Actress and musician Mckenna Grace surprised fans, dropping a brand new single on the eve of her Lollapalooza debut.
The new “Swim Team” examines the idea of insecurity within a relationship, with Grace, 18, exploring new rock-oriented elements as she gears up for a Friday evening Lollapalooza performance on the BMI Stage as well as a late night aftershow alongside Blu DeTiger at Schubas (doors open at 10 p.m.; show starts at 11 p.m.).
Mckenna Grace spoke with the Sun-Times about the new single, a forthcoming EP and what connects the worlds of music and film.
Q. So, you got a chance to see Chappell Roan yesterday. What did you think?
A. I got up at 4:30 a.m. so that I could take an earlier flight just so that I could go and see her. It was so worth it. I was watching all of the videos afterwards on TikTok and had no idea that the crowd was so massive. Insane. I can’t believe that I was in there. I’ve never seen anything like that. It was incredible.
Q. Who else are you excited to see this weekend?
MG: So many people. I’m so excited. I’m really sad that I missed Blondshell yesterday. I was still flying in. She’s one of my favorite artists. I am gonna cry whenever I see Deftones — like my favorite band ever. Conan Gray is playing, which I’m really excited about. I saw Lizzy McAlpine. I’m super stoked to see TV Girl tomorrow. I’m really excited. I’m going to try and hit everything.
Q. I love the guitar part at the top of the new single. How did “Swim Team” come together?
MG: Yeah, it came out last night! I’m really stoked on it. Deftones was honestly a really big inspiration for me in creating that song. So, I’m especially excited to see them tomorrow. I love their guitar. But it’s about feeling insecure in a relationship because somebody’s had a relationship prior. That’s pretty much it. It’s so funny. We were in the car on the way over here and somebody tweeted, “Mckenna, what did they do to you?!” And I was like, “I don’t know. Look at another woman?” It’s just about feeling insecure in a relationship.
Q. Obviously, your song “Haunted House” can be heard on the “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” soundtrack. When we look at marrying those worlds of film and music, storytelling is such a critical component. What’s it like for you being able to work in both of those worlds in that way?
MG: I started out in acting. I’ve been acting for 14 years now. It’s basically my entire life. Music has been such an exciting and beautiful space to explore for me. Because it’s so much more personal. And I’m really getting to tell my stories — which is so weird to me that people want to listen to my stories. But it’s been really cool. I feel like they go hand in hand. Because, whenever I’m acting, I heavily rely on music to get into emotions and I make playlists for all of my characters. So, to me, it doesn’t feel too far off, those worlds. Those worlds are honestly so much more different than I thought they’d be. But they do go hand in hand. So, it’s been exciting.
Q. Well, I know you’ve got a new EP coming. What’ informed the songwriting?
MG: I have too many songs for my EP right now! There’s like three different versions of this EP right now. It’s either going in this direction, that direction or an entirely different one. So, it depends which songs I ultimately decide upon. But I am having a lot of fun exploring — like with “Swim Team,” playing around with more rock elements. Because that is something that my heart is near and dear too. So, I might be playing around more with that. But I can give you no other certain guarantee on anything!