Waxahatchee

Not to be confused with Waxahachie, Texas or Waxahatchee Creek.

Waxahatchee
Photo of Crutchfield with great dignity playing acoustic guitar on festival stage
Waxahatchee performing at Sled Island Music and Arts Festival 2017 in Calgary, Canada
Background information
OriginBirmingham, Alabama, United States
Genres
Years active2010–present
Labels
SpinoffsPlains
Spinoff ofP.S. Eliot
MembersKatie Crutchfield
Websitewaxahatchee.com

Waxahatchee is an American indie music project, formed in 2010 by American singer-songwriter Kathryn Crutchfield[2] (born January 4, 1989), known professionally as Katie Crutchfield, following the breakup of her previous band P.S. Eliot. The band is named after Waxahatchee Creek, in Alabama, where Crutchfield grew up.[3] Originally an acoustic solo project, her recordings now tend to involve a full backing band. As Waxahatchee, she has released six solo studio albums to date: American Weekend (2012), Cerulean Salt (2013), Ivy Tripp (2015), Out in the Storm (2017), Saint Cloud (2020) and Tigers Blood (2024). Away from Waxahatchee, Crutchfield was also a member of alternative country duo Plains alongside Jess Williamson.

History

[edit]

2010–2017: American Weekend, Cerulean Salt, and Ivy Tripp

[edit]

While a member of P.S. Eliot, a band formed with her twin sister Allison, Crutchfield released her first music as Waxahatchee as a cassette. Her bedroom-recorded debut album, American Weekend, was recorded in 2011 and released on Don Giovanni Records in 2012.[4][5][6] Crutchfield wrote and recorded the album in one week at her family home in Birmingham, Alabama. Her lyrics focused on personal relationships, devastation and longing.[7]

The album garnered positive reviews and was named a top album of 2012 by Dusted magazine.[8] "Be Good" was a song of the day on National Public Radio,[9] and listed as one of the best 50 songs of 2012.[10] "Catfish" was featured on an episode of the podcast Welcome to Night Vale.

Waxahatchee's second album, Cerulean Salt, was released in March 2013 through Don Giovanni Records in the United States, and four months later on Wichita Recordings in the U.K.[11][12] The critically acclaimed album reached #1 on the Official Record Store Chart in July 2013 and scored 8.4 on Pitchfork.[13][14] Waxahatchee supported Tegan And Sara on their U.K. tour, before playing a headline U.K. tour in October that same year.[12][15]

In 2015 Crutchfield signed to Merge Records, which released her third album, Ivy Tripp, in April of that year.[16] Waxahatchee toured non-stop for the rest of 2015, including tours with Kurt Vile and the Violators and Sleater Kinney.

2017–present: Out in the Storm, Saint Cloud and Tigers Blood

[edit]

In 2017, Waxahatchee toured with The New Pornographers, and also embarked on a headlining tour around the United States.[17] In the autumn months the band toured parts of Europe, including several festival dates. Waxahatchee's fourth album, Out in the Storm, was released on July 14, 2017 on Merge Records. It moves away from the lo-fi sound of previous albums, partly due to the guidance of co-producer John Agnello. It was recorded in the Miner Street Recordings studio with her former touring band.[18] Sam Sodomsky of Pitchfork wrote of "Katie Crutchfield’s sharp, gorgeous songwriting", "immersive" band sound and "songs that play like fiery exorcisms" in a review of the album.[19] Waxahatchee opened Jawbreaker's first Los Angeles shows in 22 years at the Hollywood Palladium on March 10, 2018 and in New York City at Brooklyn Steel on February 27, 2018.[20]

In January 2020, Waxahatchee announced her fifth album, Saint Cloud, and released a single called "Fire". The album was recorded in 2019 at Sonic Ranch in Texas and at Long Pond in Stuyvesant, New York with producer Brad Cook. The album features Detroit-based band Bonny Doon. On February 18, Waxahatchee released the single "Lilacs" and on March 16, she released the single "Can't Do Much."[21][22] In a comprehensive interview with Will Gottsegen at Billboard, she spoke about her musical influences and recent sobriety.[23] The record made it at No. 7 on Billboard's Emerging Artists chart of April 2020, No. 1 on Heatseekers Albums, No. 2 on Americana/Folk Albums and No. 6 on Alternative Albums with 7,000 units. At the same time, the single "Lilacs" ranked at No. 36 on the Adult Alternative Songs airplay chart.[24]

Waxahatchee performing at The Huichica festival near Walla Walla, Washington in 2019.

In the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Crutchfield performed a series of live concert streams comprising all the songs from one of her studio albums. She announced the series as a deep dive into her backlist in an attempt to reach out to her fans and also to generate some income after the pandemic caused suspension of all touring.[25]

In 2021, Waxahatchee performed at the Newport Folk Festival as well the Mempho Music Festival in the Radians Amphitheater of Memphis, Tennessee.[26] Her album Saint Cloud won the Libera Awards 2021 as Best Country Record.[27]

In July 2022, Crutchfield announced Plains, a collaboration project with singer-songwriter Jess Williamson. Their debut album, I Walked with You a Ways, was released in October 2022.[28]

In December 2023, Waxahatchee made a guest appearance on the song "Pretty Paper" on the Philly Specials album A Philly Special Christmas Special. The following month, she announced that the sixth Waxahatchee album Tigers Blood would be released in March 2024. To coincide with the announcement, the album's lead single "Right Back to It" was released. It features harmonies from MJ Lenderman.[29] Waxahatchee will tour in support of the album later in 2024, traveling on a tour bus and playing 2,500-capacity theaters, having declined opportunities to play larger venues.[30]

Personal life

[edit]

Katie Crutchfield’s twin sister Allison is also a musician, performing solo and with the band Swearin'. Crutchfield is sober; her 2020 album Saint Cloud was largely written about her decision to stop drinking alcohol.[23]

Katie Crutchfield has been in a relationship with songwriter Kevin Morby since 2017, and they live together in Overland Park, Kansas.[31] In 2017 the couple released a cover of "After Hours" by the Velvet Underground.[32] In January 2018, indie label Dead Oceans released the single "Farewell Transmission" b/w "The Dark Don't Hide It" by Morby & Waxahatchee, in homage to songwriter Jason Molina.[33][34] Merge Records published the digital single video Chapel of Pines, on YouTube on July 17, 2018, which led Waxahatchee back to solo work.[35] Waxahatchee's cover of Kevin Morby's "Downtown's Lights" was featured over the closing credits of episode six of American Rust.[36]

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]

as Waxahatchee

[edit]
List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[37] 		US
Indie
[38] 		BEL
(FL)
[39] 		FRA
Phys.
[40] 		NED
Vinyl
[41] 		NZ
[42] 		SCO
[43] 		SWE
Phys.
[44] 		UK
[45] 		UK
Indie
[45]
American Weekend — — — — — — — — — —
Cerulean Salt
  • Released: March 5, 2013
  • Label: Don Giovanni
 —[A] — — — — — — — 156 39
Ivy Tripp 153 15 — — — — 87 — 98 19
Out in the Storm
  • Released: July 14, 2017
  • Label: Merge
 —[B] 7 — — — — — — —[C] 12
Saint Cloud
  • Released: March 27, 2020
  • Label: Merge
 140 17 — — — — 27 — —[D] 7
Tigers Blood
  • Released: March 22, 2024[29]
  • Label: Anti-
 146 27 101 172 31 35 7 7 38 4
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

with Plains

[edit]
List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
SCO
[50] 		UK
Sales
[51] 		UK
Amer.
[51] 		UK
Indie
[51]
I Walked with You a Ways
  • Released: October 14, 2022
  • Label: Anti-
 76 61 4 25
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

EPs

[edit]
List of EPs, with selected chart positions
Title EP details Peak chart positions
US
Current
[52] 		US
Indie
[38] 		US
Heat
[46]
Great Thunder
  • Released: 7 September 2018
  • Label: Merge
 84 26 6
El Deafo (Apple TV+ Original Series Soundtrack)
  • Released: January 7, 2022
  • Label: Apple Video Programming/Merge
 – – –
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

[edit]
as Waxahatchee
List of singles
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
AAA
[53]
"Air" 2015 — Ivy Tripp
"Under a Rock" —
"La Loose" —
"No Curse" 2017 — Non-album singles
"Silver" — Out in the Storm
"Farewell Transmission" / "The Dark Don't Hide It" (with Kevin Morby) 2018 — Non-album singles
"Recite Remorse" — Out in the Storm
"Greenville" (live) / "La Loose" (live) — Live At Third Man
"Fire" 2020 — St. Cloud
"Lilacs" 26
"Can't Do Much" —
"Talking Dust Bowl Blues" 2021 — Non-album singles
"Right Back to It" (featuring MJ Lenderman) 2024 17 Tigers Blood
"Bored" 12
"Much Ado About Nothing" 37
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
with Plains
List of singles
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
AAA
[53]
"Problem With It" 2022 35 I Walked A Ways With You
"Abilene" —
"Hurricane" 36
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
as featured artist

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Cerulean Salt did not enter the US Billboard 200, but peaked at number 26 on the Top Heatseekers Albums Chart.[46]
  2. ^ Out in the Storm did not enter the US Billboard 200, but peaked at number three on the Top Heatseekers Albums Chart[46] and number 52 on the Top Album Sales chart.[47]
  3. ^ Out in the Storm did not enter the UK Albums Chart, but peaked at number 89 on the UK Official Album Sales Chart.[48]
  4. ^ Saint Cloud did not enter the UK Albums Chart, but peaked at number 19 on the UK Official Album Downloads Chart.[49]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Association Category Nominated Work Result Ref
2021 Libera Awards Record of the Year Saint Cloud Nominated [55]
Best Country Record Won

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Beck, Tom (2015-08-11). "16 Reasons Philadelphia Is the Best Music City in the Country". Philadelphia Magazine.
  2. ^ "Songwriter/Composer: Crutchfield Kathryn". BMI. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
  3. ^ Pelly, Jenn (2013-01-24). "Rising: Waxahatchee". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  4. ^ Cauvel, Peter. "WAXAHATCHEE - American Weekend". Verbicide Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-05-29. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  5. ^ "Waxahatchee playing shows, DBA tonight (dates & streams)". BrooklynVegan. 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  6. ^ Bernardi, Joe. "Dusted Reviews: Waxahatchee American Weekend". Dusted Magazine. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  7. ^ Caramanica, Jon (2012-08-30). "Twin Rock Dreams Prevail". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
  8. ^ "Listed: The Dusted Mid-Year Report (2012 Edition)". Dustedmagazine.com. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
  9. ^ Tyler-Ameen, Daoud. "Waxahatchee: A Love Song, Without The Love". NPR.org. Retrieved 2015-05-17.
  10. ^ "NPR Music's 50 Favorite Songs Of 2012 (So Far)". NPR. Npr.org. 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
  11. ^ "Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt CD/LP out March 5th!". Dongiovannirecords.com. 2013-01-25. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-05-17.
  12. ^ a b "'Waxahatchee sign to Wichita, announce Tegan & Sara Support'". Archived from the original on 2013-06-19. Retrieved 2013-07-17.
  13. ^ "Waxahatchee: Cerulean Salt | Album Reviews". Pitchfork.com. 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2015-05-17.
  14. ^ "2013 Top 40 Official Record Store Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
  15. ^ "Waxahatchee Announces UK Tour + Cerulean Salt Out Now! « Wichita Recordings". 2013-07-02. Archived from the original on 2013-07-06. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
  16. ^ "Waxahatchee shares new album details Archive". Merge Records. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  17. ^ Yoo, Noah (2017-01-17). "The New Pornographers and Waxahatchee Announce Tour". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  18. ^ Out in the Storm Review, by Sarah Murphy in Canadian Exclaim! Music Mag, published 2017-07-12
  19. ^ Sam Sodomsky: Katie Crutchfield’s fourth album, review in Pitchfork 2017-07-13
  20. ^ "Jawbreaker played BK Steel again, with Waxahatchee". BrooklynVegan. 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  21. ^ "Waxahatchee Shares Video for New Song "Lilacs"". Pitchfork. 2020-02-18. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  22. ^ "Listen to Waxahatchee's New Song "Can't Do Much"". Pitchfork. 2020-03-16. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  23. ^ a b "Waxahatchee Traces the Sound of Recovery on 'Saint Cloud': 'I Had to Hit Pause'". Billboard. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  24. ^ "Plus, Waxahatchee debuts in the top 10". billboard.com. 2020-04-08. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  25. ^ "announcing a run of 5 livestreams". Twitter. 2020-05-27. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  26. ^ "Widespread Panic, Avett Brothers Headline Mempho Music Festival". musicfestnews.com. 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  27. ^ "Libera Awards 2021 Winners". liberaawards.com. Archived from the original on 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  28. ^ "Plains". 2022-07-27. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  29. ^ a b Strauss, Matthew (2024-01-09). "Waxahatchee Announces Album and Tour, Shares Video for New Song: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  30. ^ "How Waxahatchee Made the Album of Her (Second) Life". Pitchfork. 2024-03-12. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  31. ^ Curto, Justin (2021-01-08). "The House That Rebuilt Them". Vulture. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  32. ^ "Waxahatchee and Kevin Morby Cover the Velvet Underground". pitchfork.com. 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2019-10-20.
  33. ^ "Farewell Transmission b/w The Dark Don't Hide It by Kevin Morby & Waxahatchee". January 2018. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  34. ^ see Discogs database
  35. ^ "Waxahatchee Chapel of Pines". pitchfork.com. 2018-07-17. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  36. ^ Hough, Q. V. (2021-09-14). "Soundtracks of Television: 'American Rust'". Vague Visages. Retrieved 2024-10-12.
  37. ^ "Waxahatchee – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  38. ^ a b "Waxahatchee – Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  39. ^ "Discografie Waxahatchee". Ultratop. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  40. ^ "Top Albums - SNEP". SNEP. Archived from the original on 2024-06-13. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  41. ^ "Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood - dutchcharts.nl". Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  42. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 2024-04-01. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
  43. ^ Peak chart positions in Scotland:
  44. ^ "Veckolista Album Fysiskt, vecka 13". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  45. ^ a b Peaks in the UK:
  46. ^ a b c "Waxahatchee – Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
  47. ^ "Waxahatchee Chart History - Top Album Sales". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  48. ^ "Out in the Storm - Waxahatchee - Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  49. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100 - 03 April 2020 - 09 April 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  50. ^ Peak chart positions in Scotland:
  51. ^ a b c Peaks in the UK as Plains: "Plains songs and albums" (select "Albums" tab). Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  52. ^ "Waxahatchee Chart History - Top Current Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  53. ^ a b "Waxahatchee – Chart History: Triple A Songs". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 2020-03-17. Cite error: The named reference "triple-a" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  54. ^ "Triple A Future Releases". All Access. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  55. ^ "A2IM names 2021 Libera indie music awards nominees [the full list]". Hypebot. 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
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