Tag Archives: Kaitlin Butts

Concerts

The Biggest Takeaways From the 7th Annual Medicine Stone

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It has been a privilege to cover the Medicine Stone festival in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, for the past four years. It’s more than just a celebration of Red Dirt music; it’s also about the atmosphere and the fellowship and the way that the artists and fans come together for a weekend to just have fun and enjoy live music.

But there was an obvious difference this year. How would a festival founded by Jason Boland and the Turnpike Troubadours work without the Troubadours themselves?

Overall, this was the most solid lineup Medicine stone has put together in the years Country Exclusive has been in attendance. Wade Bowen and Flatland Cavalry, two of the main stage highlights from 2018, both returned and delivered excellent sets. Wade Bowen has killed it both times I’ve seen him at this festival, and it would be exciting to see him get a headlining slot. As for Flatland Cavalry, they’ve been improving each year, and sonically, they may be the closest thing we’ll ever have again to the Turnpike Troubadours sound. Shinyribs put on a good show in 2017, and it was great to see them come back and perform even better. Theirs was one of the most entertaining sets of the entire weekend. Red Shahan has been a highlight each year, and 2019 was no exception; in fact, it was a little disappointing that he only got forty-five minutes onstage. And Jason Boland & the stragglers are always great live, but this has been their best Medicine Stone performance yet. There’s a reason the straggler’s live albums are some of their best material.

I was impressed with the new incarnation of American Aquarium; I wrote during my very first year covering this festival that they didn’t quite seem to fit with the Red dirt artists, as their music leaned more toward Americana. Then, after the implosion and rebuilding of the band, their 2018 album really impressed me, and their live show has greatly improved as well. It is wonderful to see that what could have killed them has only made them stronger, and much like Flatland Cavalry, it’s encouraging to watch them getting better every year.

One of the cooler aspects of the festival is the smaller, more intimate stages where artists play each day before the main stage opens. These are a nice place to hear smaller artists, as well as those that thrive more in a quieter setting. Courtney Patton’s acoustic show on Friday (9/20), at the gravel bar was the crown jewel of these quieter sets. This was her first time at Medicine stone, and I would love to see her there again, (and can we please get Jason eady as well?) It was also our first time seeing Bri Bagwell, who turned in a more upbeat set at the river stage on Saturday (9/21). I would like to see her return to the festival as well, and I think she would do well as a main stage performer. She put on an energetic show, and she was also one of the most engaging artists with the crowd. Incidentally, I also need her to record “Seven Spanish Angels” ASAP, she sang that song excellently.

Medicine Stone has had some issues in recent years booking women, and this has been a common concern from attendees. In 2018, only Jamie Lin Wilson and Kaitlin Butts were booked. This year saw a concentrated effort to include more women, with the aforementioned Patton and Bagwell as well as the returning Wilson and Butts and the “Queen of Oklahoma,” Carter Sampson. Wilson, Patton, and Butts also did a Dixie Chicks tribute Friday evening for one of the “after-party” sets that takes place on the small stages after the headliners each night. All these women were standouts of the whole weekend, proud representations of the women of Texas and Red dirt music. It was also encouraging to see them being brought up onstage by so many of the men. Kaitlin Butts sang with Flatland Cavalry and American Aquarium, Bri Bagwell joined William Clark Green, and Butts, Wilson, and Patton all came onstage to accompany Wade Bowen. AT Medicine Stone, these artists often come onstage to sing with each other, but it definitely seemed like the focus in 2019 was on including and appreciating the women of the subgenre.

But the absence of Turnpike was certainly felt. This was both a positive and a negative thing. It was cool to see Kaitlin butts singing “Gin, Smoke, Lies” and to hear R.C. Edwards singing “Fall out of Love” when R.C. and the Ambers opened on the main stage the first night. But Jamie Lin Wilson’s “Oklahoma Stars” took on a whole new meaning when someone pointed out to me that now the star which burns bright and disappears could also be Evan Felker. Although the lineup as a whole was incredibly strong, there didn’t seem to be a closer who could quite fill the hole created by the Troubadours, and only Saturday night, when Jason boland headlined, saw the same kind of crowds which have become customary to us over the years. There’s also a sense that the more things change, the more they stay the same, and to have Turnpike’s own festival going on without them right there in their hometown was bittersweet.

Still, as always, this was a great experience and one that I would recommend to any fan of live music. You don’t have to like country because not every band sounds country; Cody Canada & the departed are a full-on rock band, and Shinyribs rings much closer to Louisiana than Texas or Oklahoma. You don’t even have to love music itself, for this is more than just music, it’s family and fellowship and one weekend where we’re not divided by anything but rather all here together to enjoy this. This is the power and the joy of live music, to bring us all together for three days until we have to return to our separate realities. May that power and joy continue to live through Medicine Stone for years to come.

Best Live Performers: Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Shinyribs, Wade Bowen, Bri Bagwell, Courtney Patton, Flatland Cavalry, Jamie Lin Wilson

Reviews

Song Review: “White River” by Kaitlin butts

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Rating: 9/10

Oklahoma singer/songwriter Kaitlin Butts has been on Country exclusive’s radar since her incredible 2016 Medicine Stone set. She’s been killing it live there each year since, but we haven’t gotten much new music from her since her 2015 debut album, Same Hell, Different Devil. We finally have a new single from her in the form of “White river,” and this is Kaitlin Butts putting all the raw energy she injects into her live performances into a studio recording, creating the best song she’s yet released.

The song itself fits into a category we’ve seen become nearly cliché over the past decade, the subgenre of tracks about women killing abusers. These songs can be great, but they need something to make them stand out as unique, and Butts sets “White river” apart by not being the victim seeking revenge, but rather the loved one, most likely the daughter, of the victim, who finally seeks justice in order to rescue the one she loves from the violence. The hook is also smart, as the murder occurs on the White river; “that was the night the White river turned red.”

Kaitlin Butts does an excellent job here writing a song to fit her incredible range. Her vocal ability is often showcased in her live performances, but until now, no studio recording has really shown off her voice, and that’s a strength she should display more in her songwriting. This song does a nice job of balancing smart writing with chilling vocal delivery, and the production works well also, sparse in the beginning to highlight the vocals but building in intensity throughout the song to support the darkness of the narrative. The instrumentation features a nice mix of steel and electric guitar to complete what is simply a fine piece of music.

Kaitlin Butts is a name you should keep your eye on, and “White river” is the most promising single she has released so far. Hopefully, we’ll be getting some more new music from her very soon.

Written by: Kaitlin Butts, Oran Thornton, Jared Hicks

Reviews

Album Review: Flatland Cavalry–Homeland Insecurity

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Rating: 6/10

While Americana is out there struggling to define itself and make itself viable as a format, Texas country and Red dirt remain oblivious, churning out new talent as frequently as Nashville and boasting their own charts and festivals, all while placing greater value on songwriting and giving more freedom to the artists. The result is that even the commercial side of the format is often smarter lyrically than the majority of what Nashville has to offer, and the more substantive songwriters find greater reception of and appreciation for their music as well. The other side to this is that the Texas scene often falls into a trap in which it doesn’t receive criticism because even if it’s not fantastic, the music is consistently better than in Nashville. But if Texas is to be considered a true alternative to Nashville, then its artists must be subject to the same criticism given to the mainstream. Indeed, the scene should welcome it as a form of validation, but we rarely see this with critics and reviewers in Texas and Red Dirt music because it’s hard to criticize something that was delivered with heart and sincerity and is the music the artist wanted to make.

Flatland Cavalry’s latest record perfectly represents this duplicity in the Texas scene, finding itself in a place where it’s miles ahead of much of Nashville but rather average in the place from which it originated. Its writing is strong, excellent in some places, offering smart lyrics and accessible melodies. It is an intelligently written album that will still be quite catchy live. But live is where it will have to shine because the production on so much of this is frankly a mess. The end result is a good album that is somewhat ruined by production, making it better than the mainstream but quite mediocre in the grand scheme of things.

But there are some truly great moments on this record. “Back to me,” though it is a little hampered by the previously mentioned production, is a lovely song about the ups and downs of long-distance relationships. It’s followed by “Living by Moonlight,” anchored by a healthy does of fiddle and speaking of spending the days in darkness, living in bars and trying to ignore the rest of the world. “Come Back Down,” the album opener, is another strong moment, as the narrator sings about finally coming back home after spending time away and taking his home and family for granted. “Pretty Women” is a well-written look at the way women try to hide their problems with fancy clothes and makeup, and this one also features a ton of fiddle. “Honeywine” is a catchy, infectious love song that stands out as well, helped along by the harmonies of Kaitlin Butts which appear frequently throughout the record and add some nice color.

But too often, the writing is overshadowed by bad production choices. This is by far the most obvious in “Other side Of Lonesome,” which would have been a fine song if it didn’t sound like Cleto Cordero was singing from inside the bottom of a barrel. It’s nothing short of terrible, and I really question how anyone in the band thought it actually sounded ready for distribution. I’ve seen it offered that Flatland Cavalry were attempting to go for a lonesome sound similar to that on Red Shahan’s and Marty Stuart’s latest albums, but if so, this was a lazy attempt, as none of the instruments were produced like this at all, only the vocals. So it was either a very poor attempt at pulling off that sound or the more likely instance of just plain awful production.

This is the worst instance, but production issues cloud much of the record. The drums are buried in the mix throughout most of the album, a notable exception being on “Pretty Women,” and Cordero’s vocals, though never as badly produced as on “Other Side of lonesome,” echo the same issues in various places throughout the album. He also sounds completely bored on “ashes,” rendering that song quite forgettable. The whole thing sounds very unfinished, and if they’d just taken the time to clean up this record some, it would have improved significantly. As it is, too much of it sounds like a well-written but badly produced demo, a first draft waiting to be mastered and perfected. It will probably be fantastic live because these songs are strong lyrically and melodically, but in album form, too many of these just didn’t work.

Fundamentally, this is a good album. It could have been and should have been a much better one. There are some truly standout moments, where the writing really shines. The lyrics and melodies are strong, and when the production doesn’t get in the way, these songs really stand out and show the potential of this record and of Flatland Cavalry. But so much of this album is a mess in terms of production, and unfortunately, it renders a good record very average and completely ruins a couple songs. Flatland cavalry are better than the album they’ve released, and overall, it’s a pretty disappointing effort given the level of talent they possess.

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Concerts

Some Thoughts from the 6th Annual Medicine Stone

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This is the third year in which I’ve had the privilege of attending Medicine Stone, a three-day live music festival on the Illinois River in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. In 2016, I gave a full concert review, and last year, I tried to highlight some of the unsung heroes of the event. This year, Medicine Stone took on a slightly different purpose for me in light of my ongoing goal of seeing live shows in 2018. The festival provided a nice contrast to all the indoor shows I’ve been covering, as well as just being the only festival I’ve covered so far on this journey.

Turnpike Troubadours made a triumphant return to the stage after having to cancel several shows recently due to various medical and personal issues. I’ve discussed Turnpike’s phenomenal live shows before, but it was especially good to see them return to form after their cancelled appearances. In addition, they weren’t as wonderful as they normally are last year; the sound quality made it difficult to hear Evan Felker over the the rest of the band. After having to move their set from Friday to Saturday due to rainy weather, they put on a great show and returned to themselves in fine fashion.

As mentioned, the rain was a major issue on Friday. NO sets were cancelled, but everything was moved inside a tent, the main stage being uncovered. It didn’t provide enough cover for everyone present, so many of us sat under canopies or just out in the rain for some of Friday night’s performances. Reckless Kelly’s lead singer called it the “cheeseburger tent” as they played their set. I’d been especially excited to see them, for they had been outstanding in 2016 and had not come to Medicine Stone in 2017.

As for performers I’d never seen live before, there were several standouts. Koe Wetzel may have his detractors, but the man puts on a ridiculously energetic live show. This was one of the highlights of the whole weekend. Wade Bowen immediately followed, and to the surprise of no one, he’s also fantastic live. He was the artist on the lineup that excited me most when I first learned which artists would be playing this year. John Fullbright played on a smaller stage–actually, he played in the cheeseburger tent–on Friday afternoon, and his set was also a highlight. This aspect of Medicine Stone, having performers play more intimate shows on smaller stages, is one of my favorite things about the experience and a great way to discover newer artists and enjoy those artists whose songs shine in quieter settings.

As for the returning artists, I was most impressed with Red Shahan. He blew me away last year and again this time. AS far as I’m concerned, he can come back every year. Flatland Cavalry also impressed me this year after not really standing out for me in 2017, again due to their sound quality. And everyone knows Turnpike and Boland and Randy rogers all put on a good show, making them staples at Medicine Stone.

One thing I found a bit discouraging was the lack of women on the bill. Only Jamie Lin Wilson and Kaitlin Butts were on the lineup; they’ve both been there each year, but in 2017, there were several more women booked. I specifically mentioned sunny Sweeney last year as being a standout and expressed hope that she would return. Suzanne Santo also put on a great performance. Both Jamie Lin and Kaitlin are great artists, and I recognize that there is a lot more involved in booking more women at festivals than just simply doing it, but I definitely would have appreciated more effort in this area.

That said, overall, I felt that this was the strongest lineup I’ve yet seen at Medicine Stone. In terms of sonic styles within Texas/Red Dirt music, it also felt like the most diverse. There was a good balance of established artists and new talent as well.

IN light of the ongoing commentary on live music, I also have to say there is nothing quite like the camaraderie of a festival experience. I’ve been championing Medicine Stone for three years now, but it can’t be stressed enough that the atmosphere is just special at a festival. I haven’t been to a bad show yet in 2018; I’ve enjoyed some more than others, but each has provided its own unique insight. With Medicine Stone, even though I’ve been there before, it still stands out among the other shows, and not just for the number of artists, or even just for the quality of the music. It’s the social aspect, the way you see faces from years past and recognize them, the way strangers offer you a canopy to sit under to take shelter from the rain. For those three days, you’re all united by this incredible thing we call music, and it proves more than ever that music can unite us even in this divisive world in which we find ourselves. When you spend three days together, you understand why Jamie Lin Wilson was inspired to pick up her pen and write “Oklahoma Stars” about the experience. It is irreplaceable, and I highly recommend this festival to any fan of Red dirt or of live music in general.

Best Live Performers: Koe Wetzel, Wade Bowen, Red Shahan, John Fullbright, Turnpike Troubadours

Reviews

Song Review: “Bored if I Don’t” by Kaitlin Butts

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Rating: 7.5/10

Thanks to reader Wes for inadvertently making me aware of a recorded version of this song; I first heard this live in September at Medicine Stone and sought to review it then but could not find a recorded version. This isn’t a studio version per se, it’s a live acoustic recording of the song.

Sometimes, the best songwriting is marked by lyrical poetry and unique turns of phrase, things said in a way that we’ve never heard before or that paint the same sentiments in a new and clever light. Sometimes the best songwriting is simple, marked only by its ability to relate to us on a personal level and make us feel something. And it doesn’t have to be something we’ve experienced–Saving Country Music’s 2017 Song of the Year is a good example of this, as you don’t have to be childless to understand Sunny Sweeney’s longing for a baby in “Bottle by my Bed.” In fact, good songwriters can make us understand and feel things for characters we might not otherwise empathize for in real life.

The woman in the new song by Oklahoma songwriter Kaitlin Butts might not be a character for which we’d all readily have compassion, as she describes sneaking around repeatedly to cheat on her husband, whom she calls “honest as the day is long.” It’s the details, though, that paint a better picture of this narrator–she was married too young and too soon and from a small town, not really even understanding what she was promising. She doesn’t say why she got married under these circumstances, but it’s not hard to imagine–maybe she was just naive, or maybe she married with hopes of security, a better life, or of leaving the town. Maybe this was what she wanted, but now she has grown up and realized it isn’t, something many of us can understand. We can only speculate on that part. We do know that she doesn’t want to hurt the man she married, yet now she understands that this isn’t really what she wants for the rest of her life. She doesn’t see a way around that, so she tries to find herself and what she’s looking for with other men. She knows she should stay home, but that doesn’t make her happy, and in the end, she’s losing either way. It’s all summed up in the line, “I’m damned if I do, and I’m bored if I don’t.”

It’s the frank honesty with which she delivers this song that’s missing from so much of today’s country music. The production is incredibly simple as well, with just her guitar supporting her and allowing the lyrics to be the focus, although I expect there to be more to it if there is a version recorded for a future album. Hopefully, we’ll be getting a full album from her in 2018. For now, this is a fine song, and Kaitlin Butts is a name you should keep your eye on.