Romania-born, Nashville-based dark romantic, Vlad Holiday is currently on his 2025 headline tour, after performing as an opening act for Cage The Elephant on their own tour across the United States.
Holiday took some time for a Q&A with SWOMP, after the recent show in Grand Rapids, Michigan at GLC Live at 20 Monroe.
SWOMP: We saw you perform for the first time at GLC Live at 20 Monroe in Grand Rapids, Michigan recently on Sunday, October 19, 2025. A beautifully sounding, quaint music venue and you really set the tone and had the audience really engaged. From your perspective, what was that night like up on stage?
VH: Thanks! I had a great time. I’ve played Grand Rapids maybe 4 times this past year, and it’s always very rewarding to come back to a place and see more and more people singing along.
SWOMP: You called Cage the Elephant “the best band in the world” on stage in Grand Rapids. What can you say about your connection with them — how you met, and what it was like working on Neon Pill together?
VH: I’ve loved the band for years, and got to meet them when Matt Shultz came to one of my shows in Nashville and asked to write some music together. Over the years he’s become my best friend and I love getting to work with him in any capacity.
SWOMP: You’ve got a packed tour ahead, including a stop in Winnipeg. What cities are you most looking forward to, and (considering we’re a Canadian publication) how does it feel playing shows north of the border, given your past performances in Canada?
VH: I’m definitely looking forward to the Winnipeg show. I opened for Cage The Elephant there last year, and it was the first arena show of my career. Super special
SWOMP: Congrats on your debut album “My Favorite Drug”, which isn’t quite a year old! How has the reception been so far, and for someone who hasn’t heard it yet, what do you hope they take away from it?
VH: Thank you! The reception has been great, which is nice considering it has a lot of extremely personal moments. I guess I hope people find something in there that they relate to and it makes them feel seen.
SWOMP: Your song “I Don’t Wanna Party Anymore” features Kacey Musgraves, while Cage The Elephant’s Matt Shultz can be heard on “Closer.” What did Kacey and Matt each bring to the songs they worked on?
VH: I’d been writing with both of them for a bit at that point, and they both bring such incredible energy along with them. I feel extremely lucky to call them my friends.
SWOMP: Your sound has been described as “heavily shaped by the weight of feeling like an outsider always on the move” and we’ve read your music aims “to find comfort in accepting the darker moments in life.” Is that an accurate reflection of how you see your music? Can you expand on that idea a bit?
VH: I don’t really think of those things while I’m writing, but I guess those things find their way into every song one way or another subconsciously, just because it’s the reality of my own human experience.
SWOMP: You openly sing about low moments in your mental health, substance abuse, the thin line between sanity and insanity, and cyclical patterns of familial abuse, but still bringing an element of love into life’s heaviest topics. Does writing about those darker themes help you process or confront them in any way?
VH: Writing about any heavy topics is very therapeutic. A little dangerous sometimes, because when I’m 100% in writing mode, I have a lot of guards down and am at my most vulnerable state. It can get a little extreme living there for too long.
SWOMP: You’re from Romania, lived in New York City and are now in Nashville. We’ve interviewed quite a few artists who are based in Nashville, but are focused on country music, which the city is most known for. What’s the Nashville scene like for artists outside the country world—for someone with your style and sensibility?
VH: I love being in Nashville and not playing country music. There’s so many artists here that aren’t in that world. I feel very respected amongst my peers here.
SWOMP: After this tour wraps, what’s next for you?
VH: I’m going straight back into writing mode and trying for another album in 2026.
Here are SWOMP’s photos from Holiday’s Grand Rapids performance:
For more details about Vlad Holiday visit https://www.vladholiday.com/.