INTERVIEW: little image, big heart — the dallas-based trio that checks all the boxes
Photo by Elissa Ebersold
“They’re the artists, sure, but they’re not trying to control the moment. They’re just grateful to be part of it.”
little image, stylized in all lowercase, showed up to Empire Live, all heart, doing the thing they used to talk about like it was too far off to be real.
The alt-pop trio from Dallas – Jackson Simmons, Brandon Walters, and Troy Bruner– present an exciting mix: a whole lot of talent, stage presence that some bands spend years trying to find, effortless charisma like you wouldn’t believe, and a laid-back vibe. Chatting with them felt like kicking back with some friends.
“We basically live in that thing. “Did you see it out there?” Troy Bruner, little image’s drummer, starts off, grinning.
He’s talking about the van, parked outside the venue after logging who knows how many miles already.
From the moment Troy asked me that question, I knew I was in for a treat.
little image has had the kind of come-up that makes you want to root for them. Because they’re doing this together, the only way they know how, fully, honestly, with a little bit of that Texas grit that shines through when they hit the stage.
Fresh off a European tour, they are easing into touring the U.S. alongside Joywave, which means a lot of van time, a lot of miles, and a lot of each other. But that’s nothing new. They’ve been doing it like this for years.
“We met through Instagram, actually,” Jackson says. “Brandon and I started messaging each other because of this guitar page we both followed, and we both knew Troy separately.”
“This was before DMs,” Troy jumps in. “So we were all just commenting on each other’s posts.”
“It was classic,” Brandon says. “We had no clue we would start a band, no clue what was going to happen, but it just felt right, y’know?”
When I ask where the name little image comes from, Jackson shrugs with a half-smile. “We’re the little image. One of something bigger than us.”
“What we do isn’t really about us,” Troy adds. “It’s about the experience for the people involved in it. ”
Brandon laughs, “I think every band questions their name at some point, and then you just get older and go, ‘Dude, it’s just the band name.’ It’s not cool until you make good music. So now it’s like, hell yeah, that’s our band name.”
Their sound is equal parts muscle and mood, built for the big stage but still satisfying at home in a dark room with the lights low.
“The Pressure” is a perfect example, full of intensity that you don’t always see coming.
It’s the kind of song that pulls you in, makes you sway, and hits somewhere deeper without trying too hard. Naturally, they open the set with it.
“That one’s got plenty of Usher in it,” Brandon jokes.
“Definitely very inspired by Usher,” the others agree.
As a band, they’re hard to pin down sonically. I’d say that’s the point, but it honestly just seems like it was inevitable given how diverse their tastes in music are. I asked who some of their favorite artists are. “For the three of us, cohesively? Probably Phoenix, Radiohead, Cage The Elephant, Oasis, and Twenty One Pilots,” they say, more or less all at once.
But when I asked them individually, I got to see a glimpse into why exactly their music is so damn unique, and seemingly influenced by anything and everything.
“I really like 90s hip-hop,” Jackson says. “Biggie, Tupac, Mos Def, early R&B like Brandy, Usher. That’s my style.”
Troy laughs and points. “But he also likes Indie, like he showed me Indie. I mean, I thought I was Indie… and then I met this guy.”
“I grew up on '60s and '70s rock,” Brandon adds. “Lately I’ve been getting into jazz, but I appreciate it all.”
It’s that musical diversity and trust that shapes their creative process. There’s no formula.
“We never make music the same way twice,” Jackson says. “Sometimes someone starts something, and we all add to it. Other times, someone brings in a full song that just… doesn’t need anything else.”
Brandon agrees. “The ones we build from scratch, those are the special ones. Even though it’s kinda like pulling teeth. It’s vulnerable.”
“But when you’ve got time, energy, and space, and you’re in it together, that’s when something really cool happens,” Troy says. “It’s like being a kid again. Riding a bike for the first time.”
“A lot of the new stuff is almost like a be-your-own-therapist kind of thing,” Troy adds.
They write what they know. What they feel. What they see in the world and the people around them. And sometimes they write what they imagine, stepping outside of their own lives to create characters, stories, and perspectives.
“It takes the weight off of the need for it to be your story,” Troy says. “The human experience is pretty universal, so everybody’s gonna relate to certain things and find their way to it.”
That openness, the choice not to define every song, is intentional.
“When I release it, it’s not mine anymore,” Jackson says. “I don’t want to taint someone’s view of what it could be just because of what my experience was.”
That might be the most little image aspect of all. They’re the artists, sure, but they’re not trying to control the moment. They’re just grateful to be part of it.
They don’t act like stars. They don’t want to. They just want to keep making music, keep seeing the world, and keep riding this thing out together.
“You have to love it to do it,” Jackson says. “And we love to do it together.”
That’s the real story here. Not the label or the stats or the stages. It’s three guys from Texas, figuring it out day by day, giving it everything they’ve got. And inspiring people along the way to chase their own version of the dream.
Because at the end of the day, little image is just that. A glimpse. A reminder. A piece of something bigger.
Listen to little image’s latest singles here, or wherever else you get your music. Follow them on Instagram @littleimage to keep up with their latest releases, shows and more.