When we shot Role Model this past summer, someone whispered into the producer’s ear to “play Yacht Rock.” It was clear that a confidant of Role Model (aka Tucker Pillsbury) mentioned it to his publicist who then wryly requested it. The 28-year-old singer-songwriter, best known for his 2024 album Kansas Anymore and its chart-topping deluxe edition, was in the process of gearing up for his European fall tour—and preparing for his role in Lena Dunham’s Good Sex next year. We’d be remiss to interrupt a creative process, quickly acquiescing to the DJ request, blasting Steely Dan’s “Do It Again” through the thumping loud speakers. Naturally, we had to dive into the sounds of the season in a follow-up conversation about everything from Yacht Rock to Kacey Musgraves, Bon Iver, and more.

Pillsbury’s early memories of music may be familiar to a lot of Gen-Z / Millennial cuspers. Coming into sentience during a period punctuated by a notable evolution in pop music, a lot of members of this age demo found themselves infatuated with the more experimental tastes of their older siblings and friends. “When I was a kid, I would plug my iPod into my brother’s laptop and just download everything he was adding. And so my whole music library and everything that I grew up on was just stolen from his laptop.” This era was characterized by a genre of increasingly unorthodox folk music, which has now found its footing firmly within contemporary pop music: “ It was very cool stuff, Bon Iver in the early days. Temper Trap. It was cool, weird, experimental folk.”

“I’m in a weird obsession,” Pillsbury notes when asked about his current infatuation with Yacht Rock, the easy-listening (and perhaps controversially named) subgenre of rock that emerged in the mid-1970s. “My whole playlist is pretty much that right now. I love Christopher Cross, Steven Bishop. Those two have been heavily on repeat.” He opens his phone to rattle off a few more names, “Bread, America, Atlanta Rhythm Section.” Upon asking Pillsbury if he specifically requested the genre on set, he laughs: “I did not say anything, someone must have whispered something.” 

When we turn to some of Pillsbury’s all-time favorite music—a daunting question for a lot of music lovers—a few albums immediately pop up. “I’m a big album person. Albums that I still listen to and that still hit in the same way, I feel like two come to my mind. One is Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour. I’ll forever love that album. It’s perfect to me,” he says of the critically-adored 2018 record. “And then there’s two War on Drugs albums, Lost in the Dream and A Deeper Understanding. Those three albums, I don’t think they’ll ever get old. So I guess they’re my favorite. I think that’s a good way to gauge it, if you can still listen to it three or four years in.”

Finally, we turn to Role Model’s music. For those who have perhaps never heard his brand of catchy, lovesick rock, but share some overlapping inspirations, he has some guidance on where to first dive in: “‘Some Protector,’ off the deluxe. That’s where I would send people for a first try.” Needless to say, the throngs of fans who have already secured their spot to see the singer in November don’t need the recommendation.

This story appears in the pages of VMAN 55: now available for purchase!

Photography Richie Talboy 

Fashion Alexander Roth 

Creative Director/Editor-in-Chief Stephen Gan

Editor Charlie Kolbrener

Hair Luca Tullio using Oribe Crème for Style + Oribe Flash Form Spray Wax & CHANEL Hydra Beauty Micro Sérum + M.A.C Studio Radiance for skin

Makeup Mitch Yoshida (Streeters) using Clé de Peau Beauté

Casting Greg Krelenstein (GK-LD)

Set Design Lauren Bahr (Walter Schupfer Management)

Digital Technician Mitchell Mylius

Lighting Technician Pablo Espinoza

Location untitled nyc

Photo Assistant Clay Campbell

Fashion Assistants Arut Arustamyan, Carter Bright