The Highways Sit Down with Kaitlin Butts
Boundary-pushing, Tulsa-born artist Kaitlin Butts is in the midst of making her long-awaited return to the UK and Europe for her headline tour The European Cowgirl Experience and an appearance at Highways Festival, taking place at the iconic Royal Albert Hall in London this weekend.We last spoke to Kaitlin when she played at The Long Road festival and since then she has been out on the road with Lainey Wilson in addition to having a significant role to play in the music video for Ella Langley’s global smash hit “Choosin’ Texas” so we had plenty to catch up on before the UK portion of the tour got underway.
Hey Kaitlin, it’s great to have you back over here and you’ve had a few shows in mainland Europe already on this trip.
“Yes, Sweden, Amsterdam, and Germany last night.”
Awh nice, were any of those new places for you to visit?
“Sweden was new for me, I've never been there before. Amsterdam, I had been to last year, but I didn't really get to go see it. We didn't really feel super safe, it was just me and my tour manager and as women we were like, we don't need to be out here by ourselves without the boys, so we kind of stuck to our hotel. Then last night, Hamburg was a new city as well.”
Nice, then you’re over here playing a couple of familiar cities and the London one will be a particularly cool little gig on Friday, you must be excited about that.
“Just a little bit and my birthday is Saturday, so it's kind of like a birthday treat.”
To us over here, Royal Albert Hall is the most iconic venue in the whole country and there is so much history. To you guys as Americans, does it have the same appeal and prestige as somewhere like Red Rocks or Madison Square Garden, which everyone deems as so special.
“I would say one hundred percent yes. I think, though, for me, it felt unattainable is how I would describe it. I feel as Red Rocks is somewhere I've played before and that seems within my world, but Royal Albert Hall is not somewhere that I ever saw myself being asked to play, so it wasn't, like, a goal of mine, because I thought well, that's not gonna happen. I’m very excited, it's just huge and very iconic.”
It’s such a special venue, are you playing with the boys and have you got the band over again?
“We’ve got the band, yes. We had them for The Long Road Festival and then the next time I went on tour acoustic so I'm excited. I'm happy to have them on this full tour because we really missed them and I love playing shows with them. I love travelling with them as they’re a lot of fun too and they're goofy as hell, so they're fun to travel with, then on stage they take it to the next level for sure.”
With these shows, what can we expect from the setlist? I know we had the “Yeehaw Sessions” last year, but it’s been a little while since you put out an extended original project so could we get a little taste of some new stuff that might be on the way?
“I would say so, yes. You'll be getting the storytelling, country, fiddle and some Yeehaw here and there but definitely some new stuff as well.”
Hey Kaitlin, it’s great to have you back over here and you’ve had a few shows in mainland Europe already on this trip.
“Yes, Sweden, Amsterdam, and Germany last night.”
Awh nice, were any of those new places for you to visit?
“Sweden was new for me, I've never been there before. Amsterdam, I had been to last year, but I didn't really get to go see it. We didn't really feel super safe, it was just me and my tour manager and as women we were like, we don't need to be out here by ourselves without the boys, so we kind of stuck to our hotel. Then last night, Hamburg was a new city as well.”
Nice, then you’re over here playing a couple of familiar cities and the London one will be a particularly cool little gig on Friday, you must be excited about that.
“Just a little bit and my birthday is Saturday, so it's kind of like a birthday treat.”
To us over here, Royal Albert Hall is the most iconic venue in the whole country and there is so much history. To you guys as Americans, does it have the same appeal and prestige as somewhere like Red Rocks or Madison Square Garden, which everyone deems as so special.
“I would say one hundred percent yes. I think, though, for me, it felt unattainable is how I would describe it. I feel as Red Rocks is somewhere I've played before and that seems within my world, but Royal Albert Hall is not somewhere that I ever saw myself being asked to play, so it wasn't, like, a goal of mine, because I thought well, that's not gonna happen. I’m very excited, it's just huge and very iconic.”
It’s such a special venue, are you playing with the boys and have you got the band over again?
“We’ve got the band, yes. We had them for The Long Road Festival and then the next time I went on tour acoustic so I'm excited. I'm happy to have them on this full tour because we really missed them and I love playing shows with them. I love travelling with them as they’re a lot of fun too and they're goofy as hell, so they're fun to travel with, then on stage they take it to the next level for sure.”
With these shows, what can we expect from the setlist? I know we had the “Yeehaw Sessions” last year, but it’s been a little while since you put out an extended original project so could we get a little taste of some new stuff that might be on the way?
“I would say so, yes. You'll be getting the storytelling, country, fiddle and some Yeehaw here and there but definitely some new stuff as well.”
In terms of the grand scheme of things through this year, is there potentially a new full-length project on the horizon? Is there something we're working towards? I know you probably can't say too much about it yet if there is, but are we in a stage where you're still writing for something? Have you been recording? Is it a case of it's done and you're just waiting for someone to tell you when you can go with it?
“I just signed with Republic Records last year and I've been writing so many songs in the last couple of months and have been recording as well, so hopefully we'll have something out before the end of the year.”
Coming back to the UK, this is obviously not the first trip, you’ve been over quite a few times in the last couple of years now and there is always that thing before you come in the first instance where you get all this noise from some people saying how it’s expensive, it's the time away from home and jetlag really sucks. From what you're seeing, obviously coming back this time, you’ve built the tour around playing at Highways, but are you definitely noticing that the UK is a market that is really responding to you off the back of the previous trips?
“Yeah, I would say that anyone who complains about those things, they haven't been doing it for very long because that's how it is everywhere. It's hard no matter where you go, this job is really, really hard, but I really love it even if it's expensive and even if the travel is rough, but the travel is rough in the states, I mean, it takes eight hours to get across the state of Texas, it is hard anywhere you go. But whenever you get to the destination, wherever it may be and especially here in Europe, the return that I get from playing here, they are just so enthusiastic about listening and getting to be a part of this thing that they have no reason to be a part of either. Y'all don't have horses or cattle and y’all don’t do that here, so you guys have to seek it out. I think that shows how much more y'all appreciate it, which makes those early flights or all the things that's like, these people are dying for this type of music and just to be told a story or to be involved in our culture in any way possible. I love it coming over here so much because y'all really do appreciate the just our whole world over there.”
I want to touch on the topic which I'm pretty sure everybody's asked you about pretty heavily this afternoon and that’s you entering your villain era. How did that come about? How did Ella sell the I want you to come and be the baddie in my music video to you?
“She just asked me over FaceTime if I wanted to be in her music video and I'm like, yeah, I will do anything you ask me. I’ll stand in the corner or you don’t even need to put me in it, I’ll just be on set and bring you water all day because I really love her. She's super talented and just fun, she makes you cooler or she actually makes me less cool, like, when I'm around her, you know, when someone's so cool that you're like, I'm an idiot, that's how cool she is.She’s super nice and super sweet, then she asked me to be in it, but I didn't realise until I'm reading the shot by shot where I read it and thought that sounds like a cool video but then they’re like no, you’re the girl in the bathroom and I’m like what? Being included in it then having a huge role was really meaningful to me and it just totally exploded. That video is huge and it's the biggest song in the world for how many weeks now? It’s like nine or something ridiculous but she deserves it and I was just happy to be asked to be in it.”
“I just signed with Republic Records last year and I've been writing so many songs in the last couple of months and have been recording as well, so hopefully we'll have something out before the end of the year.”
Coming back to the UK, this is obviously not the first trip, you’ve been over quite a few times in the last couple of years now and there is always that thing before you come in the first instance where you get all this noise from some people saying how it’s expensive, it's the time away from home and jetlag really sucks. From what you're seeing, obviously coming back this time, you’ve built the tour around playing at Highways, but are you definitely noticing that the UK is a market that is really responding to you off the back of the previous trips?
“Yeah, I would say that anyone who complains about those things, they haven't been doing it for very long because that's how it is everywhere. It's hard no matter where you go, this job is really, really hard, but I really love it even if it's expensive and even if the travel is rough, but the travel is rough in the states, I mean, it takes eight hours to get across the state of Texas, it is hard anywhere you go. But whenever you get to the destination, wherever it may be and especially here in Europe, the return that I get from playing here, they are just so enthusiastic about listening and getting to be a part of this thing that they have no reason to be a part of either. Y'all don't have horses or cattle and y’all don’t do that here, so you guys have to seek it out. I think that shows how much more y'all appreciate it, which makes those early flights or all the things that's like, these people are dying for this type of music and just to be told a story or to be involved in our culture in any way possible. I love it coming over here so much because y'all really do appreciate the just our whole world over there.”
I want to touch on the topic which I'm pretty sure everybody's asked you about pretty heavily this afternoon and that’s you entering your villain era. How did that come about? How did Ella sell the I want you to come and be the baddie in my music video to you?
“She just asked me over FaceTime if I wanted to be in her music video and I'm like, yeah, I will do anything you ask me. I’ll stand in the corner or you don’t even need to put me in it, I’ll just be on set and bring you water all day because I really love her. She's super talented and just fun, she makes you cooler or she actually makes me less cool, like, when I'm around her, you know, when someone's so cool that you're like, I'm an idiot, that's how cool she is.She’s super nice and super sweet, then she asked me to be in it, but I didn't realise until I'm reading the shot by shot where I read it and thought that sounds like a cool video but then they’re like no, you’re the girl in the bathroom and I’m like what? Being included in it then having a huge role was really meaningful to me and it just totally exploded. That video is huge and it's the biggest song in the world for how many weeks now? It’s like nine or something ridiculous but she deserves it and I was just happy to be asked to be in it.”
Like you say that song's obviously not doing just doing phenomenal things in the States, but even over here and not just in terms of country airplay in the UK but it’s getting mainstream playlisting across the CHR stations and charting in ways that female artists from Nashville haven’t seen since the early Taylor Swift days. This is great and so well deserved for Ella, then Lainey is killing it everywhere, Megan Moroney is so hot right now and Kacey is all that anyone is talking about with her new record, so it is fantastic seeing these girls thriving especially as it has been tough for female artists in country music. As a newer artist are you seeing the opportunities and exposure trickle down where you are not just able to celebrate each other’s success, but it’s also helped put wind behind the sails of other girls in the genre?
“Yeah, I think whenever one of us wins, we all win after that. When you see people like Ella and Kacey, so many people are realising that they can like women's music, be Ella Fellas and identify as that. I think that whenever someone like that just shows this whole world of musicians that I can like this too and not be like a girly thing, just the love of femininity, I think, is something that they're getting more focussed on but the spotlight on that is really cool to see. Then every time one of us wins, if you're a good person and every woman I've ever met, pretty much has been somebody that lifts, whenever they've gotten up to a point, they turn around and see who's behind them and how they can help. Ella's a huge example of that, Lainey is a great example of that too, I mean, she brought me on tour in Australia, Canada and the States last year, because that's how I feel too. Whenever I’m on tour, I have like a harder time thinking of men I want to bring, honestly, because I listen to mostly women and it’s not even out of bias, it's just something that is natural, and maybe that's part of it too. It's just something that women I relate to more and you just want to turn around because you see all this talent that doesn't have the exposure, just hasn't had their moment or hasn't had the road time yet. It makes you wanna just throw them up on stage and say, if you like me, you're gonna like this too and I think seeing that on all levels is the coolest thing.”
That’s amazing, thank you very much for taking the time to hang today, have the best time on Friday night and obviously celebrate hard on Saturday for your birthday.
Thursday 14th May – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Friday 15th May – Royal Albert Hall, London (Highways Festival)
Saturday 16th May - Royal Albert Hall, London (Highways Festival)
Monday 18th May – Band On The Wall, Manchester
Tuesday 19th May – Oran Mor, Glasgow
Thursday 21st May – Limelight, Belfast
Friday 22nd May – Whelans, Dublin
Kaitlin Butts begins her UK and Ireland tour tonight in Leeds, which includes a performance at Highways Festivalwhich takes place this weekend at the Royal Albert Hall and you can find ticket information for all of the dates shown above on her WEBSITE. To keep up to date with all that Kaitlin is up to, you can follow her socially on INSTAGRAMFACEBOOK TWITTER and TIKTOK.
“Yeah, I think whenever one of us wins, we all win after that. When you see people like Ella and Kacey, so many people are realising that they can like women's music, be Ella Fellas and identify as that. I think that whenever someone like that just shows this whole world of musicians that I can like this too and not be like a girly thing, just the love of femininity, I think, is something that they're getting more focussed on but the spotlight on that is really cool to see. Then every time one of us wins, if you're a good person and every woman I've ever met, pretty much has been somebody that lifts, whenever they've gotten up to a point, they turn around and see who's behind them and how they can help. Ella's a huge example of that, Lainey is a great example of that too, I mean, she brought me on tour in Australia, Canada and the States last year, because that's how I feel too. Whenever I’m on tour, I have like a harder time thinking of men I want to bring, honestly, because I listen to mostly women and it’s not even out of bias, it's just something that is natural, and maybe that's part of it too. It's just something that women I relate to more and you just want to turn around because you see all this talent that doesn't have the exposure, just hasn't had their moment or hasn't had the road time yet. It makes you wanna just throw them up on stage and say, if you like me, you're gonna like this too and I think seeing that on all levels is the coolest thing.”
That’s amazing, thank you very much for taking the time to hang today, have the best time on Friday night and obviously celebrate hard on Saturday for your birthday.
Thursday 14th May – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Friday 15th May – Royal Albert Hall, London (Highways Festival)
Saturday 16th May - Royal Albert Hall, London (Highways Festival)
Monday 18th May – Band On The Wall, Manchester
Tuesday 19th May – Oran Mor, Glasgow
Thursday 21st May – Limelight, Belfast
Friday 22nd May – Whelans, Dublin
Kaitlin Butts begins her UK and Ireland tour tonight in Leeds, which includes a performance at Highways Festivalwhich takes place this weekend at the Royal Albert Hall and you can find ticket information for all of the dates shown above on her WEBSITE. To keep up to date with all that Kaitlin is up to, you can follow her socially on INSTAGRAMFACEBOOK TWITTER and TIKTOK.
