See Katrina Cain Win Gold Patch, Emotional Moment on ‘The Hook’

The inaugural taping of The Hook in Austin, TX happened on May 3rd at Sagebrush, and it was a good thing the cameras were rolling, because numerous moments went down that deserved to be shared with the rest of the world.

The Hook is not a singing or songwriting competition. It’s is a songwriting showcase that looks to launch a conversation about what a good song is, and hopefully, launch songwriting talent. But performers can earn patches for a good performance—the “Hook” patch for a good song, a Silver patch for a great song, and the coveted Gold patch for a lights out moment, which allows the songwriter to come back whenever they wish and circumvent the signup process.

Austin-based songwriter Katrina Cain walked away with the latter after performing her unreleased song “Midnight Ballerina.” Inspired as a stripper story, but also informed by her own experiences as a musician who is often on stage late at night, it’s the perfect evocation of character and setting that Katrina then clobbered out of the perk with an incredible performance.

Katrina Cain was born in Dallas but raised in many different locations. The day before The Hook she released he latest single called “No Hometown” that subsequently also made it onto the Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist. She does make her home in Austin now, and is one of the most promising voices and songwriters poised to break out nationally.

Some of The Hook’s other most memorable moments came via songwriter Marsha Craft. She showed up Sagebrush hung over, thought it would be a simple afternoon of leisure songwriters, and got foisted into the spotlight.

But far from cowering, she turned in a great performance of her song “Terlingua,” along with telling a compelling personal story about losing her job as a set painter in Los Angeles during the strike and COVID, and then moving to Austin two weeks after the devastating January 2025 wildfires back in LA.

It’s not just the songs, but the stories and characters that The Hook looks to discover.

The next taping of The Hook happens on Sunday, May 10th from 3:00 – 5:00 PM. Everyone is welcome, and songwriters are requested to get there between 2:30 and 3:00 to sign up for the opportunity to perform.

Stay tuned for more clips from the May 3rd show, with the full show to be released soon.

For more information on The Hook, visit savingcountrymusic.com/thehook.

You can also subscribe to  The Hook’s YouTube Channel in the coming days and weeks. You can also follow The Hook on Instagram and Facebook.