If the saying “you’re only as good as your last album” is true, then Leon Bridges is pretty darn good right now. His fifth studio album Happiness Anytime just dropped—a deep blend of soul, Afrobeat, disco, and Brazilian jazz influences—and the musician is making sure his style fits the bill. Even the sneakers are something new.
I used to never wear sneakers on stage, but they’re so easy to dance in.” And boy, can the man move! A few days prior to our chat, I watched him hit a groovy spacewalk across the stage during his album’s launch party at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, hosted by Bulleit Frontier Whiskey—which he nodded to in his song “Light the Way.” While Bridges might be tearing it up on stage, he’s keeping it pretty low-key when he’s not performing. His upcoming global tour is no easy feat, and learning Bridges is a bit introverted makes it all the more impressive.
Going out a lot can be really, really distracting. In my downtime, I like to watch the ’90s cartoons I grew up on. I still watch the Batman: The Animated Series, Animaniacs—all that stuff.” We talk about more than cartoons, of course.
From his onstage style to his feeling on the new album, here’s what he had to say. Really, anything that’s comfortable enough to move in on stage works for me. In my personal life, I’m more of a shy, quiet, reserved person.
On stage, I really try to be more charismatic and give people a great show. It still feels natural, but I think it’s okay to be able to turn it on and off. When I’m off the stage, I love a simple, Western, ’70s-era fit.
And when I’m performing, I’m wearing custom fits and stuff. My favorite fit I wore was at Stagecoach. That was one of my favorite festivals I’ve ever played in.
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