Bishop Briggs' musical journey started at a karaoke bar in Japan when she was 4

Bishop Briggs’ music is inspired by her unique experiences — and the British artist has a lot to sing about.

“I think it’s a rite of passage that the minute you land in Japan, you have to go to a karaoke bar,” Briggs, 25, tells EW of her childhood. “So that’s what my family did. I moved there when I was 4. My dad went up and sang Frank Sinatra, and I just saw this joy and this light in his eyes, and I just wanted a piece of it.”

Now the “River” singer is preparing for a five-week tour of the U.S. and Canada that will take her from Los Angeles to New York. (See the complete list of shows below, and get ticket info on Briggs’ official website.) Concertgoers should expect a wide array of sounds.

“Sometimes you’re inspired by an old-school song that you want to chop up and make a sample out of it,” says Briggs. “I find that with a lot of older Motown music. Basically, just your goal is to pretend that you’re Kanye [West] and constantly create.”

Describing the songs she’s most recently crafted in the studio, Briggs says, “There are a lot of trap elements, there are soulful vocal melodies with a lot of gospel influences, but I feel like lyrically it’s quite dark and poetic.”

Ultimately, Briggs wants to be seen as a “truth-teller,” like the artists she most admires. “The biggest thing that I hope people take away when they listen to my music is that they feel that there is an outlet being presented that allows them to be more authentic and for them to be more honest in their own lives,” she says.

Watch the music video for Briggs’ single “Dream” above, and catch the singer-songwriter live at one of the shows below:

March 9-10: New Orleans, LA — BUKU Music & Art Project**
March 23: Tempe, AZ — Innings Festival**
April 27: Vancouver, BC — Commodore Ballroom
April 28: Seattle, WA — The Showbox
April 29: Portland, OR — Crystal Ballroom
May 1: Sacramento, CA — Ace of Spades
May 3: Santa Ana, CA — The Observatory
May 4: Los Angeles, CA — The Fonda Theatre
May 5: San Diego, CA — The Observatory North Park
May 8: Denver, CO — Ogden Theatre
May 10: Kansas City, MO — The Truman
May 11: Minneapolis, MN — 96.3 Go Show @ First Avenue
May 12: Chicago, IL — Metro
May 15: Toronto, ON — Opera House
May 16: Montreal, QC — L’Astral
May 18: Philadelphia, PA — Union Transfer
May 19: Boston, MA — Royale
May 22: Brooklyn, NY — Brooklyn Steel
May 23: Washington, DC — 9:30 Club
May 25: Charlotte, NC — The Underground
May 26: Atlanta, GA — Center Stage
May 27: Charleston, SC — Music Farm
May 29: Birmingham, AL — Saturn
May 30: Nashville, TN — Marathon Music Works
June 21-24: Rothbury, MI — Electric Forest**
June 28-July 1: Rothbury, MI Electric Forest**

**Festival