King Princess. Photo by Collier Schorr

“I’m gonna provide an area for people to be themselves, and I’m gonna keep doing that forever,” says 23-year-old pop singer and songwriter Mikaela Straus, who records and performs under the name King Princess.

On Thursday, that area will be the State Theatre where Strauss and her band will perform in support of her second album “Hold On Baby,” released on July 29.

Straus, who identifies as a non-binary lesbian and is comfortable with all pronouns, splits her time between her home city of Brooklyn, New York, and Los Angeles.

“I don’t write my music from a political place, but I know that it is naturally politicized because it’s not straight music,” said Straus. A prime example is  “Winter is Hopeful” about her relationship with partner Quinn Wilson who is repeatedly name-dropped. Straus had  promised Wilson she’d never put her in a song, but when she played it for her, Wilson told her it was really good. Wilson’s right, the track is a funky, smoldering jam.

Along with voting, Straus considers art and music to be the most important unifiers right now.

“The artistic community, our job is to talk to the young people, to unify young people, to make people feel strong and capable and to make queer people feel strong and capable and OK with themselves while these (expletive) menacing white people go try to take away our rights,” she continued. “What these people want is for us to be quiet and to not have community and to disenfranchise us so we’re weaker so they can pull us apart.”

One of Straus’s ways of confronting adversity and creating community is to bring people together at a King Princess show because it puts the focus, even for just a few hours, on love and connectivity. During which you get to hear a ton of fantastic songs, including the hit “1950” that put King Princess on the map in 2019 and has since racked up a half a billion streams on Spotify.

Album cover for “Hold On Baby” by King Princess. Image courtesy of Zelig Records, photo by Collier Schorr

As for the music on “Hold On Baby,” Straus got some help from musician Amy Allen who grew up in Windham and South Portland. Allen is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter who has worked with artists like Halsey, Selena Gomez and Shawn Mendes. Allen also co-wrote a track on the latest Harry Styles record. Straus has her own connection to Styles, having opened some shows for him when her first album “Cheap Queen” came out in 2019.

Allen and Straus teamed up on the textured, upbeat tune “For My Friends” and the moody, empowering “Dotted Lines.” Straus said that she and Allen are friends and she holds her in extremely high regard. When they started writing together, Straus said they immediately hit it off. “I just think she’s one of those really special people who assembles melodies in this incredibly beautiful, mathematical way.”

Straus also collaborated via FaceTime with Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters drummer who died in March. Hawkins plays drums on the track “Let Us Die.”

“It was one of those experiences of meeting someone you look up to and having them be so kind, patient and lovely with you,” said Straus, who also appreciated Hawkins’ level of excitement and passion for his instrument. “He just loved to play the drums.” This love translated to one of the album’s strongest tracks on which Hawkins’ drums explode like hand grenades.

When Straus was about 14 years old, she had older friends who were writers. One of them was named Doug and they would often set the tone for the day by declaring it a “king princess day.” It began as a joke, but the more they said it, the truer it felt, and Straus realized it was a dichotomy of two things – two genders. “That’s how I felt as a kid. Nothing made sense, but it was me, you know, and I just kind of stuck with it.”

This Portland show will mark Straus’ first time performing in Maine, but she’s been visiting for a long time because she has relatives who own a house in Kittery Point. Those visits would often include trips to Portland. “I’ve spent a lot of time in Maine, so I love Maine,” she said.

Straus hopes her fans have a blast at her show and experience a full range of emotional release, from laughter to tears. She also wants her fans to feel safe and connected with one another while hearing great music. “That’s my goal, that’s what I do.”

King Princess with St. Panther and Cherry Lemonade
8 p.m. Thursday. State Theatre, 609 Congress St., Portland, $30 in advance, $35 day of show. statetheatreportland.com.