On stage, singer Bishop Briggs performs with the same fire she had when she played in coffee shops — except now she carries a story of loss, resilience and reinvention.
Briggs performed at Chicago’s Metro Theatre on March 22 to a packed crowd of fans young and old. After Briggs’ husband, Landon Jacobs, played the opening set, attendees shared stories among themselves of their unique connections with Briggs’ music.
As a feeling of anticipation filled the historic auditorium, young women in the pit of Metro discussed Briggs’ victory on season nine of the hit music competition show “The Masked Singer.” Others talked about how much they love her Instagram content, much of which includes videos of her son who she and her husband welcomed in August 2022.
“Motherhood represented so much, it meant opting into life again,” Briggs said in an interview prior to the show.
Briggs has undergone a creative reset. She recently released the extended version of her album, “Tell My Therapist I’m Fine,” a project that follows four turbulent years for the English singer-songwriter.
After losing her sister Kate to ovarian cancer in 2021, Briggs found herself in a place where she “didn’t really see a future.”
In the years following her loss, Briggs’ music was an outpouring of sorrow. But through songwriting and stepping into motherhood, she found a way to dream again.
This sense of rebirth was palpable during Briggs’ recent Chicago set, and her writing contrasted the tone of her previous tours.
“The gravity of a completely different kind of grief shifted the extremity of writing … a big part of my job is using music as therapy,” Briggs said.
As Briggs began to channel her pain into songs of strength and advocacy, her music evolved into something deeper than just self-expression. One song on the album, titled “Shut It Off,” is a call to prioritize one’s own voice over the pressures of fame.
“‘Shut It Off’ is basically everything I wish 21-year-old me had heard,” Briggs said. With a crowd full of 20-somethings, Briggs’ messages resonated with her audience at Metro.
One of the first songs she wrote for “Tell My Therapist I’m Fine” was “Isolated Love,” created in collaboration with musician and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker.
“I played the song for my sister who was in chemo, and chemo wasn’t working, and it was the worst time in my life ever,” Briggs said. “She had such a huge reaction to the song and was so obsessed.”
Briggs added that the music her sister introduced her to when she was younger helped to shape her creative journey.
“This was the type of music she introduced me to as a teenager. So I think subconsciously I was chasing that reaction in every session following,” Briggs said.
Her music has also become a platform for speaking out about issues that affect her and others in the industry with her sister in mind.
“With this particular writing style, it felt a little bit more vulnerable because I didn’t have all the answers, and maybe never will,” Briggs said. “When I found myself writing about the male predators in the music industry, I all of a sudden felt [my sister’s] energy being like, ‘Yes, you go girl, you got this!'”
Whether performing in large arenas or intimate venues, Briggs is deeply committed to maintaining a personal connection with her audience. Her performances, big or small, are about creating a space where the audience feels heard.
“I try to bring the intimacy of a smaller show into the bigger ones,” Briggs said. “There’s something about being able to banter with the audience, to connect with them directly.”
At the Chicago stop of her tour, Briggs delivered on this promise. She resonated an energy that traveled from the pit to the balconies, and had even the bartenders singing along as they shook their next martini order.
Briggs recalls her early days of performing in coffee shops with a sense of humility, describing the high energy she would bring to otherwise mundane places.
“Every time they would be like ‘We can’t have you back, this is insane,’” Briggs said. “Even though it was awkward and devastating at the time to not be asked back, I always try to perform for the bigness that I achieved.”
With the release of her new song, “Woman is King,” Briggs has created an anthem that resonates with women who are reclaiming their power. Through motherhood, Briggs said that she has connected with so many other moms and has been inspired by hearing what they’ve been through — and how they keep pushing forward.
Briggs said. “I wanted to make a song that these women could listen to and feel empowered. … My hope was that their partners would play it in the car and be like, ‘You’ve got this!’”
Briggs wrapped up her 12-stop tour on March 30, with her husband and son by her side.
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