From the first few moments that we start our interview, the warmth between Jess Thompson and Jade Ireland Long, the duo behind Hotel Fiction, is unmistakable. Easy, playful, and deeply familiar. It’s the same energy that has shaped their partnership from its earliest days.

“We met when we were sophomores in college,” recalls Thompson. “We happened to be living in apartment complexes next to each other. We just met through some friends who thought that we would get along, and also knew that we were both musicians, and so pretty soon after that, we started writing together, and pretty instantly clicked in that forum.”

What began as casual collaboration between two University of Georgia students soon became something more, and a mutual passion began to ignite. 

“At first it was just for fun, and then through some happenstance, classic small town Athens circumstances, we ended up subbing in for a band to play a show, throwing a band together in the amount of time that we had to get ready for the show,” continues Thompson. “We were just able to make art with a lot of our friends, and especially with each other. It just felt like a lot of things in the beginning were lining up for us in really beautiful ways.”

As their music grew, so did their understanding of what it meant to create something lasting.

“At some point through it all, we were kind of looking at each other being like, ‘Is this something that maybe we want to carry on past college? Is this just one show we’re playing? Should it turn into a tour?’”

Naturally, the answer to those questions were a resounding yes. Following their time at UGA, the duo released their first single, “Astronaut Kids,” which has amassed over 2 million streams, and they soon found themselves going from one singular impromptu show to consistent touring. Now, they’re releasing a deluxe edition of their album Staring at the Sun, their 2024 album. The deluxe version, out February 27, includes four new songs, and allowed Thompson and Long the chance to revisit some of their old works, which offered new insight into how time reshapes meaning. 

“When you end up working with a piece of art for a long time, it develops in meaning. When we wrote [Staring at the Sun], it might have meant something entirely different than it means now. As we’ve matured and gone through different things, we find new meanings in the songs,” says Thompson.

For Long, that process is both reflective and intentional. “What I don’t ever want to happen is that I stay stuck in an old version of myself of an old song,” she reflects. “It’s really important to continue to change your perspective on songs that even you write, and bring new meaning to them.”

Their music has long carried a cinematic, story-driven quality, something rooted in their shared background of a mutual love of musical theater and film. 

“We have a background in theater in different ways. It’s kind of like you’re writing a play about your own life, in a way, and you get to perform it,” says Long. That sense of narrative extends to how they construct albums.

“We’ll try to make the songs tell a story altogether. We think a lot about the beginning and the middle and the end and how they tie together.” Thompson adds, “We’ve also always had the dream of making a video accompaniment to a whole album, songs that are written about entirely different things, but can come together in one story.”

Visual art plays a similarly vital role in their world. As both girls still remain in Athens, Georgia, a place known for its robust artistic scene, they often find themselves surrounded by artistic inspiration, which trickles down into every facet of their artistic process. This also includes Long’s work as a visual artist, who paints all of Hotel Fiction’s album cover art and designs their merchandise. 

“As a painter, I feel very drawn to certain moods and certain genres of art based on the way I’m feeling internally,” says Long. “My art and music equally reflect that. It feels very easy. The art feels like it’s just an extension of that. It’s just a cool thing that I’m able to give to the band.”

At the heart of Long and Thompson’s collaboration is a shared commitment to partnership rather than competition.

“I think it’s something that is ingrained in all of us, is to hate each other and to hate ourselves as women,” Long reflects. “The more we compete, the less powerful we are together.” Instead, both women choose vulnerability and mutual respect, and they happily choose to champion not only each other, but other women in their field. “It’s very important to us that we just meet each other where we’re at, and work together to create something that’s better than what we could create on our own.” 

As they look ahead, their excitement is palpable.

“We are very excited about the next phase,” Thompson says. “We’ve been in a big writing phase for our new album. We’ve been really excited to lean more into the rock world.” The process itself continues to inspire them. “Working on new music has just like felt so good and so exciting.”

When asked what they would say to their younger selves, those sophomore students at UGA, Long reflects on connection and gratitude.

“I would say, ‘You’re not alone in your feelings. Enjoy it while it’s here. Every year is beautiful in its own way.’”

Thompson echoes that sentiment.

“Every stage of a journey is very valuable. And beautiful. The beginning stages of figuring things out and even being bad at them at first are some of the most beautiful stages.”

Together, their words form a portrait of two artists who have learned to honor every phase: uncertain beginnings, creative risks, evolving meanings, and the enduring power of partnership.

“I think that those are the times,” Thompson says, “where you can create the things that feel most true to you.”

Staring at the Sun (Deluxe Edition) is out February 27th.

More information on Hotel Fiction is available here.