INTERVIEW // Eva Westphal: Live from The Mercury Lounge

On February 15th, New York City-based artist Eva Westphal kicked off the Mercury Lounge’s Wednesday night show. Westphal, who has been songwriting since she was 13, has combined her love for writing with her classically trained background to create a distinct pop sound, which she explores through both English and Spanish lyrics. With her cleverly crafted storytelling and captivating voice, the 22-year-old is becoming a distinguished artist in New York’s music scene and on social media. While this is Westphal’s second time performing at the Mercury Lounge, it’s already become one of her favorite venues to play at.

On this particular night, the venue’s entrance welcomed attendees into their full-sized bar and merch stand, where “Eva Westphal Live at the Mercury Lounge'' crop-tops hung upon the wall. Inside the performance space, blue and gold lights filled the room, faintly outlining the amps and speakers scattered around the stage. By 6:30, Westphal had begun her set, starting with her first song of the night, “She’s Mine”. As Westphal began singing, “I love her the days she forgets to text back,” her soulful voice floated out onto the crowd filling the room’s blue haze.

“She’s Mine” is just one of the many projects Westphal has put out in the past two years. Originally released as a single in 2021, the song most recently appeared on Westphal’s EP Beautiful Little Life in May of 2022. While discussing her writing process for these projects, Westphal said, “I've been much more solid on my vision for each EP and each project, and what I want to say, so that's kind of just gotten me into the mindset of consistently releasing music.” She continued, “ I've noticed that when I lose steam is when I get less motivated, so I need to be on a release schedule to stay in it.”

Westphal truly has gotten into the mindset of consistently releasing music. Since Beautiful Little Life, the artist has released six new singles. One of her latest is “Henrietta’s”, a song that encapsulates Westphal’s experiences at Henrietta Hudson’s, a spot in the West Village that has coined itself as “a queer human bar built by lesbians.” While the song is produced as an upbeat, pop-dance track, Westphal performed the song with her acoustic guitar, joking that if the audience didn’t like this version, they should go check out the original. When speaking about the song, Westphal said, “I was literally at Henrietta's with my friends. They were wearing all black and leather and I was like, we can meet at Henrietta's, we can wear all black and leather, and that was something that popped into my mind.” In fact, writing about one small experience is a technique that Westphal applies to much of her songwriting. “Usually, a short burst of inspiration will lead me to build a whole song around something,” she explained.

Throughout her discography, Westphal has centered many songs around her sexuality, and experiences within the LGBTQ+ community, as well as mental health and body image. She explained that social media has given her, amongst many other independent artists, the accessibility to reach people with these messages. While she acknowledged that these topics can sometimes warrant backlash, she credits the support of her managers, friends, and family, who encourage her to express what she believes in and stand up for what’s right. While she reflects on her sexuality and mental health in songs like “I Miss The Closet” and “Things That Don’t Fit”, Westphal’s newest single “Understood” builds further on these ideas. She explained that the first part of the single details the loneliness and confusion she used to feel in high school and early college, when she wasn’t interested in guys like her friends were. However, the second part of this song focuses on how she no longer feels this way. As Westphal put it, “I think the rest of the song I wanted to kind of have an ode to the growth that I've experienced.”

As Westphal closed out her set for the night, she introduced “Understood” to the crowd. Mixing its witty wordplay with raw emotion, she sang, “If modern femininity is so wrapped up with them, what am I then?” As her voice rose above faint guitar strums, she finished by singing, “No one understood me until I met you and now I’ve met you.”

“Understood” is one of the final songs that is set to appear on Westphal’s upcoming EP, a project she plans to have out by the time she graduates college in May. As for what’s next, Westphal teased, “I'm already writing the next EP after this one… I'll start recording those songs and putting them out and start the next project right after.” Eva Westphal has no intention of slowing down anytime soon, and with her talent and determination, she is bound to take over the music industry.