Katie Pruitt – “Expectations”

SXSW 2020 (cancelled) - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 5 

Pairs Well With…Brandi Carlisle, Kathleen Edwards, Julien Baker

One thing I think we can all agree on is that Willie Nelson has a good ear, so it’s worth noting that Katie Pruitt was named Luck Reunion Artist on the Rise for SXSW 2019.  We missed her last year but not this time around. Pruitt is a triple threat.  She has pitch-perfect soaring folk/country vocals, smartly crafted lyrics, and on some songs, strong crunchy, roots-rock guitar.  Her back story is that grew up as a closeted gay girl born into a religious family in Georgia. As a result, much of her music deals with very personal issues such as coming out to her family and in her music.  But there is a great balance of nuanced vocal delivery and thoughtful production that complements her powerful messaging.   Pruitt also moves around within her pocket in a way that illustrates her craft.  Her most recent single, “Expectations,” begins in a folk rock style is nicely layered with some dreamy Cali-sounding guitar work. The entire album is fairly strong, though a few of the folkier ballads might not translate as well to a noisy Southbye venue.  So I hope she play the powerful and incisive “Grace Has a Gun” about a perhaps dangerous ex-lover.  And it’s virtually guaranteed that her set will include “Loving Her,” one of her most Brandi Carlisle-esque efforts.  It’s an upbeat, soulful anthem to a girlfriend. She vulnerably lays out just what’s at stake for her in the fight for LGTB rights when she sings, “Some people choose Buddha, Jesus, or booze, but her body's my temple and her soul is my savior.”  Sing it Katie and give Hozier a run for his money on this theme. (David Zlotnick)