Billie Eilish and her brother collaborate in the studio, write all her songs together, and have a strong personal bond, but does Billie Eilish perform with her brother in concert?
Billie Eilish does perform with her brother Finneas in concert. He plays multiple instruments for her performances, from guitar to bass guitar, or synthesizers depending on the song. He is also in charge of organizing her prerecorded backing tracks for performances.
As a musician, Finneas has proven to be quite the jack of all trades.
Since people have so many questions about their musical connections, I did some research. How many instruments does Finneas play? Are there other people involved on stage at a Billie Eilish show?
I’ll answer all these questions and more about the dynamic brother and sister duo.
Does Billie Eilish perform with a band?
Billie Eilish does not perform with a full band. Instead, she has her brother Finneas playing guitar, bass, or keyboards, accompanied by a drummer. All remaining parts and many of her backing vocals are pre-recorded.
The days of most pop stars performing with a full live band are gone. Billie Eilish is no exception to this. The young singer does not use a band for her concerts or live performances.
Finneas plays multiple instruments.
The singer’s brother plays a major role in her performances. He goes back and forth between instruments during the course of her shows. We’ll get the specifics of which ones later.
Despite not having a full band, as I mentioned, Billie is usually joined on stage by a drummer.
Like many performers, Billie uses multiple drummers depending on the show. One of her most known drummers is Andrew Marshall.
He has worked with multiple artists, but Billie is by far one of the most popular. He toured with her on her first tour in support of the debut album, When We Fall Asleep Where Do We Go.
Billie Eilish seems to have found the perfect recipe for great live shows. It’s her on vocals, Finneas on multiple instruments, and typically Andrew on the drums.
All I want in life is this bass @finneas pic.twitter.com/VQdKYm3WWr
— Mol???? (@Mol1yanne) November 24, 2020
What instruments does Finneas play?
Finneas plays keyboards, guitar, and bass guitar, but will play a specific instrument on specific songs. For example, when Billie Eilish plays “Bad Guy” live, Finneas plays bass guitar.
As we all know, Finneas is truly a jack of all trades.
He is a multi-talented artist who has now expanded beyond producing for his sister. Finneas was born to be a musician, and I am glad he gets to flex his artistic muscle.
Finneas has a wide range of experience.
One of the instruments Finneas plays is the keyboard. He can be seen showing his skills on stage with Billie. Of course, he is also super well-versed in the piano.
He also has a great deal of experience playing guitar. In fact, he has stated that he typically writes music sitting at either the piano or guitar.
Finneas can also be seen playing the bass. This may not be his chosen instrument, but he can truly hold his own.
Billie Eilish opens SNL dressed as ‘Mrs. Claus going to the club.’ pic.twitter.com/sv2z1DpCwd
— Pop Base (@PopBase) December 12, 2021
Does Billie Eilish have backup singers?
No, Billie Eilish does not perform with backup singers. But her concerts do feature a lot of her own backing vocals, which are pre-recorded.
Much like using full live bands for concerts, the days of having backup singers are also coming to an end. This is because most people use pre-recorded background vocals.
Simply put, it’s easier this way (and way cheaper).
Billie Eilish is one of these artists who use pre-recorded background vocals. There is no simple reason why so many artists do this because it’s simply more efficient. In the eyes of most, pre-recorded vocals add the same impact to a live show as background vocals.
One reason some people may decide to do this is that it simply costs less.
Being an artist is expensive, and adding background singers and a full band makes it even worse. We have to remember that the record label pays for everything.
But the artist is responsible for repaying that amount in the end. And performers with a full band have to think not only about pay but also food and transportation costs too.
We now live in an age where music pays even less than it once did.
If artists continue to spend as much as they used to but also earn less than they once did, they would be in trouble financially.
Sure, it probably sucks to be a background singer today, but the industry has changed. This does not mean artists like Billie would never use background singers, but she typically does not.
Watch @BillieEilish host and perform on ‘Saturday Night Live’ https://t.co/H8VfcjKVln pic.twitter.com/nDErXTsDu7
— Stereogum (@stereogum) December 12, 2021
Is Billie Eilish good live?
Billie Eilish is good live, and a fun performer, putting an emphasis on connecting with her fans when in concert. As much of the music is pre-recorded, it sounds pristine. Her vocals sometimes sound out of breath due to her physical activity onstage, but that is offset by the pre-recorded backing vocals.
Most people would agree that Billie Eilish is good live. This does not mean she is necessarily singing live 100% of the time, but she puts on a good show.
Much of her concerts use pre-recorded vocals. This is not only true for her background vocals, but occasionally for lead vocals as well.
And yes, the girl can sing, but her shows don’t revolve around that.
For Billie and many young artists, their fans want to see them have fun on stage. For them, this is what it takes for a concert to be great. In some cases, the artists don’t even need to sing along to their songs.
Singing ability is less important.
As I have said before, this does not mean these singers can’t sing. However, largely, this is not what their music is about. Billie’s music is progressive and exciting, but it’s not material that requires the greatest voice in the world.
Gone are the days where a singer has to be the total package. Fans want to connect to their favorite artists, and this means different things to different people.
Speaking of that, there has been talk of Billie’s use of autotune.
Fans can hear it in her music. I wrote a recent article where I fully discussed her use of the studio tool. Initially, she was known for shying away from autotune. But that seems to be changing.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
I had the pleasure of seeing Billie live at the ACL Music Festival in Austin in 2021. And she was entertaining and fun. And she did a good job of connecting with the audience.
But it was fun watching Finneas too.
#NoTimeToDie theme song artist @billieeilish and @finneas are at the @RoyalAlbertHall. pic.twitter.com/qRpuhFxbLo
— James Bond (@007) September 28, 2021
What does Finneas do during Billie Eilish’s concerts?
Finneas manages the pre-recorded aspects of the music for Billie Eilish concerts and then fleshes out that sound by adding live keyboards, guitar, or bass lines depending on the song and its needs.
Billie Eilish is her own artist, but her brother is always there to support her.
He wears many hats during her concerts. As mentioned before, Finneas plays multiple instruments. He can be seen playing guitar, the keyboard, or the base. It all depends on the song she’s singing. Chances are, he was somehow involved with the creation of the track itself.
Most artists have a support system. Often, this comes from the team they have hired to help in various ways. Billie, on the other hand, has a family for this.
Billie has spoken before about what her brother means to her. She values his support and artistic vision a great deal.
Despite this, many fans have questions about whether they are full siblings.
I wrote a recent article about this where I discussed their relationship and the different last names. And is it true one of her middle names is Pirate???
Just click that link to read it on my site.
Conclusion
Finneas supports his sister in multiple ways.
Not only does he perform with Billie on stage, but he also produces much of her music. This is something fans have come to expect from the pair.
This is one of the only brother and sister duos that have existed in this way in pop music. Of course, there are many famous siblings, but they usually support their famous sisters or brothers from afar.
Fans really love their genuine connection. While we love this pair together, only time will tell if Billie ever decides to branch out and work with other people.
Photo that requires attribution:
CoronaCapFest19-77 by Raph_PH is licensed under CC2.0 and was edited, cropped, and had a text overlay added.