Hanging out backstage at the Hard Rock Artist Lounge ahead of her performance at Audacy’s We Can Survive 2024, Tate McRae caught up with Bru, to reminisce about the last time she was on the We Can Survive lineup, talk about touring, open up about mental health, and more.
LISTEN NOW: Backstage with Tate McRae at We Can Survive 2024
Bringing up that Tate performed at We Can Survive “a couple years ago,” Bru asked the singer to talk about “the journey from there to here.” Going from “opening up the show,” to “now everybody here” being “so excited just to see you.”
“I feel like a totally different performer from then,” Tate said of her 2022 set at the annual Audacy event. “Like, I was just starting to dance there. I was just starting to like, implement it and figure out how it worked with my song. So I feel like we’ve come a long way since then.”
With the North American leg of her Think Later Tour over and done, after Tate’s We Can Survive set, the next time she’ll hit the stage will be headed to Asia for a 4-date addition. Recapping how tour life has been thus far, Tate admitted, “This was my favorite tour by far I've ever been on. I mean, I was playing like my biggest venues I've ever played… just lots of memorable shows.”
“I was really proud of the show we presented, the whole set, the setlist. I felt like it flowed really well.” Adding, “I feel like touring has now become like one of my favorite parts of all of this.”
Tate also chatted about her All Star hockey coaching gig, ahead of which she pleaded for advice and “opinions” from her brother. “I got put into this coach slot and I literally like know nothing. I know like four players. Like we go to family hockey games, but I don't know the game,” Tate shared. “So I was like, ‘please don't look stupid, I don't know what I'm doing.’" Going on to note that ultimately, “we were just having fun with it, my dad made me a little clipboard of all the names and what they're good at.”
Bru also had Tate play a quick game of Tate’s McRaziest Experience, during which Tate revealed her craziest experience on a vacation — which took place in Bora Bora and involved a jet ski, her BF The Kid LAROI, and massive 10ft whales. Her craziest songwriting session — which was when she wrote “exes,” “in like 30 minutes.” And lastly, her craziest concert — which was in “Seattle at the beginning of this tour,” Tate shared. “We hadn’t tried out any of the electronic things yet and everything broke.”
We Can Survive continues Audacy’s mission to support mental health via I’m Listening and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) -- because talk has the power to save lives. Tate opened up about what she does to maintain her mental health in such a demanding and unpredictable industry.
“I mean, obviously I have an outlet which is writing. If I didn't have writing, I would not be in the position I am today. Music is definitely the thing that I reach to whenever I'm hitting like my lowest points,” McRae revealed. “But then I also just think having a good support system, your family, your friends, making sure you trust them and they fill you up is really important.”
Acknowledging that there still might be some lingering stigma that “talking about your emotions is like a sensitive or annoying thing to do,” Tate stressed the importance of “being open with yourself and honest, and honest with your friends too,”
“Have conversations, none of it's embarrassing,” she said, insisting that the idea of not wanting to share in order to feel cool in front of your friends, “that's so overrated.”
Echoing the aim of Audacy’s I’m Listening initiative to share valuable resources for those who need to connect, heal, and share their own stories, Tate encouraged those who are dealing with mental health issues to understand they are not alone. "I feel like just being honest with each other and being your authentic selves is the only time that you're gonna feel actually fulfilled in a friendship. Then you actually can see what your friends are going through, otherwise… you don't really know your friends and you don't really know yourself.”
To catch the entire conversation, listen to the interview above.
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