Spencer Sutherland

Interview & Article by Brittany Ormiston

Photo by Everly Ormiston

“Welcome to the ‘What A Shame Tour’. I’m Spencer.” The one and only Spencer Sutherland leaned on the microphone stand and looked out into the crowd with sparkles in his eyes. He was home. He was back on stage performing for fans again at his hometown show in Cincinnati, OH. Sutherland was overjoyed to be finally back on tour and performing his new music for the very first time. “In a few words it’s been magical. Outstanding. Wonderful. I appreciate it so much more because I have been deprived of touring for so long. It’s almost like I’ve been let out of a cage. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. This is my favorite tour so far,” stated Sutherland. He did not take a second of tour for granted from the gas station food runs to the quality time spent with his crew before each show.

The Cincinnati stop on the ‘What A Shame Tour’ was special in more ways than one. It was evident Sutherland and his band spent extra time preparing for the live shows. They incorporated smooth transitions between songs to maintain the crowd’s high energy level and keep everyone on their toes. Sutherland kicked things up a notch by performing different renditions of two newer tracks. He effortlessly delivered a soulful, mesmerizing version of ’Help’ accompanied by the harmonies of his bandmates Jordan Millisor, lead guitarist, and Andrew Willard, keyboardist. Sutherland then picked up his acoustic guitar and started to sing the lyrics to ‘Indigo’, which quickly transformed into a cover of ‘The Climb’ by Miley Cyrus. Sutherland continuously blew the minds of fans, but he was not prepared for the fans themselves to surprise him even more. He witnessed the crowd scream the chorus to ‘Sweater’ at such an intense level that he later noted, “Cincinnati. Loudest crowd of my life.” At the end of the night, the fans brought Sutherland to tears as they sang the lyric “I built this house and you made it a home” as they swayed their flashlights.

Sutherland continued to rave about the Cincinnati show the next day on social media, and bonded with fans about how unbelievable it was. He has always treasured the relationships with each one of his fans. Over the years, fans have had the pleasure of following Sutherland’s journey and watching him transform into the artist he is today. A number of these fans in particular have consistently begged him to release ‘Shame’ and ‘Lemons’ since performing them live countless times. He finally released both tracks this year specifically because he wanted to give the fans what they wanted. “It’s all about the fans. It’s the fact that after two and a half years they still come to my shows...I knew I was going to tour for the past 6 months, so I wanted to drop the songs that they love and I love,” gushes Sutherland. The fans can look forward to even more music in the near future as a new album has been in the works. Sutherland shares, “It’s been really...good. We’ve really been hitting a stride with this sound and this vibe.”

Aside from being an artist, Sutherland has quickly become a social media icon, and recently moved to acting in his spare time. Many newer fans have discovered Sutherland from his viral TikTok covers of his favorite older songs as well as his newest acting role in the Netflix film Afterlife of the Party. He shared, “It’s so fun. I’ve been getting a lot of music acting parts or auditions which is really cool.” Sutherland has always wanted to act, especially after watching movies such as School of Rock, Grease, and his all time favorite movie, National Treasure. Sutherland has thoroughly enjoyed acting and working on other projects besides music. He finds it “very special and cool” to reach different audiences. Sutherland said reassuringly, “At the end of the day music and performing live is what I will do forever and is my number one love.” Sutherland is a force to be reckoned with and will continue to take the music industry by storm. His genuine, free-spirited personality and exceptional stage presence will pull on your heartstrings time and time again.

Madison Live! in Cincinnati, OH on November 20, 2021

Photos by Everly Ormiston