Podcast Summary: All Of It – "Get Lit: Sarah Kinsley Performs Live"
Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guest: Sarah Kinsley
Date: December 12, 2025
Episode Theme & Overview
This episode of All Of It spotlights New York-based singer, songwriter, and producer Sarah Kinsley as the November "Get Lit" musical guest. Interwoven with live music, the conversation explores Kinsley’s creative journey, how her upbringing and classical training shaped her artistry, and the parallels she sees between songwriting and novel-writing. The episode centers on illuminating the personal and artistic growth behind her debut album Escaper, her musical roots, and her recent experiences performing live in New York.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Live Performance: "The Giver"
- [01:13-04:57]
- Sarah opens the episode with an emotive live performance of her song “The Giver,” setting a vulnerable and intimate tone.
2. Transitioning from Student to Artist
- Reflection on life changes post-graduation and career evolution
- (05:00-05:23)
- Sarah: “My career as a musician began when I was like 20 and I'm 25 now. And there's just a lot that happens in those years...I think my life has become a lot more grounded. I tour a lot more. There’s an understanding I have with the person I am here in New York and then the person I am when I leave. So that's clear.”
- Key Insight: The emotional and logistical complexities of becoming a full-time artist at a young age.
3. Songwriting vs. Novel Writing: Vulnerability & Storytelling
- Comparisons to book-writing and narrative construction
- (06:13-07:08)
- Sarah: “The arc of a character is not … that different than building the life of a song. … Songs are wonderful in the sense that you can just pour so much into them in the same way you do for a character.”
- Sarah: “It almost feels like authors … can maybe have a bit more leeway with saying, what's fiction? ... When you're a songwriter, it's … pretty obvious most of the time what you're writing about. … It feels maybe a little bit more vulnerable, but they're also both equally vulnerable.”
- Key Insight: Songwriting and novel-writing share a process of world-building and vulnerability, but songwriting’s directness can feel even more exposing.
4. A Peripatetic Childhood Shaping Perspective
- Sarah's global upbringing
- (07:16-08:01)
- Sarah: “I was born in California … moved to Switzerland … spent most of my life in Connecticut … moved to Singapore when I was 10 … came back to a different town in Connecticut, and now I live here.”
- Key Insight: Frequent moves as a child cultivated adaptability and broadened her cultural exposure, informing her music.
5. Embrace (and Limits) of Classical Training
- Classical music’s formative and ongoing influence
- (08:21-08:54)
- Sarah: “If you called me a classical musician now, it would be maybe, like an insult to classical music and also maybe to me ... I spent the first 15 years of my life playing in orchestras and playing piano ... classic Chinese American upbringing, but I loved it. And I still do. I listen to it a bunch still.”
- Favourite classical composers: Maurice Ravel, Chopin, Debussy (08:56-09:15)
- Key Insight: Classical roots gave her a foundation, but don't fully define her artistry.
6. Breaking Free: From Classical Rigidity to Pop & Synth
- Pushing against boundaries in music
- (09:21-10:25)
- Sarah: “I got really tired of classical music by the end. ... It had nothing to do with language. ... I was tired of restrictions. … Music theory was something I studied a lot of in college. … Sometimes I would say, ‘God, I love how this sounds.’ And teachers would be like, ‘Yeah, but that's wrong.’ … Being in New York, hearing jazz, playing guitar—it just led me down that path [to pop and synth].”
- Key Insight: Academic constraints pushed her towards experimenting and embracing new genres.
7. Live Music’s Power and the Disconnect of the Digital Age
- Recent secret shows and the meaning of live performance
- (10:35-11:21)
- Sarah: “I love them [secret shows] so much because I ... crave music that's real and in front of you. … The Internet makes me feel sometimes very detached from myself and from other people. … Introducing new music that’s never existed digitally ... in this setting was really cathartic for me.”
- Key Insight: Sarah highly values authentic, in-person musical experiences over digital ones.
8. "The King": Song Origins & Performance
- The song that changed her career
- (11:24-12:57, 13:02-16:37)
- Sarah (on writing "The King"): “Before every birthday, I would write a letter to myself to open the next year’s birthday. And when I was 19, about to turn 20, I was terrified of getting older. … I just really wanted to make a song that would pay homage to what it felt like to be a teenager and … feel so free ... This song was like an encapsulation of that wish and of that dream.”
- Live performance of "The King" (12:57-16:37)
- Key Moment: “I want to be the king.” (16:24; repeated lyric emphasizing autonomy and longing)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Identity as an Artist:
- “There’s an understanding I have with the person I am here in New York and then the person I am when I leave.” – Sarah Kinsley (05:23)
-
On Songwriting’s Vulnerability:
- “It feels maybe a little bit more vulnerable, but they're also both equally vulnerable, I think, in the same way, too.” – Sarah Kinsley (06:53)
-
On Classical and Modern Influences:
- “I love [Ravel]. I love Chopin and Debussy.” – Sarah Kinsley (08:56)
-
The Reason for Pushing Beyond Classical:
- “I was tired of restrictions … Sometimes I would say, ‘God, I love how this sounds.’ And teachers would be like, ‘Yeah, but that's wrong.’” – Sarah Kinsley (09:37)
-
The Essential Power of Live Music:
- “I ... crave music that's real and in front of you. … The Internet makes me feel sometimes very detached from myself and from other people.” – Sarah Kinsley (11:04-11:13)
-
Origins of Her Defining Song:
- “This song was like an encapsulation of that wish and of that dream [to feel free as a teenager].” – Sarah Kinsley (12:47)
Timestamps of Major Segments
- 00:09 — Introduction to Sarah Kinsley
- 01:13-04:57 — Live performance: “The Giver”
- 05:00-05:23 — Reflecting on personal and career changes
- 06:13-07:08 — Songwriting vs. novel writing discussion
- 07:16-08:01 — Sarah’s international upbringing
- 08:21-08:54 — Relationship with classical training
- 09:21-10:25 — Shift to pop and experimental genres
- 10:35-11:21 — Reflections on secret NYC shows and live music
- 11:24-12:57 — Story behind “The King”
- 12:57-16:37 — Live performance: “The King”
- 16:45 — Conclusion of the live set
Overall Tone
The conversation is open, reflective, and appreciative—celebrating the “realness” of live music, and the blend of vulnerability and ambition that fuels Sarah Kinsley’s work. The exchange is marked by mutual respect, gentle humor, and deep artistic insight, making it as compelling for creators as it is for fans.
For listeners:
This episode is a treat for those interested in the creative process, bridging classical and contemporary music, and the honest realities of building an artistic career in New York. Sarah’s performances and candid reflections capture the essence of being a young artist intrigued by both tradition and innovation.