Earlier this week, indie pop quartet The Aces kicked off the Gold Star Baby World Tour, beginning with a little more than a month of North American dates, including a November 14th stop at Theatre of Living Arts. The tour — featuring support from Lydia Night of The Regrettes — follows the July release of Gold Star Baby, The Aces’ fourth full-length and metaphorical club, bringing a sapphic disco-pop party to anywhere one’s needed. Last Wednesday, just prior to hitting the road, I got a chance to chat with vocalist/guitarist Cristal Ramirez, drummer Alisa Ramirez, guitarist/vocalist Katie Henderson, and bassist McKenna Petty via Zoom, who tell me about everything that you should expect and prepare for the Gold Star Baby Tour.
*Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Izzy Cihak: You played a lot of really cool festivals recently. How were those shows?
Cristal Ramirez: Yeah! We played All Things Go in New York and DC. It was fuckin’ awesome. I think All Things Go does the most amazing job curating a space for a lot of women and queer people. We’re getting to a time where festivals are really starting to care about that, because they’re realizing that queer people and women are major, major consumers of music, and like superfans of artists. As an all-female, queer band, that experience is really special and so fun. We felt like we were in front of a crowd that really understood us, and that’s not always the case at festivals.
Izzy: Did you get to check out any particularly great sets?
McKenna Petty: Doechii! Doechii was insane.
Cristal: I also thought Rachel Chinouriri was amazing. We were just running to try to watch everybody, because the whole lineup was people we’re fans of. Djo was awesome! There were so many people that we were loving.
Alisa Ramirez: I liked seeing Lucy Dacus marry a bunch of couples onstage, too!
Izzy: For you, how do festival shows compare to your own headlining shows? I know they’re different in so many ways, but I actually hear so many different takes on this from artists.
Alisa: It’s a total different energy. A headline set’s kind of like you’re at home. Everyone there already loves you, they already know your music, so you can go deeper with it. We just finished designing the show for this headline tour, and that feels like a celebration, the shared love for the project. That feels like homebase, but a festival, there’s an excitement, because you know there’s a lot of people in the crowd who have never heard of you, so you’re giving a first impression. As a band that grew up gigging in local clubs, and we’ve toured extensively for eight years on opening slots and things like that, we definitely have a festival or opener mode that we can go into, like, “What is our most banging 30-minute set, where we just come out swinging?” It’s more of a challenge, but it feels really exciting sometimes to go on a stage where you kind of have to prove yourself a little bit.
Izzy: Over the summer, you released Gold Star Baby, your fourth full-length… You’ve talked a lot about the concept behind the album, but how do you feel like the album compares to previous releases in terms of the writing and recording process, if that’s kind of evolved?
Cristal: It was completely different. Gold Star Baby was written almost by just the four of us. There were a few songs with other producers and other people, but Katie produced the majority of the record, and me and Alisa and Katie and McKenna conceptualized the whole thing together. We’re writing, for the first time, just as four, from production to lyrics to melodies to everything. I think that was really scary. There was this confidence that we had to step into, because we’d never done that before.
We would just show up to Katie’s studio – she had a small room in her apartment that she turned into a studio – day after day after day after day, and just write. I think we were able to, lyrically, tap into our personal voices and say things the way that we would’ve said them, versus how we felt like we maybe should have said them. The whole experience was really personal and really special and really different than any other record making process before.
Izzy: Have you had any favorite fan reactions to the music so far?
Katie Henderson: I love that people are loving the phone call interlude on the record and what that alludes to. For the tour, we wanted to do that to kind of give dialogue towards the energy of the show, what you should wear to the show, stepping into, “You’re coming to The Aces’ club, and we’re gonna have a good time!” To have people pick up on that has been really fun. I’ve loved that reaction.
Cristal: There’s definitely an excitement around this record, an excitement for the shows. There always is, but there’s something a little different this time, where I think everyone’s like, “It’s gonna be so fun! I know exactly what I’m wearing!” I feel like the energy around it is gonna be electric and super fun! I think everyone’s just gonna come and dance! Even rehearsing these songs for the past week, I find myself moving in a way onstage that I don’t think I’ve moved! I’m like, “Oh, it’s so fun! I just wanna dance! I just wanna move!” It all feels really infectious.
McKenna: I feel like this record was created to be played live. When we were making it, we were just thinking of how fun it would be to play these songs live and all the live moments we could have. Rehearsing it, it even more feels that way. I think it’s gonna feel like the full loop of finally manifesting it onstage, everyone dancing together, creating that space for everyone. I’m really excited!
Izzy: And what can be expected of the live show? I mean, it is kind of a perfect album for a live show, because it is a nightclub!
Cristal: Totally! The show’s gonna be so fun! I don’t wanna give away too much, because I want everyone to come to the show…
Katie: I want the show to feel like a relief for people from their crazy week, something they’re looking forward to, dressing up in maybe a way that they wouldn’t dress up every single day. I hope that it’s a reason and an excuse to come and have a lot of fun and forget the worries of the world a little bit and dance with us and sing. The whole set is just really high energy and fun and groovy and light-hearted. We’re gonna have certain moments where we just get a banter with each other and the crowd. I hope it feels like you came to hang out with your best friends, and also a little bit of an escape from daily life.
Izzy: You’ve referenced getting dressed up, so I’m curious if there’re any particular things that you love to see people wear out to shows, or certain styles that you get excited to see fans in? I think too many artists are like, “Wear whatever feels comfortable!” but this is like a nightclub, everyone should kind of do it up!
Cristal: I think you gotta do it up! I think you gotta wear the thing that you’ve always wanted to wear, but that you were scared to wear. Wear what you really wanna wear, but that you have always felt like, “Ugh, is it too much?” or, “I can’t really ‘pull it off…’” You gotta just go for it! We want glitter! More than anything, I just want people to feel sexy! Wear something that feels like you’re pushing it.
Katie: A little daring!
Izzy: This is a Philadelphia publication, and you’ve played here a lot over the years, both headlining and as support on some really cool tours. Any thoughts on the city or memories that stand out?
Katie: We have a tour story that I’ll never forget that happened in Philly! It was Friday the 13th, and we lost power in the whole venue. And it was so spooky. The whole venue just went [sound of power going out] right in the middle of a song. That was really fun! It was a very Halloween-y feeling.
McKenna: That was at Brooklyn Bowl!
Cristal: The one thing I remember was it going out in the middle of “My Phone Is Trying To Kill Me,” and how loud the crowd sang that back… It was so cool! I just looked at them, and everyone was screaming! The crowds in Philly are so passionate and so excited and so down!
McKenna: We’ve also had some of the best food in Philly. The last time we were there, we went to the yummiest, really nice, modern restaurant, Kalaya. It was so good!
Katie: I had like a ceramic elephant cocktail; it was amazing!
Izzy: On that note, you have about a month of upcoming North American dates, then a few weeks in Europe in February. Are there any dates you’re especially excited about, or cities that you’re especially excited to revisit?
Cristal: I’m so excited to go to New York and Chicago, obviously, San Francisco…
Katie: Philly, of course…
Cristal: Philly, of course! Paris is always amazing. The UK is always so much fun, our fans are always so passionate there… I think we’re just stoked. I’m just so excited! I think it’s gonna be such a fun tour, and I really hope that people have a good time, because I’m gonna have an amazing time [laughs].
Katie: I’m excited to play LA, too. I love when we get the chance to play where we live. It’s really fun.
Izzy: For the US dates, you’ll be on the road with Lydia Night, who’s so rad. I mean, The Regrettes were obviously great, but I dig her new solo record. What are your thoughts on her and her music? Are you excited to hang out every day and night for like a month?
Cristal: Totally! We just went to dinner and got gin martinis and hung out, and she’s fucking awesome! She’s so sweet. And she’s gonna be on our bus! So, we’re gonna have a slumber party every night! It’s gonna be amazing. She’s super talented and super nice and I think our fans will really like her. We really think about that when we pick opening artists, like, “Who are our fans gonna like and who is gonna grab their attention and they’re gonna become fans of?” That’s super important. I think Lydia’s kind of prefect for that, and I think she’s gonna kill it.
Izzy: You’ve done a lot of touring over the past decade. What are some of your favorite things about getting to be out on the road, in addition to playing the shows themselves?
McKenna: We were talking about it last night, like our rider and our little meals that we make. I feel excited to build out my perfect everyday tour routine. Like, you are going to Whole Foods so much and getting fun little treats and having late nights in the bus! It’s just fun! It’s like summer camp, almost!
Katie: You get to be a nomad for like five weeks. This is our fourth or fifth time we’ve been able to tour the entire country, so when you start to go back by this point, it becomes familiar, and I think that’s such a privilege. You get to go back to old favorites and explore the cities even further. I love that we get to do that.
Izzy: Not to detract from your own music but, considering that we’re nearing the end of the year, I’m curious if you’ve had any favorite music of 2025?
Cristal: I have been listening to so much Sombr. I love him! I think he’s so brilliant. I’ve been listening to him kind of constantly… My favorite thing that anyone has done in a very long time is the Lily Allen record. I am so obsessed, and she just dropped dates in the UK, and I’m like, “I have to go to that!” She’s performing, top-to-bottom, the whole record!
Katie: That record is like one of the coolest things I’ve heard in a long time, too… With the spirit of the record, I’ve been listening to a lot of hyperpop stuff [laughs], like Kim Petras and COBRAH. I honestly love looping that shit… It just makes me feel sexy and fun!
McKenna: I’ve been listening to a lot of Lola Young’s new album, and also Dijon; I really like their new album. Good indie pop!
Izzy: Finally, you have a couple months between when the North American tour wraps and when you start the shows overseas. How are you hoping and planning to spend the very end of 2025 and beginning of 2026, whether relating to music or just relaxation?
Crista: I think we’ll go do the Gold Star Baby Tour, party our asses off and play great shows, and that’ll be awesome, and then it’ll be nice to come back and do some holidays and some downtime. But then our next year picks up and we’re in Europe and the UK, and then we’re on tour with Louis Tomlinson all over the United States in arenas, which is a huge opportunity and we’re so excited about it! And then our fall and summer, I’m sure, will be festivals and touring. So, I think we’ll probably be just kind of getting ready and resting as much as we can, because I think 2026 is gonna be a really busy year. It feels really fun to get to finish off this year with our own little club tour for Gold Star Baby, and then rip into next year and do some big shit. So, we’ll probably be sleeping a lot of December, and sleeping a lot of January, and then we won’t sleep for like a whole year probably [laughs].
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