"I have a Queery about...Religion and Being Gay" ft. Katie Pruitt

"What was it like growing up gay in a Catholic household?" "What does religion look like to you now?" "Why was it important to tell a queer narrative in your music?"

On this episode, I'm joined by Nashville-based, singer/songwriter Katie Pruitt (she/her) to answer "queeries" such as these. In February of this year, Katie released her debut album Expectations: written as a Queer autobiographical narrative in which she tackles topics ranging from her sexuality and mental health to family and faith. Between going to Catholic school, being a part of a Christian theatre group, and living in a religious household, Katie was not able to "come out" easily. It actually wasn't until she went away to college that she states she really came into herself as a queer woman. Music was always a huge part of her life and in the creation of her album she was able to not only help her parents understand her truth, but she was finally free to live it herself. We discuss things such as her album and the process/inspiration for it as well as growing up in a religious Southern environment, the importance of queer visibility in the music industry, and how the idea of God has changed for us over time.

On her album Expectations...
"An album informed by love in its many forms, Expectations presents a bracing portrait of self-destructive love with “Grace Has a Gun” (a hypnotic and heavy-hearted track featured on NPR’s "All Songs Considered”). "It’s about a girl I dated in college who was dealing with a very intense mental illness at the time, and about me trying to be some kind of cure for her,” Pruitt explains. On "Out of the Blue," the album slips into a languid reverie, with Pruitt’s lyrics channeling a classic-pop romanticism (e.g., “What a lovely day for loving you”). And on “It’s Always Been You,” Expectations closes out in a moment of understated glory, the song’s gently plucked strings and wistful piano melodies magnifying its tender mood. “That one’s a love song to my girlfriend,” says Pruitt. “It’s the first time in my life I’ve experienced a genuinely healthy relationship, and I wanted to show those moments that are so mundane but beautiful, like making out on the porch or play-fighting with baguettes in the grocery store—all those normal, everyday things that feel so heightened by love."
--from https://katiepruitt.com

Follow Katie:
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Listen to Expectations:
Apple Music
Spotify

Resources for further learning:
Explore: Religion and Faith resources
Transfaith

Organization of the Week: National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network
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Show Produced by Nick Eibler

Theme Song written by Matt Gregory, Colin Egan, and Mike Hubbard 
Produced by Colin Egan and Mike Hubbard

Logo Design by David Pavón