Em Beihold Takes “Maybe Life Is Good” On The Road
Em Beihold, a platinum recording artist, embarked on her journey this year with the release of her single “Maybe Life Is Good.” Last year her remarkable vocals earned her a coveted spot as an opener for Lewis Capaldi’s 2023 tour, performing in 15 different cities and marking the beginning of her meteoric rise. A year later, Em has ascended to the status of a headliner, set to grace 23 cities with her tour.
Em Beihold’s 2023 was a year of triumph, marked by the release of her acclaimed single “Roller Coasters Make Me Sad.” This emotionally resonant song, which beautifully captures the essence of various situations, served as the inspiration for her debut EP, “Egg In The Backseat.” The single not only became a hit but also led to a collaboration with fellow pop stars Lauren Spencer Smith and GAYLE, titled “Fantasy.” The music video for this collaboration garnered over 4 million views, a testament to Em’s burgeoning popularity.
“I was laying down on my bed, and then Lauren texted and I like bolted right up and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, she wants me to be on a song with her and GAYLE!’ And I was just super stoked because I love them and I love both of their music. And I just think it was such a fun opportunity. And also just going through all this together as friends is amazing. Because sometimes you do collaboration with people that you don’t know too well and it’s fun, but to do it with people that you can just laugh with is amazing.”
Em started 2024 off with her single “Maybe Life Is Good,” released under Republic Records ( a division of Universal Music Group Recordings). After releasing the single Em Beihold, her label announced she would take her talents on the road this time as a headliner. The tour was named the “Maybe Life Is Good Tour,” inspired by her recent single, streamed 1,015,920 times. The tour would go on to be booked for 23 different shows; luckily, I was blessed with a chance, thanks to Universal Music, to go check out Em at her performance in Denver, Colorado. During her press run for her single and tour, I got to speak with Em Beihold and interview her for the second time in my career; check out the interview question and show review below.
“As far as naming my tour that, it sort of summarized the whole energy of what I’m trying to capture as an artist. Which is just the truth of the good and the bad. ‘Numb Little Bug’ is also a happy song about sad things. I’m never gonna be like it’s great because that’s not realistic. Naming my tour that just felt right to create a safe space for a lot of people who have felt a lot of the same things that I sing about in my songs.”
On February 28th, 2024, Em Beihold graced the stage in Denver, Colorado, at the well known over the years Marquis Theater. I had a long day filled with schoolwork, so seeing Em was something that I was looking forward to all day. During the day, I spent some time listening to the opener for the show, Will Linley to familiarize myself with more of his music. I truly enjoyed it. After arriving at the Marquis Theater, I realized it would be a packed house; parking was very limited around the venue, so I had to park 10 minutes away from the show. Will Linley was the first person to take the stage, and he is a pop star in his own right; his talent and skill, mixed with his unique style, are unmatched. Linley did a great job being himself on the stage; he was comfortable and genuinely treated the stage at the Marquis Theater as if it were his oyster, as some would say. During Will’s set, after his first few songs, he performed one of his highest streaming singles, “Gracie” (dedicated to his future significant other). When performing that song, he looked at the crowd and found a lady in the crowd. He had the DJ stop the music, and Will asked the lady her name. Then, he continued to sing the song saying the fan’s name instead of the song’s title, “Gracie.” After performing a handful of his hit singles, like Miss Me, Last Call, and Magic; Linley thanked the crowd and came down to where the fans were to do his version of a meet and greet.
Will Linley’s Setlist:
Magic
Kill All My Feelings
IDWBY
Gracie
Last Call
Touch
Blame
Miss Me
Now it was time for the opening act, and the crowd sure let her know they were more than prepared for her by screaming and chanting "EM." Once she hit the stage, the crowd reacted and went nothing short of wild after Em greeted everyone who came to see her. I also noticed that many people not from Colorado traveled across multiple states to attend the show; for some, this was their second tour, which says a lot about the show she gives her fans. The first song Beihold performed was one of her many smash hits, "Roller Coasters Make Me Sad." She would pause between songs to interact with the fans, showing her vulnerability and emotion to the crowd. She touched on the feelings that she sensed when writing each song performed and even went into detail on why and how Beihold wrote the songs and how they came to life. The seventh song performed covered Stephen Sanchez's famous song" Until I Found You." Beihold had her best-friend Leah running the merch table (which happens to be the best artist merch I have seen yet, design and quality-wise). She had Leah join her on stage to help perform "Until I Found You," something that kept the crowd truly engaged. The show ended with Em's most famous song, the Platinum single "Numb Little Bug," and it was another great show to remember.
Em Beihold’s Setlist:
Roller Coasters
12354
Too Precious
Groundhog Day
Extraordinary
City angels
Until I Found You
Shiny New Things
Goo
Pedestal
Spiderman
Lottery
Egg In The Backseat
Maybe Life Is Good
Numb Little Bug
