The Beaches recently joined host Megan Holiday for a special interview and performance, giving us a preview from the Helpful Honda Sound Space at KROQ in Los Angeles of what to expect while on the road on their current Blame My Ex Tour.

Canadian Alt faves The Beaches made their U.S. Billboard debut in 2023 with “Blame Brett,” helped along by TikTok which pushed the single to go viral and grab the attention of the likes of Demi Lovato, Mark Hoppus of blink-182, and more. Keeping the momentum going, Leandra Earl, Jordan Miller, Eliza Enman McDaniel, and Kylie Miller are currently on the road with G Flip as well as a number of dates supporting girlinred, making stops in the U.S, Australia, and Canada through September -- with a few festival dates thrown in as well.

Diving right in, the band discussed their most recent milestones; of course getting into their entire sold-out tour, including two shows at the iconic Troubadour in Los Angeles and a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “They were so cool. Obviously, growing up, we've heard about that venue and we know how infamous and iconic it is,” says Kylie. “So, to be able to sell it out and play it twice was such a crazy feeling --and we had a bunch of friends and family in the house yesterday. It was such a fun experience.”

“Yeah, we made my mom cry,” Jordan adds. “She was like gasping for breath, like so sad.” Adding to the emotional responses, Eliza admits, “Our manager cried when we did, ‘Kimmel,’ there's been a lot of major milestones just in the last like 48 hours, and then to do this here with you guys today is a dream too.”

It's all thanks to the tremendous success the group has seen since the release of their 2023 album Blame My Ex, which has without a doubt resonated on a deeply personal level with fans, highlighted by their single "Blame Brett," which was inspired by a real-life breakup. As host Megan notes, “When there is this good of a story behind a song, we have to tell it for people that may not know.”

Breaking down the track, Jordan explains: “I was in a relationship with this guy who is also in a big Canadian band, Brett [Emmons] from The Glorious Sons, and we broke up, and it was pretty brutal. We broke up during a very tumultuous time for us as a band. We had just been dropped by our label, we had just fired, our two managers, COVID had happened. It was a very difficult period for any musician, and then on top of that, like the person who I thought was gonna be my soul mate, broke up with me.”

After a chorus of boos from the crowd, Leandra clarified, “No guys, it’s OK. She's in love again,” which elicited a round of cheers -- and the rest of her bandmates to out her new flame, Ryan. “We’re not gonna blame Ryan,” Jordan says. “Not yet. Hopefully, this next sucker's happier.”

Jordan continues, “We had started writing what was gonna be ‘Blame My Ex.’ ‘Shower Beer’ had been written, ‘Kismet’ had been written... But, you know, once I had my heart broken, there was really nothing else I wanted to write about. I sort of used the record as sort of a way to interrogate my feelings, to figure out who I was without my partner.” Adding some clarity, she says “the album really isn't about my breakup with Brett, like the disillusionment of our relationship. It's more about what happens to a person when they have to start over. I think there weren't a lot of records from a female's perspective about that, and I was really interested in writing about that... the highs and lows of going through that kind of inexperience.”

It’s worth mentioning that Jordan did call Brett to find out if he would be OK with there being a song out there with his name on it. “He was very gracious about it," Jordan says. “I don't think he realized the hit it was gonna be! He had slightly different feelings once it started to go viral on TikTok, but he has since come around and he and his band have actually covered it.”

“It's been really nice that people have connected to the message of the song and it's helped them get through their break up,” Kylie says. “A lot of people have also dated, I think, bad dudes named Brett... It's hard to be a Brett in 2024.”

“Let me just reiterate,” Jordan interjects. “My Brett isn't that bad of a guy... he's OK.” However, Leandra was quick to correct her saying, “He's no longer your Brett.”

Fans should keep a look out for more music from The Beaches, who just laid down some new tracks while in Toronto. Although, Kylie admits, “We don't know when exactly it's gonna come out, but we figured we don't have a lot of time because we are touring so much that it seems like we need to take in the moments we have at home to make sure that we have music available for you guys. I think maybe by the end of this year we'll have a new song out at least.”

Don't miss The Beaches' full interview above, and stay tuned for even more action from the Helpful Honda Sound Space at KROQ right here on Audacy.

Words by Joe Cingrana Interview by Megan Holiday