Concert Review: A hometown crowd welcomes back Katie Pruitt after two long months on the road.

By: Dylan Basden

Closing out her “Mantras Tour” headlining run at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl, Katie Pruitt has crafted an incredible show with her band that is simultaneously gorgeous on the surface and a gut punch as you dive into the words she is singing. Out in support of Mantras, her sophomore studio album, Katie is leaning more heavily into the sounds that made her debut so special, a convenient time as both folk and folk-adjacent music as well as catchier pop hooks are resurging back into the zeitgeist.

Watching Katie Pruitt can be quite disarming if you’re expecting a show that fits the cookie-cutter narrative of genre classification, as Pruitt often muddies the waters between country, pop, and even rock. Katie carries an exuberant joy in self-expression, following a path that is uniquely her own. One song might see Katie explore queer love over a more traditionally country palette (“Loving Her”), while another turns a swelling rock structure on its head with thought provoking lyrics on faith and consequences of it (“White Lies, White Jesus and You”). If ‘what you see is what you get,’ then you cannot see Katie Pruitt whatsoever, because you could truthfully get just about anything. That is a good sign.

Katie comes across so earnest in her performance, often brewing a grin behind the microphone. I imagine it is hard not to, it is a special moment to not only perform on a stage in front of hundreds of people, but to also have those same people enchanted by your artistry and bouncing back the same emotions you’re presenting to them. Katie hasn’t quite hit superstardom yet, but she has developed a cult following of fans pledging their allegiance to her, which in some regards can be a tougher feat. It is rare to see a crowd so locked into a performance, especially gentler and calmer show like Pruitt’s (which I say knowing good and well that she tore up a mean guitar solo and was not afraid to sling her hair in a headbang, but those moments were welcomed changes of pace).

With Nashville having been her adopted home for many years now, the hometown feel of the crowd worked in her favor. With that said, in true Nashville fashion, there was a plethora of special guests. Lockeland Strings joined Katie on “Standstill,” a performance that can simply be described as beautiful. The orchestra strings in conjunction with Pruitt’s voice was just enough to bring a tear to the eye, and that’s without even listening to the heart wrenching lyrics of the song. Katie was also joined onstage by Jess Nolan and Hadley Kennary, both of whom would go on to add their voice to multiple songs on the tail end of the night.

Katie Pruitt is a special kind of talent. In the Music City alone there are hundreds and hundreds of talented writers (of which Katie is one) and musicians (again, of which Katie is one of), but where I see the most exceptionalism in Katie Pruitt and her live shows is her authenticity. Katie puts up no façade in her music or her performance, instead she trudges forward along her own trail. Beneath her feet Katie has formed her own desire path, a route that may be followed but can only be paved once.

You can find Katie Pruitt’s upcoming shows here.