Spencer LaJoye revisits their roots

Sunday, November 10, ArtRat Gallery hosts the latest in its roots music series curated by The Stableford Agency. Americana Sundays: An Afternoon with Spencer LaJoye runs 3-5pm at 46 Division Ave. S.

This East Coast singer/songwriter from West Michigan makes queer indie folk music for everyone. The 2021 Kerrville Songwriting Competition winner spins crystalline vocals through a loop pedal while strumming an acoustic guitar in charming, banter-heavy performances that keep audiences laughing one moment and weeping the next. (Admission $20; tickets available on Eventbrite.)

Ahead of the show, Spencer spoke with ArtRat about their personal growth and creative process. 

Your biography reflects on the evolution of your aesthetic and personal identities — from genre to gender to spirituality. Can you talk about how these different facets have informed each other, especially when it comes to creating music? 

I definitely write better songs the more I'm at home and honest with myself. In my life, this has usually looked like letting go. Letting go of definitions of faith, letting go of definitions of gender, etc. The more I can shed things that aren't serving me, the more my songs are free to tell the truth.

Your journey also includes a move from Michigan to Boston. What does it mean to you to return to your home state (if that’s the right term)? 

Not only Michigan to Boston! Since 2015, I've moved from Michigan to Sacramento to Denver to Boston and now back to Michigan. I'm loving this time with my home state. I wouldn't have said the same thing a year ago, but I'm really growing quite fond of my roots here.

If listeners want to experience your artistic vision ahead of Sunday’s show, which of your albums do you recommend they start with? 

Oh boy! Definitely start with the album Shadow Puppets. Go-to tracks are “Shadow Puppets,” “How Are You,” and “Someday You'll Wake Up Okay.” Apart from that album, most people really resonate with the single "Plowshare Prayer" as well!

Other queer performers at Americana Sundays, like Nic Gareiss, have explored the ways LGBTIA+/2S identity resonates with and challenges traditional music. Is this part of your own process? 

Totally! I call my music "queer indie folk," and some people have criticized my "pigeon-holing" of myself, but I don't see it as limiting at all. There is nothing I can do to un-queer my music. It is queer because I am. Maybe people are able to separate my music from my queerness when they're listening at home, but especially when it comes to my live performances, I like to say the queer part out loud. I think it's my responsibility as a platformed queer person to be visible in that way. 

What do you like most about playing Grand Rapids? 

Grand Rapids was where my music career really started! I wasn't writing the greatest song as a 20-something college student in GR, but I was getting out there for the first time. And this city really supported me then. Now that I'm coming back as a more fully formed adult, it's STILL showing up for me. This place has witnessed my deep change and transition, and it keeps showing up as a steady presence. That means the world.