Lizzy McAlpine chats about her Philly homecoming on the XPN Morning Show

Lizzy McAlpine‘s career is off to a roaring start. The singer-songwriter, who grew up in the Philadelphia area and recently left Berklee College of Music to pursue her career, is passing milestones fast. Her debut record Give Me A Minute came out in 2020, and since then she’s gone viral on Tik Tok, made her late-night TV debut, opened for Coldplay, and sold out her own headlining tour. In a rare moment of downtime, McAlpine called into the XPN Morning Show this week to chat about coming home to play a sold out show at The Fillmore this Saturday.

Listen above to the full interview, which includes McApline’s feelings about her viral single “Ceilings,” who she dreams about collaborating with in the studio, and her ambitions outside of music. Her latest album five seconds flat is available to stream now.

…on opening for Coldplay last summer at Wells Fargo Center

It was crazy. Honestly, it was way more low pressure than my actual headline shows because I was one of two openers. So I was kinda like, ‘I’m just doing this for fun, and for the experience.’ It was pretty chill, honestly.

…on if there’s anything she needs to do, or specifically eat, when she’s home in the Philly area

I go to Wawa every time I go home because we don’t have it over here [in L.A.], and it’s really upsetting. And every time I go home, the first place I go to is Wawa. I get the tuna salad club sandwich. It’s really weird, but it’s so good. I love it so much.

…on advice for other young artists

I really think you just have to be yourself, as corny as that sounds. It’s like, there’s only one of you and what makes you unique is gonna make you stand out from the crowd. I feel like the music industry these days, especially with Tik Tok, is so over-saturated with so many people, and if you be authentically yourself then you’re gonna shine through. Because there’s no one else who’s doing it like that.