Katie Pruitt, a 27-year-old artist who recently released Expectations — a defiant coming-of-age debut album about being a lesbian raised Catholic in Atlanta — is about to enter into her Saturn returns era, which means her life is going to get weird. Or so Brandi Carlile, the six-time Grammy winner, tells her. “You’re going to freak out, probably,” Carlile says. “Right when you turn 30.” But, Carlile assures her, “I feel like the best records happened on these big, precipice moments in life.”
It’s here, in this big moment filled with so much uncertainty and turmoil, Pruitt is choosing to embrace the weirdness. Whether it’s going deep exploring and questioning her spiritual identity on her breakout podcast, “The Recovering Catholic,” or bearing her soul with her trademark wit and wisdom each night on stage as part of her extensive fall headline tour, or showcasing her mischievous side with her forthcoming holiday song, “Merry Christmas, Mary Jane,” it’s clear Pruitt is coming into her own and establishing herself as not only an incredible musician, but an artist with a real voice and distinctive perspective.
In the last year-and-a-half and in spite of the pandemic (which hit the month following her album was released), Pruitt has forged ahead, garnering widespread acclaim and praise from press and fellow artists including Carlile, Ruston Kelly, Leslie Jordan, Bob Weir and many more. In addition to being nominated for Emerging Act of the Year at the Americana Music Association, Pruitt has been highlighted as a Rolling Stone “Artist You Need To Know,” one of NPR Music’s “Slingshot: 20 Artists To Watch” and Southwest Magazine’s “Artists on the Rise” and was featured on NPR Music’s “Tiny Desk (Home) Concert” series as well as “CBS Saturday Morning.”