Pixie Party
Written by Heather LaRose
Imagine creating an event that feels like a mix between Hannah Montana and Winx Club…epic, huh?
When Sierra Sikora asked me to be part of her tour traveling from Chicago all the way to Los Angeles, I very quickly said yes. The most fulfilling moments of my life have been on stage belting into the microphone and sharing my stories with teary-eyed audience members.
My name is Heather LaRose. I’m one of the youngest singer-songwriters honored by The Songwriter Hall of Fame. My dream is to see my name in lights across the globe, tour, and connect with people who love my music and resonate with my lyrics. . So far on my journey, I’ve opened for Lizzo, The 1975, and The Killers. I’ve been able to fund it all with the money I make doing LA odd jobs, singing Live on TikTok, songwriting for TV shows, part-time nannying and directing other artists’ music videos. A Jill of all trades, if you will.
Right now, being an indie artist is pretty cool. You can create any type of music you want and release it into the mystical black hole of the internet. No matter who you are and what you’re creating, there are going to be people who love what you’re doing. The more you create and release, the more people you end up interacting with and you can build an entire fan base all on your own. Then again, the phrase“ building a fan base” feels so outdated in the big year of 2026. The people that listen to and vibe with your music are really more friends and family than they are fans.
Sierra and I first met after my response song to Conan Gray’s“ Heather” went viral. We noticed that we both had some cool overlap in terms of the music we make , as well as the makeup of our fans. Then we realized we’ve both played similar stages at festivals like Lollapalooza, SXSW and Mercury Lounge in NYC. A few months before our LA show together, Sierra added Jenny Neu and Sequiona to a group chat to work out the details of what the show was going to be. We knew we wanted to book a venue that could do an all ages show, since so much of our audience is high school girls. Which by the way, finding a venue like that in Los Angeles is super tough.
In addition to locking in a venue, we also started flooding the chat with ideas for a theme. The concert needed to embody pure girlhood. We started throwing around concepts such as slumber party, summerween, decades, polka dot, fairytales… We eventually landed on the idea of a surreal and ethereal pixie party!
For a while, I felt like my community thrived on TikTok Live, but with so much of this modern music industry being driven by AI, I feel like real artists are craving fun, authentic and tangible third spaces: Olivia Rodrigo with Daisy Chain Fields, Beyonce with Cowboy Carter, Taylor Swift with her Eras Tour, Sabrina Carpenter with Short & Sweet, flowerovlove, hemlocke springs…but in my opinion no one has done show themes better than Chappell Roan herself. What we love about these shows is that we are able to sing, dance, laugh and cry in community. It’s very rare for young women, and young people in general, to find places they feel completely safe in.
When I asked Sierra what she was most excited about, she said:“ My shows are an extension of my music and the world that I have built around it online. I think that the setting and the vibe feels very“ me”, and the intimate nature of the shows really [allows] me to connect with fans on a deeper level than talking online or streaming. It’s incredible to hear people singing along to my songs.”
As the day got closer, the group chat filled with more meet up ideas, dinner plans, TikTok collabs, etc., By the morning of the show, we were 150 tickets away from selling out!
The morning of the show, after a failed attempt to bring on a stylist, and the most embarrassing TikTok Live“ dress reveal”, I hurled my butt down Lincoln Blvd to my favorite vintage shop. Ciao Cherub sits on the corner of Westminster Ave in Venice as the threshold to Abbot Kinney Blvd. The closet of Fancy Nancy, Barbie: Life In The Dream House, and the Winx Club girlies are brought to life here. Perfectly lined along the walls in the boutique are vintage Betsey Johnson, Cache, Sue Wong. I often go here just to get inspiration for photoshoots and stage wear.
When I entered, I knew exactly what teal dress I wanted. I’d tried it on the day before, and it had the perfect fey ruffling, rooching, and hemline. I tried it on once more just to feel the silk on my skin. Perfection. Now for the embellishments.
Naturally, I ran to Michael’s. For a creative girlie, the craft store can fix any and everything. In their scrapbooking section, there’s a whole bunch of goodies that you can add, but one of my favorite things to do is find cool and unique 3-D stickers and add it in as part of my wardrobe. I grabbed 10 packs of these shiny metallic monochromatic butterflies. I snagged several different color options and scrapbooking glue. While it’s very unhealthy for your hair, I like to glue them in, and it always looks awesome..
As I approached the venue, there was a line of fans about 30-people-long in their fairycore Pixie Party outfits. Elf pointed ears, gold embellishments, mixes of silk and velvet blurred together as I rounded the corner into the ally designated for artist parking. I wondered if I knew anyone waiting in line, decked out in their fantasywear.
The Mint. I love the smell of small venues. It’s this backstage theater smell mixed with decades of spilled mix drinks and core memory moments. This place has been a pinnacle of West Hollywood since its foundation in 1937. Tonight I was going to join the likes of Stevi Nicks, Gwen Stefani, Mick Jagger, Justin Timberlake and so many more.
The green room was a hodgepodge of each performer's team. I heard the ring of tuning guitars, a saxophonist noodling, and someone’s bassist making out with his girlfriend. I spread out all my butterfly stickers and invited all the girlies to use them as a little something extra to their outfits. It was a very Stella moment for me, if you know you know.
We were all glittering bright in the green room—sharing the same mirror, putting shimmering shadow all over our eyelids and highlighter on cheeks and collarbones, face gems where applicable. My friend Rachel ran back to pass me a gin and tonic while my hairstylist Micheal was crimping away at my hair extensions.
I kissed my British Boy over FaceTime and got ready to take the stage. I got my bestie Lina Cooper on bass. Who doesn’t love a chick bassist?! One of my college best friends and cowriters, Collin Keller. And a drummer I’ve never hired before but comes highly recommended, Benton Roswell. With our theme being Pixie Party, I knew I needed to open the set with“ Crush Curse”. It’s the sonic equivalent of 2004’s Ella Enchanted”. After a flourish of orchestral strings, my first line echoed through the concert hall,“ and what a true curse it is, to be a Jane Austen girl, in a Love Island world”. Tonight’s entire set is the story of my trials and tribulations, a lover girl in a world where love is fleeting at best.
The turn-out for this specific show was so special and sweet. There were a couple faces close to the stage that I recognized as girls that didn’t actually live in LA. The twins Amelia and Adinah were with their parents shouting facts about my intros before each song started. They drove down from San Francisco to be there. Others crossed state lines to come sing and dance on a Tuesday night with me! Grace and her mom drove in from Arizona. Cloe and her friends were decked out in sparkles.
As a singer-songwriter, the majority of the songs in the set were written entirely by me. However, my song“ Homecoming Queen” was written in a session with Collin, the guitarist, and I. Lina and I also have several songs together, though none of them are released… yet.
That night, I got to debut a new song with full production.“ How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days” is a tongue and cheek anthem. It draws from my real life experience—the guy I was dating literally did everything in his power to get me to be his girlfriend. Think fancy dinners, parties with friends, and even horseback riding in Malibu. He asked me to be his girlfriend while we were on the bluffs looking over the ocean, and we literally made it 10 days before breaking up. I’ve only ever posted about this song a few times, but I can look over and see Kat and Sumi in the crowd mouthing every word. The release date is September 25th and you can presave it here.
My eyes welled with tears as we went into my last song. It was nearly midnight at a 300 seat venue in the heart of the world’s entertainment capital and I was in a whimsical fairy wonderland. We invited all the girls up on stage. I was joined by Sierra, Jenny, and Sequoia, all of us in our glittering costumes. We bowed, and it was magical.
I just know the Winx girls would have been so proud of our Pixie Party Concert. I truly believe one of the joys of being an independent, DIY artist is leaning into your community and creating nights just like this.
