Becoming Infinitely Tall With Charlie Burg
Interview and photos by Mary Perez
Graphic by Rebekah Witt
Charlie Burg’s latest album, Infinitely Tall, embodies lived experiences and memories captured within words and indie rock melodies. Soaring through places and people encapsulated in a coming-of-age soundtrack, the Michigan native has built quite a supportive fanbase over the years, and his most popular track, “I Don’t Wanna be Okay Without You,” boasts over 80 million streams on Spotify alone. The singer-songwriter sat down with us to discuss his performance at GovBall, recent album, and favorite albums.
Just to start off, how was your performance today? How were the fan reactions? What was it like getting to play GovBall?
It was really fun. Honestly, more fun than I expected. It was our first music festival, so first time playing with in-ears. That was a new experience. But yeah, I was pleasantly surprised at how well with how good the energy was.
Were there any songs in particular that you were surprised by fan reactions to?
“Lancaster Nights,” people tend to like that song. But this time, it felt like that was the song that kind of drew people in.
I saw a lot of your fans singing along and having a great time. What was it like getting to see their faces in such a big setting?
It was cool. Honestly, I've never been that high up above them. Yeah, usually I can directly look at them. But yeah, it was cool to just look out into a sea of faces.
Going back to 2022 and your album Infinitely Tall, what was it like getting to release that album and having your headlines tour? Were there favorite moments from that experience?
It was tough. I mean, there were a lot of new challenges because I started that album a couple of years ago. It went through a lot of changes before it became what it is now. First album, longest project I've ever done, that was cathartic in a way. Then the tour was my first headlining tour, so just a year of firsts. Experiencing all those new things and learning a lot along the way. I have a tank in my mind of things to do differently.
Even when you're creating new music right now, do you have something that you're trying to do differently compared to the album?
Yes, I'm certainly changing my approach to music creation, which involves more collaboration now, opening myself up to other minds and other methods of creation.
Do you experience any challenges when creating your music, especially since music is so personal and opens you up to different experiences with different people?
In the past, it has been my own music because if it's not coming for me, then I don't see a point. It's to understand myself, but that's shifting now. You know, I always love meeting new artists, but now for my own stuff, I'm more open to that creative process, if that makes sense.
Dream collaborator?
Oh, man, I want to make a song with Brent Faiyaz. We actually share the exact same birthday—perfect icebreaker. But yeah, he would be amazing. I'd love to work with Kaytranada. Jon Brion, if you know who that is. He's a producer. He worked on a lot of Coldplay and Mac Miller stuff.
Did you hear the new Kaytraminé?
Oh, yeah. Super cool. Yeah. It's very cool.
Back to Infinitely Tall, in the title track, you're talking about feeling “infinitely tall.” Are there other songs that evoke that same feeling for you?
“Purple Rain” by Prince. I sound like a broken record, but he's my hero. Most of his music just makes me feel like I could live forever. Also, “The Sweetest Taboo” by Sade. Okay, that makes me feel like I can just walk around with the utmost confidence and self. It's just a really cool song.
I noticed a lot of your songs have you writing about different places. Is there a reason that you draw a lot of inspiration from different areas?
I mean, I use music most of the time as a way to reconcile with my past and move on from it because sometimes it's hard to shake yourself and what you know the most and move into things that you don't know. This past album, in particular, centered around places and locations and feelings associated with those places so that I could let them go, if that makes sense.
Do you have any places in mind that you'd want to write about in the future?
I'm trying to move on from physical spaces. I'm trying to inhabit my body a little bit more and my presence.
Is there anything different that you're planning on doing for those shows and new surprises for fans?
Well, hopefully, more new music by the time tour rolls around, unreleased stuff. I'll be putting some stuff out this year hopefully, you know, lowkey keep it on the low. But other than that, I want to add harmonies and even more singing to my live set so people can expect hopefully a more fleshed-out arrangement.
Okay, that's very cool. A few fun questions. What's your favorite album of all time and a new release that you love?
Favorite album of all time? Might be really tough. Maybe Greatest Hits [by] Al Green, just grew up with that, or Abandoned Luncheonette [by] Hall and Oates. Honestly, I'm trying to do low input, high output these days. I really like the band Wednesday. They dropped fairly recently. I really liked them.
Do you have a favorite album when you're driving? I know a lot of people love to listen to music for the first time when they're driving.
I like american dream by LCD Soundsystem. Pure Heroine by Lorde.
I feel like I’m gonna start speeding if I heard “Ribs.” If you could invite a celebrity to your next show, who would you want it to be?
I would have Pharrell Williams.
Gotta ask him to produce some stuff for you.
One day, hopefully.
When fans recommend your music to new people, what do you hope is the first song that they recommend?
It's definitely going to be different than what they usually recommend. I would say either “Warm Rain Clap,” which is old, or “97 Avalon.”
What's your ultimate hype song?
I don't know. Maybe something by Lancey Foux like “DREAM” by Lancey Foux, or “I Wanna Be Your Lover” by Prince.”
Any messages you'd like to send your fans?
Thank you for your patience. I'm going to be expanding my sound in a way that might be a little confusing at first, but I really know that my fans feel the heart in what I do, and I really genuinely love them for that. Thank you.
Be sure to catch Charlie Burg on tour in the future, and keep an eye out for new music!