Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaitlin Butts.
Kaitlin, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have always loved singing, and later, playing guitar. I studied music for a couple of years in college but then was anxious to just get out there and start playing anywhere they’d let me. I began playing around OKC, where I was living–playing and writing songs. I got an opportunity to play at the Gypsy Cafe Music Festival in Stillwater, OK, a well-known and special location credited with the beginning of the Oklahoma Red Dirt music scene. The festival honors Bob Childers, known by many as the “Godfather” of Red Dirt. I met guys like Cody Canada, Mike McClure and the late Tom Skinner, who were also the Red Dirt pioneers. Mike McClure later produced my album, “Same Hell, Different Devil”. This album landed in the hands of Fort Worth program director for 95.9 The Ranch, Shayne Hollinger. He started playing my songs and before I knew it, when I’d play in Texas, people were singing along with me. I was lucky enough to meet others in the Fort Worth scene and my friend Dalton Domino pointed Cleto Cordero of Flatland Cavalry my way after he heard my song “Gal Like Me” on 95.9 while passing through in Fort Worth. Flatland was looking for a female for a duet, “A Life Where We Work Out”. I recorded it, Cleto and I had a great connection right off the bat and a couple of years later, he and I moved into a one bedroom apartment in Fort Worth and are now engaged to be married this fall. We both travel playing music and I sometimes join his band on the road. I now also have a place to stay in Nashville, TN as I am spending a lot of time writing songs and planning on making a new record soon.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to where I am today has been smooth for the most part, but I can’t say it has all been easy. I have learned to roll with the punches and just keep on going. There are humbling nights I recall when I first started where I played for 3 hours for NO ONE. I’ve also had memorable, great nights with wonderful, appreciative, and encouraging crowds that keep me going forward. Both kinds of experiences are very valuable to me. One taught me to develop tough skin and persevere and the other reminds me why I wanted to do this job in the first place and makes me want to write better songs, be a better guitar player, be a better singer, and perform better.
Young girls who would like to play country music for a living will hopefully see changes for the better as far as opportunities for females. I am so grateful for those who are forcing those conversations that will make things better and allow female voices the chance to be heard on a larger scale, on bigger stages, and with better time slots much more often than is the case now.
The advice I would give to young girls is to have a very solid sense of who you are and where you want to be. Don’t base your self-worth on external factors or whether or not one guy on twitter thinks you suck. Tell your stories. Develop your skills. Be motivated internally. Don’t take anything too seriously. Be prepared to work very hard in less-than-glamorous conditions. Don’t always be “nice” or “agreeable”. Be prepared to be firm if you need to be and to stand up for yourself if you want respect-but it is truly earned by working hard and being good at what you do. No matter what you do or how good you are or how far you’ve come, someone will always find something about you to pick apart…But don’t let anything that someone says about you destroy you.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m a singer, songwriter, and guitar player. My songs cover a large ranch of topics- I have sweet love songs, breakup songs, songs about addiction, old age, murder ballads, and songs about drinking too much because…honky tonks. Most everything I write is very personal to me, or someone I know. I tell stories of real-life situations, and people sometimes tell me how certain songs have spoken to them. As a songwriter, to have a song that means something to me, mean something to someone else, that’s as good as you can hope for. I hope what sets me apart is that when I’m on stage, I’m authentic and honest, and don’t have a contrived, formula-driven performance.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kaitlinbutts.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaitlinbutts/?hl=en
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/kaitlinbutts
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/kaitlinbutts
Image Credit:
Natalie Rhea, Fernando Garcia, Melissa Payne
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