement would translate into the live music world. Before TikTok, Firestone had been engaged in school choir, musicals and playing local venues, often for small crowds. Laughing, she said, “I knew what it was like to bomb and fail and have nobody come other than my parents.” However, this changed post-pandemic — Firestone’s audience not only transferred from online to in-person but also continued to be a loyal and dedicated crowd. She stated, “For some reason, my music is really connecting with people at the right time; I feel very lucky that they're here." 

This connection to her fans stems from her raw honesty that has always been at the center of her songwriting. Early fan favorites such as “Least Favorite Only Child” and “Strawberry Mentos” are deeply personal in nature, with Firestone expressing, “I was sort of just writing about myself and the experiences I was having.” Firestone went on to explain the complicated nature of these songs, reflecting on the idea that these early songs featured experiences she hadn’t yet had. “Like I hadn’t had my first kiss, I hadn’t been in my first real relationship. A lot of it was fantasizing over what that would be like — to be loved and desired and cared for, so a lot of my music wasn’t about the experience of something but rather the lack of experience around it.” She went on to highlight that as she has grown older and matured, so has her music, leaving her able to not only speak to experiences that she has now had but also to be able to fully narrativize lived experiences of others as well. Firestone explains that while songs in her newest album, “The Answer,” may stem from fictional narratives, there is an underlying personal truth rooted deeply in her music, stating, “I am never writing about something that I haven't felt.” Whether she is telling her own story or someone else's, the emotions remain genuine. The difference, she explained, is that she now writes from what she calls a “kernel of truth” rather than recounting events exactly as they happened. The result is music that feels simultaneously intimate and universal, allowing listeners to see themselves within stories that may not be strictly autobiographical.

Her ability to blend reality and fiction is truly art in and of itself, but no surprise if you know Firestone's background in writing. The acclaimed indie pop artist has been very open about her love of writing fanfiction, prior to her music career. When asked if she believes that her music tends to follow certain tropes or patterns mirrored in fanfiction writing, she said,  “I try not to fall into any specific patterns, but I am usually an angst[y] writer. I find that I am drawn to really sad things for some reason, and so I find that a lot [of] my songs, even when they’re happy, sort of pull in that direction.” The confession comes with a laugh, but it explains a great deal about her music. Even her happiest songs often contain an undercurrent of melancholy, happy in nature, but with an understanding that the feeling is more complex than that. Firestone gravitates toward emotional complexity, preferring stories that explore heartbreak, longing and vulnerability alongside joy and not as a result of a lack of joy. Her music is too profound to categorize as happy or sad. In just one song, Firestone can walk a person through an emotional minefield. This ability to capture the human emotional landscape in just a single two-minute song is what truly makes Firestone an artist worth listening to. 

We then pivoted to talk about Leanna Firestone’s background, more specifically, what it was like as a budding musician to grow up in Nashville, Tennessee, also known as  “Music City.” Firestone talked about how country music was not something she was heavily involved in as a child because most music venues were hosted in bars; however, country music was a constant presence in her childhood. This being said, Firestone highlighted the weight of growing up in a city so full of music and art, stating, “This is a place of such celebration of art, country or otherwise. And being around that really gave me a foothold to be able to say, people will care about this, it's worth doing, it’s not frivolous, which I think in other parts of Tennessee or other rural places ... it can be seen as something not to be taken seriously or something you can never possibly make happen because it is too hard.” Firestone credits her belief in herself and her music to be tied to the atmosphere in Nashville, stating, “Being in proximity to Music City really gave validity to doing art as a career and profession.” This immersion in music and art gave Firestone the ability to not only believe in herself, but to continue to push herself to become a recording artist.

Like many people and artists alike, there is a level of inspiration that strikes from others’ creativity. Firestone and I started to unpack this with a discussion of other musicians that she took inspiration from throughout her music career. Firestone candidly remarked, “There is a joke we have on this tour [that] if you can think of a girl with a guitar, that's my girl." She highlighted artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Maisie Peters as musicians who she admires because of their ability to tell stories and their lyricism in creating songs. Both musicians, like Firestone herself, have built devoted audiences by transforming personal emotions into sharply crafted narratives. This focus on storytelling has continued to shape Firestone's own artistic growth. While discussing her love of these artists, she drew parallels between her latest album and her earlier project, “Public Displays of Affection,” as she, like Rodrigo and Peters, tends to build off of her previous work. She stated, “‘Public Displays of Affection’ was one of the first times where I was really finding myself and my sound. I feel like myself and these artists have grown and matured as time moves forward.” 

The conversation about artistic influences ultimately revealed something larger about Firestone's own evolution as a songwriter. Like the artists she admires, she has spent the past several years refining her voice, deepening her storytelling and growing more confident in her creative identity. That growth is perhaps most visible not only in her recorded work but also in the community of listeners who have followed her journey from social media to concert venues across North America.

As Firestone continues across the U.S. and Canada on her Victory Lap Tour, it is clear that her success is about far more than a viral moment on social media. Her rise reflects years of dedication to songwriting, a willingness to embrace vulnerability and an ability to transform deeply personal emotions into stories that resonate with thousands of listeners. Whether she is drawing from her own experiences, fictional narratives or the lives of those around her, Firestone approaches songwriting with a level of emotional honesty that has become increasingly distinctive in today's music landscape.

That authenticity was on full display throughout her performance at the Crystal Ballroom. Fans sang along to every lyric, demonstrating the deep connection Firestone has cultivated through her music. In an industry often driven by trends and fleeting attention, Firestone's greatest strength remains her ability to make listeners feel understood. From a college student posting songs on TikTok during the pandemic to a headlining artist touring across the continent, her journey stands as a testament to the power of storytelling and the enduring impact of music rooted in genuine human experience. For Firestone, the line between autobiography and fiction may continue to blur, but the emotional truth at the center of her music remains unmistakable. And judging by the audience in Somerville, that truth is exactly what keeps listeners coming back for more.