For Leon Bridges, it all began with a bunch of hand-me-downs. “Growing up, we did tall tees and all that kind of stuff,” the 37-year-old singer-songwriter tells me. “But there was a moment, when I was like 20 or 21, where one of my mom’s friends passed down some vintage clothes that he used to rock when he was younger.” Those clothes, mainly 1960s knits, didn’t just ignite Bridges’s love of vintage style—they literally changed the trajectory of his career. “I decided when I started making music that I wanted to have that consistency, and I wanted my style to reflect the music.”
That led him down a path of what he calls “retro-futuristic” R&B, evolving from the nostalgic soul of his 2015 debut Coming Home to the danceable grooves of his new album Happiness Anytime, a collaboration with the London funk band Jungle.“I love the full spectrum of R&B, and I really try to make my songs reflect that,” the Grammy winner says.
Bridges’s wardrobe, too, is ever-evolving—he still rocks plenty of killer vintage, but he’s also unafraid to dabble in designer grails from the likes of Celine and Nicholas Daley. Below, I caught up with the musician to chat through his pre-show rituals, his go-to Bode jacket, and the wildest moment of his career.
GQ: How did you get your start in the music industry?
Leon Bridges: Actually, I started initially as a dancer. My first time ever being on a stage was through dance. I was blessed enough to run into a community of musicians who really helped. I always loved to sing, but they helped nurture my love for music and inspired me to pick up a guitar. I started doing open mics, and I met this cat named Austin Jenkins who pretty much saved my life. He offered to record these songs that I’d been writing and we put it on SoundCloud, and everything just snowballed from there. That was in 2014.
