Kaitlin Butts

For many summers growing up, with a berries and cream ice cream and paper fans shaped like cowboy hats in hand, my family and I would go see a local production of Oklahoma! at a local amphitheater. I always loved the story of Oklahoma. The cowboys, Curly, the humor, the murder, the ballet. I was so obsessed with Oklahoma! as a young girl that…You know when you’re a kid and you start making up words to things you don’t know the names of? I used to call telephone poles “Will Parkers”. I’d say “Look at all the birds on that Will Parker!” So in 2020, when we were trying to figure out what movie to watch and Cleto said he’d never watched any musicals growing up, I was so excited show him something that I have loved all my life. As we start watching, I noticed a scene where Lorrie throws Jud out of his own wagon and takes the reins and leaves him in the dust. Just before 2020, I had written a song called “Spur” with Megan James with the hook “Why do you give her the spur, when you know she needs the reins.” and I sat there thinking that it would be such a cool visual to have that scene from Oklahoma playing over that song. And then it all clicked. I had a song called “Wild Juanita’s Cactus Juice” about a peddler woman selling magical elixirs that reminded me of Ali Hakim, the peddler man. Since that moment, for the last four years, I have been dreaming up this album, recreating songs, writing new narratives, dreaming up colorful music videos, trying to bring that little idea to life. It was a big thing to dream up but it lit a fire under me and has turned out even better than I could have imagined. I hope you can feel all the work, thought, and love I put into Roadrunner! and I hope you love it just as much as I do. Roadrunner! OUT NOW.