In this gig economy, it’s useful to have a wide-ranging set of talents. In a weird way, that’s why Kaylie Foster’s latest single “Little Game” is such a transformative thing for the local singer-songwriter: Even though she excels at it—to the point that this publication named her Vegas’ Best Emerging Voice last year—Foster doesn’t want to be pigeonholed as a singer of folk songs.
“I wanted to produce a song that I could dance to,” Foster says. “‘Little Game’ really stemmed from the idea of separating myself as an artist. There’s a lot of singer-songwriters in Vegas, and a lot of performers, too—but the indie music crowd doesn’t really do that kind of stuff. I haven’t seen any of my musical comrades doing any choreography or stuff like that.”
As promised, the Josh Szurgot-directed video for “Little Game” ups the ante. Over a sleek, loping downtempo beat, Foster rebukes an absentee lover—“You really did me in this time/My heart was on the line/And you pushed it to the side”—while she dances her way through Downtown, casually swinging a baseball bat. These steps, choreographed by her friend Natali Tangherlini, represent more than Foster’s desire to avoid categorization. They reveal a performer who’s becoming more confident and assured by the day.
“Over the past year, I’ve definitely begun to present myself more confidently,” she says. “I can still get really awkward on stage, though. … But it’s cool being vulnerable. When you get to share a song you’ve written and you see it resonating with people, that’s cool.”
Foster regards “Little Game” as an overture to a full record of songs. “I was toying with the possibility of making an album, but I think I need to take more baby steps and make an EP instead. I have more than enough songs that I’ve written recently, but a lot of them are very sad … I don’t wanna overdo it.” She hopes to have the record out this fall, but in the meantime, she’ll keep playing shows, keep channeling that vulnerability into new songs.
“I really want to reframe peoples’ perspective on me as being not just a singer-songwriter, but also a performing artist,” Foster says. She’s taking the right steps.
