Get Lit: Sarah Kinsley Performs Live

Summary

Podcast Summary: All Of It – "Get Lit: Sarah Kinsley Performs Live"

Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guest: Sarah Kinsley
Date: December 12, 2025

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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.

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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)

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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)

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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

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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.

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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.

Transcript

[Sarah Kinsley]

Foreign.

[Alison Stewart]

You are listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. Sarah Kinsley is a New York based singer, songwriter and producer who just wrapped up a national tour with a couple of secret shows right here in New York. Her album is titled Escaper and the Guardian said she is one to watch. Sarah joined us as our November get lit musical guest and in just a bit you'll hear her talk about the connection she sees between writing a novel and writing a song. But first, here she is with a special live performance of her song the Giver from our get lit with all of it book club event.

[Sarah Kinsley]

Your life that is just stomach aching fake. When you taking a pill, he leaves when it's done you forget when he doesn't get home tell your friends you don't really mind being alone. You are the one who can change him, satiate him. I'm the giver he says me too. He is hungry for someone who doesn't know who I'm a giver or am I a fool? He forgets the words so I teach him to say I love you. He turns around when you're naked says we shouldn't be friends or you changing, you know not have dressed he says.

It'S for the best and you know you're really not like the rest.

So we part our lips for the taking but if these lips could open they'd scream I want to love you like a mar. Like I don't need sa But I'm a giver and he is immune. He is hungry for someone but doesn't know who I'm a giver he is the moon and I reach and I reach and I forget. With God who loved you. Sam. Are you hungry for me, baby? Are you hungry? Are you hungry for me, baby? Are you hungry for me? Satan.

[Alison Stewart]

Hi.

[Interviewer]

Do you want to. Do you want to stay there or you want to come over?

[Sarah Kinsley]

I can come over.

[Interviewer]

Come on over. Yes, you're allowed. Life has changed so much for you. You graduated from Columbia in 2022. You released your debut album. You've been on tour. When you think about what the past few years have been like, what's changed the most and what stayed the same.

[Sarah Kinsley]

Yeah. I mean, yeah, it's. It's really strange. I think that 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 at the beginning it was really overwhelming. It's. It's strange to be a musician now. I think I Guess it always has been, but it's. It's even weirder now. But I don't know. I think. I think my life has become a lot more grounded. I tour a lot more. There's a. 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.

[Interviewer]

I think you heard us talking to Susan about writing a book. What was interesting to you as someone who writes songs?

[Sarah Kinsley]

I mean, I think the process just. It sounds very similar in many ways, but also, like, completely different. I think the arc of a character is not, you know, that different than building the life of a song. I think that songs are. Are wonderful in the sense that you can just pour so much into them in the same way you do for a character, but it almost feels like authors and writers. Yeah, you could. You can maybe have a bit more leeway with saying, what's fiction? And I think when you're a songwriter, it's. It's pretty obvious most of the time what you're writing about. Unless you're, you know, like, my favorite band of all time is, like, the Cocteau Twins, and they don't say anything. So. Yeah, you don't even know what they're talking about most of the time. So I think that it feels. Yeah, it feels maybe a little bit more vulnerable, but they're also both equally vulnerable, I think, in the same way, too.

[Interviewer]

One of the characters in the book has to move around a lot. She moves to Japan, and you moved around a lot as a little kid. Tell us all the different places you live.

[Sarah Kinsley]

Oh, yeah. Thank you, dad. Yeah, I was born in California, and then when I was about, I guess, five months old, we moved to Switzerland for my dad's job. Don't remember that at all. And then I spent most of my life in Connecticut in a town called Branford, which is pretty boring and really classic suburban life. And then I moved to Singapore when I was 10. I was there for a little bit. So I kind of consider. I guess I consider myself from both of those places, but I really spent about seven years of my life, seven or five years in both. And then I came back to a different town in Connecticut, and now I live here.

[Interviewer]

So you've been around.

[Sarah Kinsley]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

In the book, it's mentioned that one of the characters grew up with classical music in the household. And sometimes you were called a classically trained musician. Do you like that? Or does that. Is that too much of a box to put you into?

[Sarah Kinsley]

Oh, no. It's fact, you know, it's just true. I think if you called me a classical musician now, it would be maybe, like an insult to classical music and also maybe to me because that's. It's not maybe accurate now. But, yeah, I spent. I mean, I spent, like, the first 15 years of my life playing in orchestras and playing piano. And it was sort of classic Chinese American upbringing, but I loved it. And I still do. I listen to it a bunch still.

[Interviewer]

Ooh, who do you like to listen to?

[Sarah Kinsley]

I actually, I was talking about this yesterday because of the Spotify, like, thing that wraps up what you've been listening to. But my, like, my number two artist was Maurice Revelle, who's, like, my favorite composer. I love him. I love Chopin and Debussy.

[Interviewer]

So, yeah, I like Debussy.

[Sarah Kinsley]

Yeah. Pretty good stuff.

[Interviewer]

So when did you decide to branch off into pop and synth?

[Sarah Kinsley]

Yeah, you know, I got really tired of classical music by the end. I found it. I found it really beautiful and fulfilling. And I was really grateful to be introduced to music that way because it had nothing to do with language. Like, there's no lyrics in that kind of music. So you just. You fall in love with melodies, and you fall in love with sounds. And then I went to college, and when I was in high school, I started listening to a lot of different stuff. And I. Yeah, I was tired of restrictions. I think music theory was something I studied a lot of in college. And it was tough. Cause sometimes I would say, God, I love how this sounds. And teachers would be like, yeah, but that's wrong. Like, it's just not what I'm looking for. And I don't know. I think I was. I was in New York for the first time. I was listening to. You know, people in my class were playing jazz. People were going to shows. People were having shows in basements. And I was learning how to play guitar. So it just kind of all. I think it just led me down that path. Instead.

[Interviewer]

You just got off tour, but you had a couple of secret shows in New York at Baby's.

[Alison Stewart]

All right.

[Interviewer]

What was it like to wrap up your shows in that space?

[Sarah Kinsley]

Oh, it was very beautiful. I went to so many shows at Babies when I moved here about seven years ago. And, yeah, we did these two sort of really intimate nights. I played a bunch of new music, and it was fun. I think that. I think I love them so much because I, like a lot of other people, just crave music that's real and in front of you. And I think there's nothing like live music. And the Internet makes me feel sometimes very detached from myself and from other people. And getting to introduce new music that has never existed digitally yet, you know, in this setting was really cathartic for me.

[Interviewer]

Tell us what our next song we're going to hear from you is.

[Sarah Kinsley]

I'm going to play you a song called the King, which is kind of the song that began my whole career.

[Interviewer]

Sarah Kinsley.

[Sarah Kinsley]

Thank you. I wrote this song. I used to do this thing, which I still do, and I would highly recommend it if you don't, if you've never done it before. But 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 still am. And I wrote down this wish. I just. I really wanted to make a song that would pay homage to what it felt like to be a teenager and to just be so. Feel so free and feel like you could do anything if you could, you know, put your mind to it. And this song was like an encapsulation of that wish and of that dream. So it brings me back to a very special time, I think, in my life. But this is a song called the King.

I built a time machine to see.

[Alison Stewart]

Again.

[Sarah Kinsley]

To hear your phone call your voice down the hall the way we were back then. We were dancing in the rain our feet on the pavement. You said I was your second tip. I knew exactly what you meant.

[Alison Stewart]

Second?

[Sarah Kinsley]

You tell me before we get older. Let's do everything you're scared of when it's over. You're still young and you're still free. I wanna be the king of praise your heart let's fall apart and start again? You see the end of me. I built a castle far away in the sand. We were higher than we knew. With nothing to lose on church washed away in our hands. And you said you could never love again? Well, it must have been faith then. Cause I know exactly how it ends. So tell me before we get get older. Let's do everything you're scared of when it's over. You're still young and you're still free? I wanna be the king your heart let's fall apart and start again? You see the end of me. I wanna be love K.

[Alison Stewart]

Me.

[Sarah Kinsley]

I want to be the king.

Thank you so much.

[Alison Stewart]

That was Sarah Kinsley with a performance of her hit song the King from our November get lit with all of it book club event.

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