Small Talks' Editors On the WSG Mixtape Volume 3 Release Weekend

Last weekend, We’re Sweet Girls celebrated the release of their third mixtape with a two day extravaganza, consisting of an intimate listening party at Banana’s Records and an incredible night at The Bends featuring a performance from Chemical Lex, a B2B DJ set from Syd Plays Bangers and Browntooth, and the DJ debut of Small Talks’ own jreyreyj. We wanted to share our experiences from this release with you as members of this scene, a little more personal than usual. Keep reading for those stories, some excellent photos from the weekend from Editor-in-Chief Emma Hintz, and a special announcement at the end. 

Edit by Joshua Reynes

Video courtesy of Joshua Reynes

— Joshua Reynes, Head of Content and Creative

"Since moving to New York, I have developed a new appreciation for my hometown, Saint Petersburg; I always knew I would move away, but I never thought I would miss it so much. Sometimes, I go to bed yearning to be at a shitty bar with my closest friends, yearning to have a “Yo What Up” night even though it was something I detested before. Moving away from your friends is hard, that’s something they don’t tell you (they definitely do, many people have told me this). Recently I did have the pleasure of going home to visit, and I planned it around attending the We’re Sweet Girls mixtape release weekend. I felt at home attending these events, but also amazed at how much had changed in the few short months since I moved. A whole new crew had seemed to form, so many new faces surrounded me while listening to the mixtape full of fresh talent that I had never seen before. I used to think I had met everyone there was to meet in St. Pete, but this was clearly not the case. I, of course, had to make sure I was home for the DJ jreyreyj debut — this was something I had been begging for since I was a teenager, and it was everything I had hoped for and more. Not to get sappy, but Josh is such a special person to me, someone who has always blown me away with his creative eye in every facet, and it is really just so cool to see how far he’s come. When I met Josh we were both still in high school — wow, that’s crazy to see written out. 

Being in New York and getting to go home to a place like St. Pete is such a special thing; to go home and come back to the city feeling inspired and refreshed, you don’t get that just anywhere. That’s the energy that We’re Sweet Girls is cultivating, bringing so many people together through music and creative expression. I can tell you that these events have brought me closer to so many people that I now consider my dearest friends. I am now counting down the days until I can go home again, mostly because I want to be surrounded by all of my beautiful and inspiring friends, but partially because I want another cup of boiled peanuts. 

We’re Sweet Girls forever, DJ jreyreyj forever, Small Talks forever, St. Pete forever." 

— Emma Hintz, Editor-in-Chief and Founder

"I came into this scene in early 2023, pulled out of my isolationist ways by then coworker and now #1 ride-or-die, Delaney Staack. My first WSG event was at Noisemakers, almost two years ago exactly, in fact. That’s actually where I met Emma for the first time; her first impression of me was me half-seriously bullying someone I went to middle school with for trying to “cool guy” me. I didn’t understand then how important she, and so many other people I met in those first few months (her the most, though) would become to me. For better and worse! Meeting those people at that moment got me in on the ground floor of something really, really special that has come to an ultimate fruition pretty recently. I don’t want to make it seem like I think WSG hasn’t been locked in the whole time, because those girls have been working their asses off since I met them, but it’s reached a whole different level, even in just the last six months. It’s all happening and I’m grateful to have had and to continue to have the honor of being there for the ride.  

I was starting to give up on St. Pete a bit. I sort of felt like I was doing the same thing with the same people over and over with nothing to show for it but cigarette hangovers and unfinished business. I thought there was no one new to meet, no new ideas to consider, no more fun to be had. It turns out that I was sort of being a little bitch. This was solidified for me this week. I realized that so many of the people in my scene are new to it, at least in my perception. And there are more people joining the fold at the time, in no small part thanks to WSG and their events. It’s especially exciting to see the kids who are showing up, taking up space, and participating in their scene. By kids, I mean anyone more than, like, two years younger than me, not actual children. When I was younger, I didn’t have what they have now; everyone moved away and very few people were putting on shows. It’s actually funny that one of the only places I had to go see a show was Banana’s and now, they’re back to putting on the same kinds of shows that made me feel so cool to be in the know about and attend back then. Time is a flat circle. Or something. It’s a sign of a healthy community that there are younger people joining it and thriving, being given the resources and platform to do the things they love and care about. It means that, even if the old guard disperses or moves on, the Gulf Coast Scene will live on in perpetuity. And thank God for that. 

Zoe, Beka, and Delaney have been putting in the work for longer than I think most people realize, and I am so excited to see it paying off the way it has. I’m even more excited to see what comes next. Until then, make sure you’re showing up how you can, enmeshing yourself with your community to the best of your ability, and just giving things a try. You never know what could happen."

— Jennifer Bodine, Head Writer

Thank you for reading! We love our community and We’re Sweet Girls and are honored to be here documenting everything we can. Make sure you check out WSG Volume 3 exclusively on Bandcamp! If you're reading this the day it's released, that means it's Bandcamp Friday, which is when ALLLL proceeds go to the artists. 100%. Do with that what you will.

On that note, we’ve been cooking up something so incredibly special with WSG: a full-length print edition of Small Talks Magazine featuring interviews, essays, and other coverage of WSG and the Gulf Coast Scene as a whole. Work is still ongoing for this project, but you can be sure to expect it this summer (!). It’s been a huge ambition of ours to create something physical, that you can hold and feel and look back on for years to come, and there is no one we would rather feature in our first edition than our friends at We’re Sweet Girls. Keep an eye out for ways to contribute to this zine and make sure you sign up for our newsletter and follow us on IG to never miss a thing!