When Katie Crutchfield (who performs under the name Waxahatchee) brings her band to the Shaky Knees Festival on May 5, fans shouldn’t expect to hear a show that encompasses all six of her studio albums.
Instead, she’s focusing on her three most recent releases — the 2021′s “Saint Cloud,” the new Waxahatchee album “Tigers Blood” and “Plains,” a 2022 album she made with Jess Williamson.
“I realize it’s a little bit of a risky move,” Alabama native Crutchfield said in a mid-April phone interview. “There are definitely gonna be people who have been with me for a long time and want to hear the old stuff.
Credit: Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP
Credit: Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP
“But I just feel like so excited to play all the newer stuff, and so yeah, that’s basically the whole set,” she said of her return to the festival where she also performed in 2018. “So if you are a fan of those last three records you’re gonna probably hear what you wanna hear.”
The focus on the newest music makes sense considering “Saint Cloud” and “Tigers Blood” have seen Crutchfield, with the help of producer Brad Cook, reshape her sound, taking it in a more straightforward direction that leans further into her country and folk influences, while retaining some of the rock energy that characterized her earlier work as Waxahatchee.
“I’ve always written songs that are very simple and the melodies are just really simple and the foundation of my songwriting is just country music. It is even like ‘90s pop country music,” Crutchfield said. “That’s the first music I connected with and it’s sort of imprinted on my DNA. But those first four albums, I feel like, I was so concerned with like sort of scuffing that up a bit and making it weirder or more sort of in line with indie rock or punk rock, with my tastes at the time, which is great. I’m so glad that that all exists as a snapshot of that moment. I feel like with ‘Saint Cloud,’ it was a big realignment with my taste and the actual type of songs that I was writing were aligned maybe for the first time.”
That shift in style connected, as “Saint Cloud” was universally hailed as the best Waxahatchee album to date and Crutchfield saw her audience double in size over the course of that album’s tour cycle.
“Tigers Blood” continues down a similar stylistic path. Crutchfield’s rock roots are especially apparent on tunes like “Ice Cold” and “Bold,” which have crisp tempos and bright and catchy guitar work to go with Crutchfield’s melodic vocals, while “Evil Spawn,” and “Crowbar” are more measured in their energy and rootsier in their overall feel. “Burns Out at Midnight,” “Crimes of the Heart” and “Right Back to It,” meanwhile, take things in an even more easygoing and folky direction, with the first two songs anchored by acoustic guitar, while the latter tune incorporates touches of banjo and backing vocals from MJ “Jake” Lenderman.
Crutchfield and Cook initially weren’t sure what shape the follow-up album to “Saint Cloud” should take. But things came together when Crutchfield and Cook brought in singer/songwriter Lenderman to play guitar and sing on “Right Back to It” and everyone agreed he needed to play guitar in the studio band on the entire album.
Credit: Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP
Credit: Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP
“I didn’t know it (”Right Back to It”) was special until we kind of found the instrumentation,” she said. “Then I think we were all really excited and we’re kind of like this is something we should try to anchor the whole album around. It was the first time we really hit on something where we were like ‘This might be the thing’ … And then, of course, when Jake sang with us and sang with me (on “Right Back to It”), that was, when we heard that, we were like ‘OK, this is something special.”
It’s not just the music that has aligned in a good way for Crutchfield during the past five-plus years. As she mentioned, before making “Saint Cloud,” she decided to quit drinking.
“I really feel like everything in my life got better when I quit,” she said. “I’m a lucky person in that I’ve gotten nothing but good signals from the universe that that’s what was supposed to happen. If I just keep not drinking, good things are coming my way and, you know, happiness is coming my way and ... reaching these new creative milestones, that’s coming my way.”
Another turning point was a move from her adopted home of Philadelphia to the Kansas City, Missouri, area to live with fellow singer-songwriter Kevin Morby in a committed relationship. Morby is playing Shaky Knees, too, his set is scheduled immediately after hers on a different stage at the festival.
“It’s been great,” Crutchfield said. “I think Kevin, he challenges me in a way that I think is good and keeps me on my toes and keeps me kind of like present. He’s obviously a brilliant songwriter in his own right, so it’s really nice. We keep each other kind of excited to keep working on stuff. I’m able to really be independent and enjoy my autonomy while still having the full love and support of a partner. It’s been great.”
MUSIC PREVIEW
Waxahatchee at Shaky Knees Festival
Waxahatchee performs at 4:45 p.m. May 5. Festival is May 3-5. Central Park, entrance at 395 Piedmont Ave. One-day ticket options available, starting at $165. (Three-day tickets are sold out.) Gates open at 11:30 a.m. with music starting at 11:45 each day, ending at 11 p.m. May 3-4 and 10 p.m. May 5. For tickets, full schedule and other information: shakykneesfestival.com.
