For Taylor Bickett, words matter. An indie-pop singer-songwriter hailing from Indiana, she’s been writing for as long as she can remember. In 2022, it was Bickett’s lyricism that catapulted her into the public eye with her release of “Quarter Life Crisis.” The fear-of-aging anthem sparked a viral TikTok trend and has amassed over 36 million streams on Spotify, resonating with a generation struggling to reconcile with impending adulthood, a pandemic, and the age of the internet. 

Bickett’s story might sound familiar. It seems like once a week, there’s a new indie-acoustic darling whose lyrics command our algorithm against the backdrop of proposals, baby showers, and graduations. Although Bickett may have found initial success in 10-second snippets, she’s quickly proved that she’s here to stay. With a dedicated fanbase and an evolving sound, her words continue to resonate in a way that matters. 

Last September, she played her first headline show at Elsewhere in Brooklyn. She described meeting fans at the show who had been following her for years, eagerly anticipating her live performances. Now, Bickett is setting out on a five-show acoustic tour — she calls it the “One Plane Ticket” tour — with just her, her guitar, and a keyboard. This is her first headlining tour. 

While it takes some time for most artists to reach the point in their career where they can hit the road, it’s been a long time coming for Bickett, who garnered most of her audience in the throes of a pandemic. “These headliners feel long overdue,” Bickett said.

For her, solo acoustic shows are the ideal entry point into touring. “There’s so much freedom with it,” she said. She’s also had ample time to get a feel for the stage. “I’ve had a lot of opportunities to open for artists where you just gotta bring yourself … I just come with my guitar, and I’m like, here’s my music.”

Recreating that on her terms is an easy choice. “I’ve realized how magical that can be … and I’ve seen that way that my music impacts people when it’s solo acoustic, like they can really hear the words,” she said. 

A solo, acoustic tour is also an apt introduction to who she is as an artist. “That’s really the way I write most of my songs,” she said. “This is basically the same as me singing in my bedroom, except I’m in a venue and you’re here.”

At her April 21 show at the Mercury Lounge in the Lower East Side, this intimacy between artist and audience was on full display. In between songs, Bickett bantered with the crowd about crushes, tropes, and self-growth. At one point, someone in the front row yelled out a song title — Bickett laughed. “I don’t even remember how to play that one,” she said. 

For Bickett, touring is all about connecting with people. “It feels very sweet … especially while I’m playing these intimate rooms,” she said. 

Hearing her words sung back to her never gets old, either. “It’s such an affirmation to me; it’s so special to me. It just warms my heart,” Bickett said to her audience at Mercury Lounge, grateful to the crowd for singing along to her 2024 single “I Like Mondays.”

Although these shows are nominally solo performances, the dense network of indie-pop songwriters shines on Bickett’s stage. Mori, an NYC-based singer-songwriter, opened for Bickett last Monday night. The pair met at a Jensen McRae show — another lyric-forward, frequently acoustic artist with a significant online presence. Later in the evening, Mori joined Bickett on stage to perform a cover of Lizzy McAlpine’s “Spring Into Summer.”

With her latest single, Bickett is delving into even deeper, more personal territory. “The Crime,” released in March, was written after Bickett experienced an attack by a man whose advances she had previously rejected. “I felt like writing is how I needed to process it,” she said. Bickett didn’t think she was ever going to release the song, but after sharing it with family and friends, they encouraged her to put it out into the world. “That was intimidating, because [the song] is so vulnerable,” she said. 

Since its release, Bickett has experienced overwhelming support. “I’ve had a lot of comments and messages from people telling me how much it meant to them, how it inspired them to open up about their stories,” she said. Bickett is donating 30% of the proceeds from the song and $1 from every ticket sold on this tour to The Circle, a charity dedicated to preventing violence against women, founded by fellow musician Annie Lennox. 

For Bickett, Mori, and the countless other acoustic singer-songwriters that populate our feeds, simplicity is key to resonating with an audience craving authenticity and honesty. Bickett’s “One Plane Ticket” tour is proof that lyrics written alone in a quiet bedroom are capable of resonating offline, reaching far beyond their origins.