It’s one of the reasons why O’Connell, for the first time, won’t be accompanying his Grammy-winning little sister on her “Hit Me Hard and Soft” tour – with the exception of just a few tour dates – to back her on guitar like he’s done on each of her previous tours.
“There were many years where I sort of felt like I would never miss a show because, you know, Billie was 16 or 17 and I really had this feeling of needing to be there for every minute,” O’Connell told Vogue in an interview published Tuesday.
“The truth is,” he added, “over the last few years of touring she’s really become an adult.”
Eilish’s adulthood has materialized in what O’Connell described as the 22-year-old’s “disciplined way of existing on tour.”
“She sleeps through the day to make sure that she’s rested for the show,” does hours of physical therapy and spends time on her vocal warm-ups to prepare, he added.
O’Connell announced on Monday that he’ll kick off his “For Cryin’ Out Loud!” solo tour in February and released his latest solo album of the same name last week.
O’Connell and Eilish’s parents, Maggie Baird and Patrick O’Connell, have also been fixtures at her previous tours, with Baird juggling everything from scheduling to making sure Eilish is fed and the elder O’Connell serving as a member of her stage crew.
“I will get your tampons and cook you a burrito on a moment’s notice, even if I have to use an iron to do it,” Baird told Vogue in Tuesday’s piece.
And while Baird said she believes all performers could benefit from having a “mom on tour,” she and her husband will, too, make themselves scarce this time around as they let Eilish independently embark on a tour they see as something akin to her “college years.”
Eilish won’t be alone, though. Indie-rock duo (and actors) Nat and Alex Wolff, who Eilish told Vogue are some of her best friends, are her opening act on the tour, which kicked off late last month. She’s also touring with her own live band for the first time and is bringing along some of her childhood friends.
