LILA HOLLER: UNDERGROUND RADAR

Contributed by LJ Portnoy, Editor-in-Chief

Photo of Lila Holler, Photographed by Tashi Dema

Lila Holler writes like she’s slowly unfastening something fragile inside herself. Her sound shifts between indie pop glow and alt-folk vulnerability, shaped by a life spanning coasts, climates, and now continents. That constant motion shows up in her music as shifting light and quiet self-redefinition, the kind that comes from picking yourself up and starting again in new places until you learn what feels like home.

A core part of her artistic framework formed at Interlochen, where she studied songwriting among filmmakers, dancers, visual artists, and musicians of every style.

“Being surrounded by so many creatives changed everything,” she says.

“I played glockenspiel on stage once. I wrote for other people. I collaborated with film students. It showed me what art can be.” Interlochen also gave her a grounding philosophy. “It’s not a competition. Uplifting each other makes everything better. There’s space for everyone.”

A Writing Style Fueled by Instinct: This is Lila Holler

Most of Lila’s songs arrive fast and fully emotional. The Way I Am Now, her upcoming single, appeared in about thirty minutes on her bed with a guitar in a strange tuning.

“That’s when I know it’s going to be a good one,” she says. “When the whole thing spills out at once.”

She writes alone first, when she can “unzip her skin,” as she describes it, and let the emotion take shape before overthinking it. Then she sends a demo to her collaborator Jessica Taylor in North Carolina. Virtual collaboration brings unexpected ideas she might have rejected too early in person. Studio sessions bring control and clarity. She thrives on both.

“I’m still experimenting. I want to be hands-on, but I also love being surprised.”

Her writing is evolving as her life stabilizes. “I’ve been in a long-term relationship, and everything feels secure. There isn’t chaos to write about, which is great for life but not always great for material.” So she is stretching outward, drawing from friends’ experiences, films, overheard moments, and imagined scenarios. Her songs now feel wider and more cinematic, with a narrative scope that goes beyond her own heartache.

Letting go of pressure is part of the growth too. When her first EP gained traction, she tried to keep fueling the momentum. “I wasn’t creating for myself anymore. I was scrapping ideas immediately because I thought, ‘I wouldn’t put this on Spotify, so why finish it?’” She took a step back. She let herself breathe. And in that space, she wrote not just a new single but an entire new project. “My artistry means more than momentum,” she says. “Taking time helped me catch up to myself.”

Finding Her Voice in a Changing Industry

Being young and ambitious, especially as a woman in pop, comes with its own kind of turbulence.

“I get underestimated a lot,” she says.

“People don’t take you seriously when you’re a young woman making pop music. But I take it seriously. This matters to me.”

She has learned to protect her space, trust carefully, and call things out when she can. “Cautious discretion is rule number one. You can be kind and also selective.” Collaborating with women has become a safe creative ecosystem for her, one that offers understanding, support, and a shared awareness of the dynamics she faces. “There’s a comfort in knowing you’re not the only one who feels it.”

Photo of Lila Holler, Photographed by Tashi Dema

Her vision extends far beyond music itself. Activism is woven directly into her identity as an artist. “I want to speak out consistently and fundraise for causes I believe in. I’d feel selfish being in a position of power and not doing something with it.” Her first show will support a trans rights organization, and she intends to keep that kind of advocacy embedded in her career from the beginning.

At the center of this growth is The Way I Am Now, a song about self-acceptance, mental health, and the emotional vulnerability of asking someone to love you through every version of yourself.

“Be kind to yourself,” she says. “Your self-talk changes your life.”

What Comes Next

A full visual project is planned for March 2026, complete with a mapped-out rollout that marks her most intentional era yet. “I have an Excel sheet for the first time,” she laughs. “We have a whole plan.”

More music is already taking shape in the background. Touring will come when the timing feels right. For now, Lila Holler is building something honest, cinematic, emotionally resonant, and unmistakably her own.

And wherever she goes next, it’s clear she’s carrying fire with her.