Check Out Genevieve Libien’s Story

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Genevieve Libien.

Hi Genevieve, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I grew up with an intense love of music and singing. And I never stopped! I began writing songs when I was younger, eventually getting my first guitar for my 15th birthday. I fell very much in love with it.

Growing up, I would watch my dad play and see him get lost in “just noodling around” on his guitar. I slowly began to understand the allure of “noodling.” It’s one of the best ways to spend time with a guitar.

When I got to college, I found my musical peers and formed/joined several bands. From there, I began playing live and recording and releasing music. And that’s what I continue to do today!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My goodness, I am so fortunate. However, I would say that my journey has very much been marked by anxiety. I’ve struggled with OCD since I was a child, and I think that’s very much informed a lot of my songwriting. I have a song called “New Orleans” with a lyric that goes, “Happiness is a maiden I can’t touch.” It’s partially inspired by a scene from the show The Crown where Princess Margaret is lying on the beach and talking about happiness, personifying her as a fickle woman.

I loved that and felt it resonated hard with me. It almost felt like a cosmic joke that happiness would be a sort of coquettish maiden who is always floating just above your reach. In my journey, it’s definitely felt like it’s just round after round in the ring with OCD. One of my past therapists compared it to kudzu, as in it will overtake everything you have if you don’t cut it off. OCD has ruled my life like that in the past. When you have struggled with mental illness for a long time, it can easily feel like it becomes your identity, especially if you have a propensity to emotionally isolate yourself.

It can be harder because OCD is so incredibly stigmatized. In my life, I’ve had to learn that no one who hasn’t experienced it will fully understand. That’s really difficult when those people are your parents, your partner, or your family members. I’m very lucky because I’ve met some of my dearest friends, who I love with my whole soul, through the OCD community. I’m thankful every day that I get to talk to them and be understood so profoundly.

But, I don’t speak about mental illness often in my day-to-day. Just because it’s vulnerable, painful, frustrating, embarrassing, and all those huge emotions. But, I do write about it. I don’t think I’ll be able to capture how hellish it can be, but I am able to find emotional release in trying to. In a song I wrote recently, there’s a lyric that goes, “I’m more than my ache.”

And that’s the truth. My suffering isn’t who I am. Sometimes it feels inextricable from me, but truly I am so much bigger than it.

I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a singer-songwriter who specializes in yearning, I guess. Some say that every writer has an emotion from which they write. My dear friend Theo Stilwell once told me my emotion is “pining.” I laughed at that. But I also felt a bit exposed by it, I had a moment of feeling like, “Oh shit, I do pine don’t I?”. I do, and I can no longer deny it!

I have a song that I’m proud of coming out where I’m just yelling into the mic, asking the addressee not to compel me to fall in love if she doesn’t mean it, lest she break my heart. Real classy. “Wow, get off the floor-” I like it down here! The more I grow up, the more I love and appreciate vulnerability. I find it so so beautiful when others share their vulnerability, it makes me feel so fortunate to know them and to deepen my understanding of who they are.

I had to confront my own double standard surrounding being vulnerable. If they can and they should, why can’t I too? So, I write fairly unabashedly about intense love and longing. I don’t think I have anything to fear from that. I’m okay with people seeing my blood and guts in that regard (in a manner of speaking).

Before we go, can you talk to us a bit about how people can work, collaborate, or support you?
You can support me by following me on Instagram (@genevieve.libien) and keeping up with me!

You can also follow me on Spotify and listen over there, or come see me live around Denver (or wherever I happen to be)! I have a beautiful band that consists of me, Kate Conroy on guitar, Theo Stilwell on drums, and Jack Corgiat on bass.

We have a lot of fun at shows, so come out sometime!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://libiengenevieve.wixsite.com/genevievelibien
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/genevieve.libien/?igsh=NjFqMXQ3Mzh2YzU0&hl=en
• Twitter: https://x.com/GenevieveLibien
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@genevievelibien

Image Credits
Ashley Brown, John McSweeney, and Jesus Rodriguez