Interview: Christina Perri Returns Home To Philadelphia
By Michael Cerio
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Christina Perri likely won't have time to make it to Wawa when she returns home to play The Mann this Saturday (July 11th). Luckily, her loved ones will be there to provide a proper meal.
"I'm sure my family is going to bring me some Wawa, because I can't really live without it when I'm home" says Perri. "I love that peach ice tea and meatball hoagie."
That's a strong combination, curated during years of growing up in Bucks County and Philadelphia. Before her journey to Los Angeles at 21 years old, Christina Perri graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School and attended Philadelphia's University Of The Arts.
Just hours before her tour kicks off in Connecticut, in between soundchecks and unpacking, she recalls her favorite place.
"Not to be super cheesy, but I used to hang on the Art Museum steps. I would just sit there and watch people go up the Rocky steps and do that thing at the top. I would do my homework there, and I would read poetry. I was very much the hippie. And I would just kind of chill there all the time."
Perri is uniquely Philadelphia. Through all of her success the past five years you can tell it's still very much in her heart. She wears its skyline and area code inked across her skin. So, for someone who came up going to shows in the area, the idea of playing The Mann is a bit wild.
"I feel like, I've played all my favorite venues in Philly, and Camden, all the places that I grew up seeing people. I saw Norah Jones at The Mann a long time ago, but I can't believe that we're there. It's so cool that we keep doing different venues, and they keep getting bigger."
Her show at The Mann is part of the "Girls Night Out. Boys Can Come Too" tour with fellow songstresses Colbie Caillat and Rachel Platten.
"We have upped everything. We've got new outfits, new lights, new videos. The shows completely different to anyone that's seen us before" says Perri. "I've been on tour for five years now and done sixteen tours, so I've taken every favorite moment of all those tours and put them into one show."
It's a homecoming for Christina Perri at The Mann this Saturday. Where the skyline that is tattooed upon her arm will shine across the lawn, and the people that she grew up with will come to see her sing.
To hear more from Christina Perri including her plans with family and what Taylor Swift got her for Christmas, listen to the full interview above.
