Hayley Williams is making one thing unmistakably clear as she steps into her next chapter: her concerts are for everyone — except the people who think they shouldn’t be.
In a new cover story for Clash magazine, the Paramore singer opened up about her vision for her live shows ahead of her first solo tour for her upcoming album Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party. After nearly two decades shaping alternative rock, Williams says she wants her audience to feel unshakably welcome, protected, and connected.
“I’ve always said, all are welcome at our shows,” she told the outlet. “But I don’t want racists around, and I don’t want sexist people around, and I don’t want people there who think that trans people are a burden.” For Williams, the message isn’t new — but the boundary is sharper. “That’s a hard line for me now,” she said. “All are welcome if you believe all should be welcome… If you don’t believe that, you’re not welcome!”
Williams’ stance reflects years of speaking out for marginalized communities. In 2023, she publicly criticized two Tennessee bills aimed at LGBTQ+ residents. In 2024, during Paramore’s headlining appearance at the iHeartRadio Music Festival, she blasted the Project 2025 initiative championed by allies of former President Donald Trump. The plan targeted reproductive rights, immigration, DEI programs, and more — all issues Williams calls deeply intertwined with her identity and politics.
Her new album, which earned four Grammy nominations including Best Alternative Music Album, digs even deeper. Williams reflects on growing up in a Southern Christian community and the racial tensions woven through her hometown. On the New York Times’ Popcast podcast, she explained why issues of race hit her so viscerally. “I’m never not ready to scream at the top of my lungs about racial issues,” she said. “It’s so intersectional — it overlaps with everything from climate change to LGBTQIA+ issues.”
Williams has been steadily carving out her solo voice, releasing Petals for Armor in 2020 and Flowers for Vases / Descansos the following year. But she says making Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party felt different — raw, clarifying, and strangely full-circle.
“It felt like getting back to the beginning of what made me fall in love with music,” she told Clash. “This entire experience has been an exercise of holding a lot of truth. In 2025 it hit me like a hammer… like a brick to the face.”
Her 2026 solo tour marks a milestone: an established rock icon forging an intentionally inclusive future. A future in which fans know exactly what they’re walking into — a space where bigotry doesn’t get a seat, let alone a spotlight.
If you show up believing everyone belongs, Williams says, the door is wide open. If you don’t, she’ll show you the way out.
