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What does it actually take to build a music career when you’re independent, booking your own shows, funding your own music and haven’t gone viral?
lolitslea joins OurSpace to talk about carving out her own corner of modern pop punk, why she calls her sound “neon pop punk,” and the reality of trying to make it as an independent artist in 2026.
We get into the pop punk and emo resurgence, going from making pop music to finally embracing the sound she grew up loving, working with Kellin Quinn of Sleeping With Sirens, and how her chaotic life inspired “Rollercoaster Tycoon.”
But we also get into the side of being an independent musician that fans don’t always see: balancing money and time, working multiple jobs, booking shows through DMs, navigating social media fatigue, getting comfortable with rejection, and figuring out how to keep going when there isn’t a label making everything happen behind the scenes.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro clip
02:39 Welcome lolitslea
02:59 Warped Tour, earplugs & a chaotic week on the road
05:02 Playing internationally for the first time
06:09 Discovering Toronto’s music scene at NXNE
07:58 What exactly is “neon pop punk?”
09:43 Bringing the colorful 2000s pop punk sound into 2026
11:24 The pop punk resurgence & finding her authentic sound
14:20 Overcoming doubts about becoming a pop punk artist
14:58 “Lollipop” & finding acceptance in the alternative scene
15:48 How the Kellin Quinn collaboration happened
16:08 The unexpected community around Kellin Quinn features
17:04 Video games becoming part of lolitslea’s world
18:24 The story behind “Rollercoaster Tycoon”
19:35 Learning to write songs collaboratively
21:00 Building confidence in songwriting sessions
23:00 Moving from New Jersey to LA to Nashville
24:18 The exhausting day that inspired “Burnout”
25:54 Turning real emotions into songs
27:47 The hardest part of being an independent artist
31:22 “You either have money or you have time”
32:30 The misconception about lolitslea’s team
33:23 Booking shows through DMs
34:06 Does an artist need social media to succeed?
35:21 Why going viral isn’t her definition of success
39:58 Being extroverted in an industry full of introverts
40:53 Why artists should practice rejection therapy
43:17 Why “Exit Plan” is the perfect introduction to lolitslea
44:39 “Rollercoaster Tycoon” & the album
45:54 Artists Lea thinks you should hear
47:52 New music every month
48:12 “Summer ’09” is coming
What’s harder for independent artists today: finding the money, finding the time, getting heard online, or simply dealing with rejection? Let me know in the comments.
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