Kaitlin Butts Unveils New Song and Epic Album “Roadrunner!”
Kaitlin Butts has never been one to shy away from a little drama in her music. In fact, intrigue and murder have been recurring themes in her catalog. All the more reason for the Oklahoma native to lean into that theatrical side of her music for her third official album inspired by the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! It’s called Roadrunner! and it’s set for release on June 28th.
“Every summer when I was a kid my parents would take me to see a performance of ‘Oklahoma!’ at a local amphitheater, and I’ve felt such a strong connection to it my entire life,” says Butts. “It’s a love story but there’s also a murder and a little bit of an acid-trippy feel to it at times; it’s set in the same place where I come from. Once I got the idea for this album I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before, and it turned into something that completely encompasses who I am and what I love.”
If you loved her last album what else can she do (2022) but the seven songs left you wanting even more, don’t worry, Roadrunner! will include a total 17 tracks. It’s an epic, conceptualized work produced by Oran Thornton, with contributions from steel-guitar/multi-instrumentalist Russ Pahl. Vince Gill and Cleto Cordero also pop in for a featured spots, and co-writers include Angaleena Presley, Natalie Hemby, and Courtney Patton.
Kaitlin has done nothing but continued to create buzz and momentum around her career behind quality songs and strong performances. This gives Roadrunner! the opportunity to really put her over the top. “Making this album showed me that little ideas can grow and take on a life on their own, and it’s so exciting to know that sticking with my vision can lead to something bigger than I ever even imagined,” she says.
The album draws directly from Rodgers and Hammerstein in a couple of moments, and also includes a cover of Kesha’s “Hunt You Down” that Kaitlin released a couple of months ago and has already been creating social media buzz. Now Kaitlin has released the album’s title track (listen below), which fans have been hearing live for a while now.
Roadrunner! is an album of music, but Butts wants to create a strong visual and interactive component to it, which we’ve already seen from the early songs and videos, including the title track inspired by the touring life.
“The version of me depicted in the video 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. In making this music video, I wanted to show the highs and lows and chaotic lifestyle that I love so much.”
Roadrunner! is now available for pre-save and pre-order.
Track List:
1. Overture: My New Life Starts Today (Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II)
2. Roadrunner (Kaitlin Butts)
3. Other Girls (Kaitlin Butts, Natalie Hemby)
4. Wild Juanita’s Cactus Juice (Kaitlin Butts)
5. Soliloquy: Out Of My Dreams
6. Come Rest Your Head (On My Pillow) feat. Vince Gill (Kaitlin Butts)
7. People Will Say We’re In Love feat. Cleto Cordero (Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II)
8. Buckaroo (Kaitlin Butts)
9. That’ll Never Be Me (Kaitlin Butts, Angaleena Presley)
10. Spur (Kaitlin Butts, Megan James)
11. If I Can’t Have You (Kaitlin Butts)
12. Bang, Bang (Poor Jud Is Dead) (Sonny Bono)
13. You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead To Me) (Kaitlin Butts, Natalie Hemby)
14. Like I Should (Kaitlin Butts)
15. Hunt You Down (Kesha Serbert, Richard Nowels)
16. Followed You To Vegas (Kaitlin Butts)
17. Elsa (Kaitlin Butts, Courtney Patton, Jimmie Davis)
May 17, 2024 @ 8:31 am
I’ve had one or two interactions with her in life and found Kaitlin to be delightful and kind and I want good things for her. I like a lot of her writing and many of her songs.
The time or two I’ve seen her live were drastically different though. I’m not sure I know of a larger gap between live and recorded. She may not have been served well earlier in her live career
May 17, 2024 @ 8:41 am
I can’t speak to every Kaitlin performance or how she was live super early in her career. But she seems to always be at the festivals I attend lately, and has been lights out the last couple of years. Saw her in January and in March, and it was excellent. Now that she has a more established and steady band behind her, the live show has really come together.
May 19, 2024 @ 10:42 am
SAYING HI FROM WYOMING. LIKED THIS ONE.
May 19, 2024 @ 2:13 pm
Trigger, yes she crushed it the past two years at Mile 0 Fest. Weird space suits and all for her 2023 show.
May 17, 2024 @ 8:58 am
Can’t complain.
May 17, 2024 @ 8:59 am
This looks like it could be the game changer to break her. I already see 2 of my Butts favorites on there in Wild Juanita’s Cactus Juice and Buckaroo. Roadrunner sounds great as I’d been listening to a live version the last couple of months. She’ll be here for her Chicago debut appearance at Lollapalozza in August. I don’t Lolla but I’m sure she’ll be back. I can’t wait for this album.
May 17, 2024 @ 9:04 am
The posted song sounds a lot like Eddie Rabbit’s Drivin’ My Life Away.
May 17, 2024 @ 2:35 pm
I hear that now that you mention it with the cadence and up and down in the vocals but it’s way more country. Actually kinda makes me like it even more because that is a great song.
May 17, 2024 @ 4:13 pm
She does have the line “Rabbit on the radio” in it, so the resemblance is surely not accidental. I’ll allow that the metadata folks may be the ones at fault for misspelling “Rabbitt”.
Really looking forward to hearing the rest of this project. The preview tracks are ????????????????
September 1, 2024 @ 9:35 am
Of course (I haven’t heard the song) she could be referring to the late dsc jckey, Jimmy Rabbitt. David Allan Coe name-checked him in a song, so it’s not out of the question.,
May 17, 2024 @ 9:38 am
I have only seen her live once (3 years ago?) and she destroyed the place. Side stage at a festival and she was all anyone could talk about all weekend. Can’t wait to see her again in about 40 days (second on the bill; main stage). This album is probably gonna send her into the stratosphere. She deserves it.
May 17, 2024 @ 9:49 am
Kaitlin is The Shi*.
Love her!
Reminds me of a gemini.
Can’t behave for a second.
May 17, 2024 @ 10:53 am
If you loved her last album what else can she do (2022) but the seven songs left you wanting even more, don’t worry, Roadrunner! will include a total 17 tracks.
Yep. That’s me. And I’m excited.
Was trying to think of what song this was reminded of and I think I got it. An early Hayes Carll song from the Little Rock album called Down the Road Tonight.
May 17, 2024 @ 11:05 am
One thing she does so well is all her art/videos/social media. I get the impression a lot of it is v.low budget/bootstrapped, but yet it comes out really coherent, creative and professional. In another life she could have had a career as a marketing creative.
May 17, 2024 @ 11:59 am
Really pumped for this release. Hopefully we get a tour in the north east soon because I can’t wait to see her live.
May 17, 2024 @ 4:40 pm
Sounds great to me anything that involves Russ Pahl, and husband Cleto is great! Looking forward to listening to this release!
May 17, 2024 @ 5:33 pm
I like Kaitlin Butts and I cannot lie.
“What Else Can She Do” came up on my Spotify a few months ago and I liked her right off.
I’ll give the new stuff a spin shortly!
May 18, 2024 @ 3:10 am
…just for the record, out of the sample of fellow female performers kaitlin butts mentioned in her remarkable acceptance speech at the Ameripolitan awards back in febuary quite a few of them have dropped new (pretty diverse) albums in the meantime that are really worth checking out:
emiliy nenni – “drive & cry”
kelsey waldon – “there’s always a song”
brennen leigh (melissa carper, kelly willis) – “wonder women of country”
taylor hunnicutt – “alabama sound”
seriously good stuff perhaps even for those, who “don’t like girl singers, but…” a news kaitlin butts album is definitely something to look forward to. especially, since the above have put the bar up already quite a bit. emily nenni’s “get to know ya” clip is oscars stuff – in a country sort of way.
May 18, 2024 @ 6:45 am
“Meep meep” – Road Runner
May 18, 2024 @ 8:39 am
Saw her at the Americanafest 2023 and it was my favorite show there!
May 20, 2024 @ 2:08 pm
Been a fan since I heard Blood and Marfa Lights. Roadrunner sounds like something which will be played a bunch on FM radio. So yes, I hope she ‘sells out’ and becomes successful enough to continue to make music for my ears. Go KB.
May 22, 2024 @ 4:19 pm
Can’t wait for this one! Like others have pointed out, hopefully this is the album that pushes her over the too. She’s super talented and a delight. Ready to see her next weekend at Railbird
May 28, 2024 @ 6:20 pm
Looking forward to this one! I discovered Kaitlin last year and have managed to see her twice. Like Trigger said earlier, I can’t comment on her early days. Both times I’ve seen her, she’s been on point and a great live act. I really hope that, like 49 Winchester, she can break out this year and get her much-deserved credit.