Everyone’s Welcome With BETWEEN FRIENDS: In Conversation at Gov Ball 2026
“It’s like a channel of curiosity and passion and love for art,” Brandon Hudson says to me. We’re backstage at Gov Ball, and Brandon sits beside me clad head-to-toe in a tattered beige denim jacket and pants, despite the unforgiving mid-afternoon New York summer sun. His sister, Savannah, beside him, is adorned with a red satin cape that flows down over a colorful two-piece crochet set and shredded hot pink tights. She adds, “That's BETWEEN FRIENDS, and everyone's welcome.”
Born in Miami and raised in Los Angeles, brother-sister musical duo BETWEEN FRIENDS, consisting of Savannah and Brandon Hudson, have been in the game for over a decade. After splitting off from their previous musical group in 2017, they quickly catapulted to success with the release of their first EP, ‘we just need some time together,’ featuring mega-hit ‘affection.’ And though ‘affection’ remains their biggest hit, BETWEEN FRIENDS have continued to evolve and expand their reach, pushing the envelope with their four albums and numerous EP releases over the past 8 years.
BR: “I know you guys have been in the game a long time, but recently you guys are getting bigger and bigger, how does that feel?”
SH: “Feels amazing. I think we just want to make the proper art that we can, and like, and be happy. We love doing this as our job, so if we can keep doing it as our job, that's that's a win-win.”
I tell the duo that I had just seen them a few weeks prior, at Kilby Block Party in Utah. They both jump in at once, Brandon remarking, “You were at Kilby too? That show ripped!” and Savannah adding, “That show was insane.”
BR: “Afterwards you said on Instagram, it was, like, empty when you came out on stage, and then like 20,000 people had flooded in within the first 60 seconds?”
BH: “They said that we broke the daytime capacity record for that stage.”
SH: “Isn’t that crazy?”
BH: “What the fuck? In Salt Lake City!”
BR: “When you see all those people pouring in, does that make you nervous, or was it firing you guys up?”
SH: “No, it’s like firing! It’s like… let’s go!”
That show in Utah was my first time catching Between Friends live, and it was an absolute masterpiece of a show. Something that really stuck with me was how magnetic the duo is onstage. Not only is their music so entrancing live, but their stage presence is entirely captivating. The striking poses that Savannah seamlessly cycles through, and Brandon’s effortlessly-cool persona as he puffs from a cigarette in between lines, make them look like complete naturals up on stage. I ask them if that’s truly the case:
BR: “Does that come always naturally, or is that something that you have built over all these years?”
SH: “I think it comes with years of getting comfortable on different stages and different audiences.”
BH: “You hone it too. I feel like it's been so long of us working together as a group, that like it's part of who we are.”
SH: “You learn the language.”
And Savannah and Brandon have absolutely learned the language. With their most recent album ‘WOW!’ it feels as though they are stepping into themselves at their core. It’s experimental, it’s raw, and most of all, it’s fun. WOW! serves as quite the departure from their previous work, but it also feels like everything they’ve been building towards thus far.
I ask the duo if this album feels like BETWEEN FRIENDS in their truest form.
BH: “I think you couldn't have said it better. Honestly. I think ‘WOW!’ is the perfect introduction to what it is that we are. And it really felt like we sort of matured and found our voices, from a sonic perspective, a lyric perspective… And what it is that we want to give to the world. I think that now it's such a perfect building block for us to continue to create from.”
Creating such a sonically diverse yet cohesive album is a huge feat, but through working together as siblings, Savannah and Brandon may have a leg up on their peers.
BR: “Does that allow you guys to be more honest with each other? Like, how do you work together?”
SH: “Definitely. I think it's all we've ever known as artists. We became artists at the same time and together, and we have a collective vision that we stick true to. I think we check each other when we need to be checked, and we're best friends. The best.”
Their set at Gov Ball proved it. They are so in tune with each other on stage, and command an audience like no other. This was their second time playing the festival, with Gov Ball 2022 being their festival debut. This time around, with higher billing and an even more packed crowd, the duo shows that they’re always growing, bringing a new version of BETWEEN FRIENDS with every passing appearance. An unfortunate early-afternoon weather delay caused their set to be cut one song short, but they still managed to deliver a truly captivating performance.
SH: “I mean, the opportunity to play for people who maybe haven't seen us, or people who have seen us and waited for us, like, it's always a beautiful thing. We love to put a show on, and it was hard to cut our show around, but it was great. We love! We love New York, we love Gov Ball, and we love playing music.”
And we love BETWEEN FRIENDS. Their 2026 WOW! tour continues with their festival circuit throughout the summer, followed by an already sold-out headlining tour in the fall. You can stream their incredible new album, ‘WOW!’ as well as their past catalog containing nearly a decade of hits, HERE.
