For Little Simz, a festival performance is light work. Especially after the summer she’s been having. In the past four months alone, the UK rapper has taken the stage at a total of nine (!!) music festivals across the globe.

First came two weekends in Indio, California for Coachella – where she famously debuted a whole lot of Sugar Girl‘s then-unreleased tracks at a surprise DJ set alongside JT – followed by a hometown headlining set at Cross The Tracks in London, and then We Love Green in Paris.

Barcelona’s Primavera Sound marked a particular high point, Simz packing out a coveted 9:00 pm set time for one of the hottest European festivals of the summer. Denmark’s Roskilde closed out her June run of shows, before heading out to The Netherlands for Down the Rabbit Hole in July, and then graced us stateside in Chi-town for Lollapalooza.

But Simz isn’t here for long, as just 48 hours after her Thursday afternoon Lolla set, she jetted off again for a Friday set at the esteemed Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island, and then a Saturday set at Montreal’s Osheaga.

In her less than 24 hours in Chicago – and even lesser time spent in Grant Park – the rapper surely kept busy. Going into Lolla, Simz was scheduled for a standard set on one of the main stages, and to no one’s surprise, she killed it, delivering one of the most captivating performances of the festival’s first day.

To everyone’s surprise, however, Simz landed a second set that same day. As the gates opened on Thursday morning for the first of the four-day fest, Simz revealed she’d be hosting another performance later in the evening – and not just any additional set, an intimate DJ set at Patrón‘s immersive Hacienda PATRÓN activation. Before both sets, Simz sat down with Hypebeast to share more about her festival rituals, styling tips, and most-anticipated sets of the weekend.

 

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What do you do before every performance, no matter what?

Little Simz: My pre-performance ritual… I always need to go to the toilet. [laughs] And sometimes I don’t even really need to go; it’s just nerves, but it’s always—as soon as I’m about to go on stage, I’m like, “I need to go to the toilet.” [laughs] But other than that, I take it easy, just listen to some songs, kind of zen out my space a bit, and just go and do the thing.

What are you wearing today, and how do you sort of approach dressing for a festival?

Yeah. Today, I’m wearing this, um … I don’t even know … what would you call this? Anyway, I got it from Muji. Which, I never really go in there to look for clothing, I guess. But I went in there, and I was like, “Actually, this is all right.” And so, I just copped it. But yeah, I just try to go for things that I feel comfortable wearing that make me feel like, “Yeah, I feel good in this, I feel good in my skin, I feel like myself,” and that’s about it.

You’ve been on a big festival run recently, what’s your favorite festival memory of yours performing?

Man, yeah, it’s been a whirlwind of performances, but Primavera Sound was definitely a highlight for sure. Even just the site it was on, like, the water right next to it, it was so beautiful. I’m really looking forward to Lollapalooza. This is our first American festival of this run, so it’s nice to break it up – do Europe, UK, and then come over here and get different energy, you know? I’m really looking forward to it.

Who on the Lollapalooza lineup are you excited to see?

If I wasn’t like wedged in between these acts, I would have been gassed to see Blood Orange and Empire of the Sun. But I’m like slap bang in the middle, so I don’t know (laughs) if like I’m gonna make it. But yeah, it’s a sick lineup, though. It’s really cool, and even just as we were going around in like the buggy, the golf cart, just seeing the festivities, people are—genuinely feels like people are here to have a good time, you know? So, I very much look forward to being a part of it.

You’re performing two sets within just two hours. What are you most excited about?

Today’s a packed one, full of activities. First up, I’ve got my set, and then I get to spin some tunes at Hacienda PATRÓN. The set-up is beautiful; the architecture, how they’ve designed the space, really feels thought-out. It feels like they’ve considered the people spinning, the people coming to dance, the people pouring the drinks, the people just around the festival. I love it when architecture and design spaces do that and cater to everyone to make everyone feel like they’re important and part of the experience. I think it’s gonna be a vibe, man. Hopefully, the sun goes down nicely, it sets, and it’s just a big party.