Spend Sunday Funday at The Dinah with Siena Liggins

Striving to make music that’s provocative, yet beautiful, Siena Liggins has been recognized as one of Billboard’s “Top 10 New LGBTQ Artists of the Year.”

The Atlanta-based pop star began her career as a behind-the-scenes songwriter at Detroit’s Assemble Sound, a development hub for independent musicians. Eventually, she was noticed by enough producers to release her debut single “Flowerbomb,” which like much of her music, references a real-life situation Liggins experienced.

In April 2021, she released her first full-length album Ms. Out Tonight, which serves as a seminar on representing queer sexuality in music. With sexed-up anthems like “Dirty Girl” feat. Baby Tate, “No Valet,” “Girlfriend,” and more, Liggins leaves no room for interpretation. She’s going to write songs about her authentic experience as a queer woman.

Next month, Liggins will be performing at The Dinah, the largest annual festival for queer women in Palm Springs. Pulling out all the stops, the legendary festival will be held September 21-25 at the iconic Margaritaville Resort and will keep up with tradition by hosting dance parties and nighttime soirees with a stellar all-women entertainment lineup. You can catch Liggins at the Sunday Funday Pool Party.

She took some to talk more about attending and performing at the event, as well as her artistry and staying true to herself with OFM.

Hi, Siena! How excited are you to perform at The Dinah this year?

I am so excited! The Dinah is so legendary, and I’ve heard so much about how great of a festival it is. So many cool artists have performed there, all my friends are super excited for me to be there, so I can’t wait.

What makes The Dinah such an iconic and special event to you?

From all the artists that have performed, specifically queer women that have gone on to make such an impact on queer culture, having that moment of celebration with people for us and like us, it’s super legendary to have a space like that. It’s stood the test of time.

Can you give us a hint as to what we can expect from your set?

I don’t want to give too much away, but there will be high energy, and I always ask for the prettiest people to come to the front of the stage. Hopefully that means the stage will be packed with a bunch of beautiful people and beautiful energy.

What do you always hope audiences take away from your music?

At the end of the day, I just hope that people leave feeling really excited to go play the songs again, sing them with their friends, and keep them on repeat because they’re that good. I also hope people walk away from my set feeling good about themselves and feeling like there’s something for them that can sort of express the emotions that they feel.

Would you consider yourself a festival goer?

Yes, I go to a lot of festivals. I’m lucky that now in my life, I get to be on the stage side of things. I tend to get pretty overwhelmed by crowds, so when I go to festivals, I try to either hang way back or be on the side, but I am so ready for this. From what I can tell, The Dinah is multiple days, so there will be pockets and moments where I’ll be able to find what my rhythm is and where I fit in.

You began your musical career by writing for other artists before being noticed by enough producers to release your debut single “Flowerbomb.” Have you always had a passion for singing and songwriting?

Yes. I’ve always had a passion for writing, and I think I found my passion for writing before I found my passion for singing. I grew up in church choirs and in the Martin Luther King Jr. national choir, and once I discovered my own voice and passion for writing songs for myself, that kind of took off like a wildfire. I couldn’t stop.

How would you describe your musical style and aesthetic?

I feel like I make the kind of songs that people love to hate. Like, you listen to a song, and at first you’re like, “Yeah! I love this song!” Then you catch yourself singing it all day long and you can’t get it out of your head. Then you’re like, “Oh, gosh. I can’t take this song anymore.” (Laughs.) Something about that is a lot of fun for me. When I’m in the studio, I like to write things with the hope and intention that they will get stuck in your head.

In what ways did growing up around Detroit nurture you as a musician?

You know, I grew up all over the place. My dad was a Marine, so I have family in Detroit and in other parts of Michigan, and my mom moved to North Carolina, so I kind of went all over. I think that music has just always been something that I’ve been able to lean back on that’s made me feel at home.

I have these songs that I can remember that made me feel really close to my dad when he was away, and songs that remind me of my mom and grandma. A lot of those songs are Motown songs, songs by Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder. That grounded me and always made me feel like home.

That was my next question. Since Detroit is known as the home of Motown, I wondered if that influenced you at all.

Absolutely. So many artists of that era had such an effect on me. My favorite movie for a long time was The Temptations. I’ve just always loved that music.

It has now been a year since you released your debut album, Ms. Out Tonight. How were you feeling right before it went out into the world?

I was so nervous, but I was also very proud and relieved right up until the minute before it was out. My team and I were here in Atlanta working on it, I had a release event, and I actually dropped the project on my birthday. It was a really nice way to ring in another year of my life. Also, doing it with friends and all the collaborators on the project, to sum up that full feeling, I would say I felt very blessed.

Do you still have moments where you’re like, “OMG, I can’t believe it’s finally out there?”

Every day (laughs).

Can you talk more about how Ms. Out Tonight serves as a seminar on representing queer sexuality in music?

Yes, absolutely. Ms. Out Tonight is like a triple entendre. It’s a play on words, which I love to do. Initially when I was writing the song, it was about this idea of missing out on love, fulfillment, happiness, and all these positive feelings because of your fear of people watching and judging. ‘Ms. Out Tonight,’ the colloquial saying of you don’t want to miss out tonight or on this moment. Then I sort of took it from there and decided to make it a moniker for myself and a moniker for whoever wants to wear it. Being out and the action of being out, being yourself, and proud.

All in all, the full project encompasses a lot of that feeling. Then the very last layer of it is like me missing out on parts of mainstream culture and access to what I think I deserve because of the extra layers and margins that I have to live within. From a queer person and what it means to queer culture, Ms. Out Tonight means to keep going after it and don’t miss out on parts of life that are for you.

How will you continue to stay true and authentic through your craft?

I always write songs for myself first, so I think as long as I keep doing it for that reason, doing it for 8-year-old or 14-year-old me who was writing at home, I think that will always keep me on track and keep my feet on the ground.

What are some future goals you hope to accomplish with your career?

I’m a very superstitious person, so I don’t want to get too specific because I don’t want to jinx it (laughs). But I do have big dreams. At the end of the day, what I want to be able to do is just make space for people like me to feel like they can be themselves unapologetically. I want to bring a sort of sexy, braggadocious swagger to queer music and the queer music space. I also want to keep connecting with people.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you’d like to mention or plug?

Go stream Ms. Out Tonight! It’s still very fire, and my song “Blush” just got picked up by HBO Max for Nikki Glaser’s new comedy special. It’s kind of a bop and it’s reentered playlists, so I hope everybody enjoys it.

Stay up-to-date and connect with Liggins by following her on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @sienaliggins, or visit her official website, sienaliggins.com. For more information on The Dinah, visit thedinah.com.

Photos courtesy of Siena Liggins