Watch Sunflower Bean’s Julia Cumming Showcase ‘My Life’ on ‘Fallon’

Julia Cumming appeared on The Tonight Show to perform her single “My Life.” The musician, singer of New York rock trio Sunflower Bean, recently announced her first-ever solo album, Julia, set for release on April 24.

Cumming showcased the smoky, ’70s-inspired tune with the help of a live band and two dancers, who lent an ethereal quality to the performance. “I don’t do this to impress you/ I don’t wear this to undress you,” she croons on the self-confident song. “I don’t need you to define me/ Or approve of what’s inside me.”

Cumming shared “My Life” in February alongside the album announcement. “This song came after a period of intense pressure, the culmination of writing through the pandemic and the years spent in the rhythm of touring, recording, and trying to find my place within it all,” she said in a press release. “Then something shifted. It was liberation, and I knew immediately it was the beginning of something new.”

The singer recorded Julia with collaborator Brian Robert Jones (who’s played with Paramore and others) and producer Chris Coady (who’s made indie classics with Beach House, Grizzly Bear, and more). The album also features contributions from top session aces like Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner and Beck sideman Roger Joseph Manning Jr. 

“One of my main goals with this record was for it to sound fun, not morose,” she added in the press release. “It’s the ultimate anti-cool album. It’s a joyous space for the misfits, and in particular, an album for girls like me, the ones in middle school who never fit into a neat little box. I want this record to be a place where those girls can find solace. You don’t have to be who anyone wants you to be to be enough.”

Cumming will tour in support of Julia, with her first-ever solo shows scheduled for April and May in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and more.