Delilah Bon: Pink Painted Fire

For any outspoken artist that voices their beliefs and stances on world issues, performing in a hostile country would be seen as risky, dangerous even, especially to a country like the United States of America. The current climate under the Trump administration has shown the hostile environment for queer and POC individuals, both residents and tourists, for example, one man was detained at immigration for having a meme of the Vice President, JD Vance, on his phone. For DELILAH BON, an artist who stands up for the silenced in her music, especially with songs like Dead Men Don’t Rape, War On Women and I Wish A Bitch Would, a tour across the USA would seem threatening to her and her team. Yet, as she spoke with Distorted Sound, the tour would be a success with no issues, delivering her music to those who needed to hear those supportive lyrics with kickass beats, sung by an artist unafraid to fight for what she believes in.

“I was so nervous to go at first,” Delilah explains. “Because everybody warned me, because of the politics, because of Trump, because of everything that I sing about, it’s quite dangerous for me to go to the US, so I was prepared for the worst. But it was just incredible, it was probably one of my most successful tours, my mum, Helen Tate, planned everything herself. She booked all the accommodation, and she planned all of the routes and the different trips, and it was seamless. Obviously the shows were just insane, my fans in America are crazy, and I love them so much. I was really nervous beforehand too, I was sending articles to my mum, showing her stories of people getting stopped at the border, and I thought and felt like we’d picked a really scary time. But then when I went over there, it was like the timing couldn’t have been more perfect for the fans, because they just needed something. Everyone was telling me that my shows and music gave them such a boost when they needed it the most, so I’m so glad I went.”

“I loved all the states we visited on tour,” she continues. “I think everyone was telling me different things, telling me to be careful in Portland, or suggest that this state is more like this, etc. But all I saw was the route there and then the people at the venue and the fans so I didn’t really meet people outside of the shows, you know. It was very much. I was in the van the entire time. All the venues, a lot of them reminded me of venues in Germany. There had a real kind of punk vibe to some of the venues. But I can’t remember which ones are which, because even when I’m on tour, it’s tough to remember them all. I do remember Portland, I really love Portland, but unfortunately, I had so many people collapse at my shows! There were so many ambulances at my shows.”

“I’ve never, ever had that before, but it was because it was so so hot! It’s ridiculous that, in America, if you need the ambulance, it’s like $1,000 and so obviously I had to stop the show. I’ve never, ever had that before, and I think it’s because it was so warm, maybe because the venues were packed, which means next time I come back, I need to do bigger venues. That show was the hottest day. I think it was 42 degrees in Portland. It was crazy hot, but that venue at least had air con. But the Brooklyn venue, it was insanely hot too, but they didn’t have air con, and that was so so bad and singing and dancing. I have so many words when I perform, so trying to rap and dance with no air con, it was very difficult. Then we got stuck in the venue because the door wouldn’t open! We finished the show, and then we all needed fresh air, but the door wouldn’t open. So it was like we were stuck in a cupboard after we got off stage, I nearly passed out.”

2025 has shaped up to be an exciting year for DELILAH BON – not only did she tour the US for the first time, but her second EP, Princeless Princess was also released in September, with the title track dropping back in May. “The EP’s kind of changed quite a lot,” she describes.“Because at first it was purely fantasy, but then that is quite hard, because whilst I need escapism, there’s also a lot that I have to get off my chest, so it’s a very much a blend of both. The EP is about reclaiming what it means to be a woman in this day and age, where we don’t need a prince, we don’t need this look, we don’t need looking after in the ways that I think some men still think we do, and it challenges that idea of tradition and the way things have always been. It’s very outspoken, but then it’s also got a lot of escapism mixed in to show how women and, non cis men deal with the outside world, where we have these escapes. I just enjoyed the concept so much, I enjoyed playing around with the idea of being a princess, but being a princeless princess, and how my kingdom would look without men being the centre of it all. Then I’d get to write a song about my plants, which I have a song on the EP called Bush, but it is not a song about plants, it’s actually about pubes, but it’s my favourite song I think I’ve written so far.”

So what’s next for DELILAH BON? After the EPs release, she’s back on the road, this time across the UK and Europe to deliver Princeless Princess tracks at every stop, as well as planning to return to the US at some point to those who need her music. “There’s a few people who thought that I had skipped the South on purpose,” Delilah expands on as the interview wraps up But it was just because the tour ended up too long for everyone to take time off work, so I’m trying to get back to the US more next year. I want to do a show in Texas, it just feels like my music is needed there. People message me and they’ll say that they drove around a red state with their windows down, blasting my music, and I feel like there’s a sense of community when you go there and everyone’s so loud about their politics in the US, even on their cars!”

“They’ll see their cars covered in stickers, and it’ll be pro LGBT, black lives matter, and all these things, and they’re so loud about what they believe in. It is quite scary to go over there and perform these songs, but I feel like the community I’ve built look after me, and I feel so safe as soon as I arrive at the venue. I’m not afraid to be outspoken in my music anymore, because I’ve done that now, and I feel I’ve got over that hurdle. At the time when I first released Dead Men Don’t Rape, it was quite scary, but now my superpower is the fact that I can speak out and use my voice because I don’t have a label that tells me no, I don’t have anyone that controls what I sing or say.”

Princeless Princess is out now via self-release. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS125 here:

Like DELILAH BON on Facebook.