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Børns Demonstrated His Undeniable Charms at Intimate Lollapalooza Performance

Consider Børns the love child of The Darkness and early MGMT. He writes brilliant pop songs that worm their way into your heart in an instant. Each track from Candy is an infectious wonder begging for sing-a-longs. “We definitely pushed ourselves to – production-wise and songwriting-wise – create a very creative pop record,” Børns added. “We both really like pop music, like interesting pop references from the 60s and 70s. But also new production methods and stuff makes music sound more interesting.” And after taking a quick look at the audience lined up outside of the Toyota Music tent on day one of Lollapalooza before Børns’ set attested to this.

For the packed performance, Børns played a charming, acoustic mix of tracks from his EP including “Electric Love,” as well as a smattering of covers. One cover in particular – “Blue Moon” – was a lovely dedication to the uber rare blue moon that eventually rose that night. “My mom’s really into astrology and she’s always telling me about the moon cycles and stuff like that,” Børns said. “She was like, ‘Blue Moon’ on Lollapalooza. This is good energy for you. So that’s why I chose to do a classic.”

Børns’ success, both on this small stage and in general, is not a fluke. From an early age, art mixed seamlessly into Garrett Borns’ everyday life. Whether it be the allure of magic or the power of gaze of the filmmaker, Garrett Borns has found flexing his imagination to be the best fuel for his burgeoning creativity, exploring a wide variety of artistic pursuits. Now, he is in the midst of his biggest artistic endeavor yet: musician.

Last year saw the release of Børns ‘ debut EP, Candy and with it, an explosive amount of success. Everything about Børns, from his dreamy back story as something of a musical savant to his idyllic Air BnB turned semi-permanent treehouse abode to his long, luscious locks, would draw even the most casual of fans. But it is the music that truly allows Børns to make a name for himself.

Now, after a successful spring tour with MisterWives, Børns is back on the road with Charli XCX and Bleachers, and the next year-and-a-half will be booked with touring engagements. He is staying busy, something he’s done for most of his life, so he doesn’t regret his now-packed schedule. “It’s been a party. Those guys are awesome,” Børns said about his tourmates. “It really refreshes your thoughts and puts you in a different space where you don’t need a lot.”

But the tour won’t completely distract him from his next big goal, creating and releasing his debut album. “Anytime I have downtime on the tour, I’m in the studio,” he added. This new album will sound sonically similar to the Candy EP, focusing on the pleasures of pure pop music and aiming for hi-fi over the very popular lo-fi aesthetic of today. “I’d really like for people to hear it and have it subconsciously stick in their mind,” said Børns. “I just love catchy melodies.”

Meeting deadlines and working with a label are all new things for the singer-songwriter, but he doesn’t feel pressure. Instead, he thrives on a challenge, and packing in a new album while travelling across the country is one he aims to defeat. “I guess it’s good pressure. You don’t have time to second guess things. A lot of times you have to go with your first instinct, which is a good thing.”