A concept album unlike anything I’ve ever heard of before.
Today, Tulsa native Kaitlin Butts announced her third studio album Roadrunner!, which isn’t a song-by-song covers album or response to the musical Oklahoma!, but rather heavily inspired by the film she loved so much growing up.
Each song pulls from a plot point in the story of Oklahoma!, and comes in at 17-songs in total.
The album was produced by Oran Thornton (Brent Cobb, Logan Brill), and will be the most theatrical and flashy project Butts has delivered yet, she says:
“With the last album I wanted to write about the struggles I’d seen people go through or experienced myself, so a lot of the songs had a sadness or darkness to them.
I feel like ‘Roadrunner!’ is much closer to what I’m like onstage, where there’s real emotion and truth but also humor and a tendency to poke fun. It’s all those different versions of me at once.”
She wrote with powerhouses like Angaleena Presley and Natalie Hemby for the album, and it also includes a feature from the legendary Vince Gill on “Come Rest Your Head (On My Pillow).” That song was actually inspired by a girl Kaitlin saw at the Two Step Inn festival in Texas wearing a shirt that said “Cowboy Pillows,” which makes it all the more humorous and intriguing:
“I saw this gorgeous girl wearing a tank top that said ‘Cowboy Pillows’ right across her chest, which I thought was so hysterical.
But then when I went to write it, it became this sweet song about being a source of comfort and safety for a man.”
The idea to rework Oklahoma! first came when Kaitlin rewatched the film with her husband, Flatland Cavalry frontman Cleto Cordero, during the pandemic. She has a musical-theater background, and her parents would take her to see a live performance of Oklahoma! at a local amphitheater every summer.
She says that she couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of doing something like this sooner, as the album “completely encompasses who I am and what I love.”
Kaitlin has a flair for the dramatics when it comes to her on-stage persona, which I love, and she’s an incredibly talented vocalist and writer, so this is sure to be one of the coolest, most creative projects released in 2024.
She says that certain something “extra” has always come naturally to her, and Roadrunner! stands to showcase the depth, creativity, and purely original talent that Butts possesses in spades. Mark your calendars, people… Roadrunner! is due out everywhere on June 28th.
She previously released the lead single “Hunt You Down,” originally written and recorded by Kesha, in March:
Kaitlin Butts 2024 tour dates:
May 25 – Arlington, TX – Levitt Free Concert Series
Jun 1 – Lexington, KY – Railbird Music Festival
Jun 15 – Ardmore, OK – Depot Days
Jun 28 – Pendleton, OR – Jackalope Jamboree
Jul 5 – Riaza, ESP – Huercasa Country Festival
Jul 9 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown
Jul 10 – Fargo, ND – Fargo Brewing Company
Jul 12 – Billings, MT – Thirsty Street Brewing Company
Jul 14 – Whitefish, MT – Under The Big Sky Festival
Jul 17 – Boise, ID – The Grove Plaza
Jul 19 – Denver, CO – Globe Hall
Jul 20 – Telluride, CO – Telluride Americana Fest
Aug 4 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
Aug 8 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion+
Aug 9 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center+
Aug 10 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena+
Aug 25 – Bottesford, UK – The Long Road Festival
Aug 26 – Brighton, UK – Concorde 2*
Aug 27 – London, UK – Scala*
Aug 29 – Bristol, UK – The Fleece*
Aug 30 – Manchester, UK – Academy 2*
Aug 31 – Paisley, UK – Mill Town Music Fest*
Oct 5 – Salt Lake City, UT – RedWest Fest
+ supporting Dierks Bentley
* Supporting Flatland Cavalry
