In this KGNU Afternoon Sound Alternative session, host Bruce Trujillo talks with Connie Hong of Fair Elle, who performs intimate, piano-driven songs from her solo project and reflects on her shift from band work with Ivory Circle to more personal songwriting. She discusses the vulnerability of performing solo, the inspiration behind the name Fair Elle, and her excitement to play at SarahFest, a femme-forward arts and music festival in Denver. Connie also shares her musical influences, her love of community, and hints at new music currently in the works.
Bruce Trujillo: You’re hearing it on the Afternoon Sound Alternative. My name is Bruce Trujillo, and I am here with Connie Hong of Fair Elle. Fair Elle will be performing at Man Savos this Saturday for Sera Fest, and we’re super excited. I haven’t talked to Connie in a number of years, actually.
Connie, thank you so much for joining me this afternoon.
Fair Elle: Thank you so much for having me. I’m very excited to be here.
Bruce Trujillo: Me too. And I’m excited. Connie’s gonna be performing some music from the project, Fair Elle. Do you wanna start off with a song first?
Fair Elle: Yeah, let’s do it.
Bruce Trujillo: All right. Whenever you are ready.
Bruce Trujillo: Fair Elle on KGNU’s Afternoon Sound Alternative. If I Knew I Would’ve Fallen in Love—that’s from your 2021 release. Thank you so much for joining me here this afternoon. I can’t believe that album is four and a half years old. It feels like not that long ago.
Fair Elle: I know. It’s all kind of a black hole, I feel like, the last handful of years. But yeah, I can’t believe it either. I feel like I just wrote it and just released it. So yeah—four and a half years, that’s a while.
Bruce Trujillo: That’s a while. I actually remember when that album [00:04:00] came out. If I can be vulnerable for a second, I was going through some heartbreak, put that album on blast all weekend, and just cried. Thank you, Connie—it was so good.
Fair Elle: Thank you so much.
Bruce Trujillo: So will you take us through your musical journey? You’ve had projects before this, you’re still doing some shows here and there with Fair Elle. Yeah—tell us a little bit more about your process and your journey as a musician.
Fair Elle: Oh gosh. I mean, I met you definitely while I was doing a lot with my band, Ivory Circle. We’re still technically together, but we went on an indefinite hiatus with most of the band members having kids. So yeah, they’re all very young now and the parents are very busy.
I took that as my opportunity to do more with Fair Elle. It was kind of the perfect timing, and I dedicated the songs that felt a lot more intimate and personal to me for this project. I felt like I could be very selfish, whereas with the band it was more democratic—collaborating with members. Fair Elle is very much my personal project—my baby, if you will.
Bruce Trujillo: Right. And it’s always just you and your keys on stage, correct?
Fair Elle: Yeah.
Bruce Trujillo: I would imagine these songs are very raw and personal. But being on stage solo—how is that in comparison to being with the band and surrounded by other energy?
Fair Elle: It’s a lot scarier. I feel a lot more exposed, but I feel like I can be vulnerable in a different way—that’s freeing in and of itself. When I mess up, it’s not as noticeable ’cause I can just figure it out. The show must go on, and no one’s giving me weird looks. I get to be creative in a different way with it.
So yeah, it’s fun and it’s thrilling. I wouldn’t say I prefer it—I miss parts of being in a band and the live performance energy. But this is fun too, and I get to be more intimate with the audience. [00:06:00]
Bruce Trujillo: I love that. And you’ll be performing this Saturday at Monos. Full disclosure—I’m the owner of Monos. This just happened to work out so perfectly to have you on air during the Afternoon Sound Alternative.
We’ll be at 9975 East Colfax for Sera Fest. You’ll be opening our five-musician lineup that evening. Have you performed with or heard any of the other musicians performing, including Belha, Soy Celeste, Machete Mouth, and Sun Stoney?
Fair Elle: No, I’m super excited though. I saw Belha at UMS two or three years ago and really became a big fan then. So I’m excited to play with them for sure. But yeah—super pumped for the whole lineup.
Bruce Trujillo: Yeah, me too.
Fair Elle: Mm-hmm.
Bruce Trujillo: Sera Fest is founded by Becky Orla, who is of Beja, celebrating the homie named Sarah—that’s how it came about. Now it’s turned into a celebration of women and femmes in music and art. We’ll get to that [00:07:00] here in a second, but would you be willing to play us another song?
Fair Elle: Yes.
Bruce Trujillo: Wonderful.
Bruce Trujillo: “Sailing” from Fair Elle here on the Afternoon Sound Alternative on KGNU. I am Bruce Trujillo, Fair Elle joining me in the studio. This is the project of Connie Hong. Thank you so much again for joining me this afternoon.
Can you tell me a little bit about the name Fair Elle—where that one came from?
Fair Elle: I played around with many different iterations of this idea of hard versus soft. I kept coming back to the word feral and thought of myself as this feral child. I was actually a very well-behaved child, but I think everyone has that feral child within them.
It was kind of an homage to that. I liked the juxtaposition—if you wanna get really artsy with it—that Fair Elle is both this beautiful creature and also this beast. That’s kind of the long-form answer. And I just liked the way it sounded.
Bruce Trujillo: Awesome. So the album came out in 2021. It’s Connie, it’s piano, it’s what we’re hearing here this afternoon. You can see Fair Elle performing again this weekend at Sera Fest, sponsored by KGNU, by the way.
We’ve got a pair of tickets to give away here toward the end of our interview. It’s a femme-forward DIY music and arts festival, which debuted last year. Now in its second iteration, it features a lineup of artists including Sun Stoney, Machete Mouth, Soy Celeste, and Beja, in addition to Fair Elle. There will also be DJs and other exciting events happening throughout the day.
And Connie, if you could maybe pinpoint a favorite Sarah in your life—fictional or nonfictional—is there anybody that comes to mind?
Fair Elle: [00:12:00] Honestly, the first Sarah that came to mind was Sarah, Plain and Tall, which I barely remember. I just remember reading that book when I was young.
But I do have a friend named Sarah who’s an artist—Sarah Booth. I have no idea if she’s listening right now, but Sarah, you are the one that came to mind. She’s a wonderful artist, a mom, a big DIY crafter. That’s probably why I thought of her. She’s my Sarah of the moment right now.
Bruce Trujillo: I love that. I’m really excited about this festival because it celebrates the women in our lives. What does it mean to be part of the second iteration of Sera Fest and performing alongside folks you maybe haven’t met yet? The lineup is a lot of different genres and sounds, but all of these women are making waves in the Denver music community. What does it mean to you to be part of that?
Fair Elle: I’m super honored, super flattered, to have been asked to take part. I really value community. I really value being part of cultivating the music scene in Denver. So I think it’s really cool that there are so many women involved, and the diversity of talents reflects Denver well and where I hope the scene is heading even more.
Bruce Trujillo: I agree. And if you could dream a lineup—maybe headlining, maybe opening—of all femmes and women, not necessarily in Denver, but anywhere… who would you wanna play alongside?
Fair Elle: I was actually talking to someone about who I listened to growing up, and I realized it was mostly women artists. I’m gonna shout out TLC and Mariah Carey. They were my two big ones. No Doubt, back in the 1998 era, I guess. That would be my dream lineup for sure.
Bruce Trujillo: Sounds amazing. I would get a ticket to that immediately.
Fair Elle: Same, same.
Bruce Trujillo: So Fair Elle, TLC, No Doubt—mid-’90s era—
Fair Elle: Yes, it would have to be mid-’90s era. And Mariah Carey.
Bruce Trujillo: That’s a dream.
Fair Elle: Yeah.
Bruce Trujillo: Well, Fair Elle is performing this weekend again at Sera Fest. I have a pair of tickets to give away—we’ll do an email giveaway. We ask that callers or emailers who have not won anything from KGNU in the last 30 days and can make it to the show submit.
All you have to do is send an email with the name of the concert—Sera Fest—in the subject line to [email protected]. The third person to email will win two tickets and be notified by email.
KGNU will also be on site. We’re super excited for this weekend. Fair Elle, my guest this afternoon—do we have time for one more song? Are you down?
Fair Elle: Yeah, I would love to.
Bruce Trujillo: All right, take [00:15:00] it away.
Bruce Trujillo: Fair Elle on KGNU’s Afternoon Sound Alternative, my guest this afternoon. This is the solo project of Connie Hong. Connie, thank you so much for joining me. Are you going to be releasing any music soon? Are you in the lab working on some stuff? What’s the status?
Fair Elle: I’ve definitely been writing some new music, and I’m planning on recording—I hope sooner than later. But there’s definitely new music in the works.
Bruce Trujillo: Awesome. We will keep an eye and an ear out. Please let me know when that happens.
You can catch Fair Elle at [00:18:00] Sera Fest on Saturday evening at Man Savos, 9975 East Colfax Avenue, alongside four other amazing femme-forward acts and all-day activities, open to the public.
KGNU presents Sera Fest. I’m Bruce Trujillo, and we give thanks to Fair Elle—aka Connie Hong—here on KGNU, FM 88.5 Boulder, KGNU 1390 Denver.
Connie, thank you again so much.
Fair Elle: Thank you so much.
