Zara Larsson is spending the summer under the "Midnight Sun," performing at festivals in Europe and in North America. On Thursday she'll take the stage at Mad Cool Festival in Madrid, Spain, along with Charlie Puth, Teddy Swims, JENNIE, Lorde and more. Zara's a longtime fan of festivals, not just because they're a good time, but because they're a good way to gain new fans.
"I love festivals, I love going to festivals. I went to so many festivals before I started playing them myself," she told ABC Audio. "And I think it's just the atmosphere, the fact that you're there with hopefully a really good group of friends. You meet a lot of people. ... And I've discovered a lot of artists that I didn't know about and their music."
And now that she's a festival headliner herself, Zara wants to be one of the artists who other people discover.
"Performing at a festival is really nice because, just like I was discovering other artists, I think a lot of people in the crowd might do the same," she said. "Because you buy a ticket to see this and this and this person — and then you walk by a stage and you're like, 'Wait, that sounds kind of good.'"
And if that happens, Zara said, it may very well lead to bigger crowds at her own tours somewhere down the line.
"I know that everybody in the audience might not be like my biggest fan and buy a ticket to my show, but they might do after seeing me at the festival, you know?" she noted. "So it's like a really nice way of getting to know more people and to get your music out there. And it's always a good vibe."