Kaitlin Butts may just be the queen of red dirt country music, and her latest single “Roadrunner” is more proof.
The title track off of her forthcoming record Roadrunner!, and epically dramatic concept album heavily influenced and inspired by the 1943 Broadway musical Oklahoma!, Butt’s latest song is a fast-paced and cleverly penned honky tonk tune that further solidifies her role not only among country music’s top female artists, but atop the genre as a whole. An ode to the road and the touring lifestyle that Butts’ and so many other musicians live, “Roadrunner” captures the hard riving, road-dogging artist’s love/hate relationship with the asphalt on which their wheels spend so much time spinning.
Butts took to Instagram to officially announce the single’s release, draw attention to the accompanying music video, and provide some brief insight into the track’s origins.
“Roadrunner is officially yours! I wrote this chaotic little love song for the road a few years ago when there wasn’t much touring to be done and since then I’ve been playing it live whenever I get the chance. Y’all have been asking me to release it, so I’m officially passing it over to you.
I knew when I recorded this song I wanted to make a music video that captured what a day in the life on tour is like with KB & The Mules and I think we nailed it. Go watch the video, stream the song, and start learning all the words cuz I wanna hear you SING IT next time I see ya! MEEP MEEP”
So, without further ado, here is Kaitlin Butts’ brand new single “Roadrunner.”
Having just announced the record at the beginning of this past week, the singles released thus far are minimal, with the only other one being the lead single and Kesha cover “Hunt You Down.” Otherwise, the 17-track album features plenty of original content that has never been heard before, but I have a hunch that this whole project, and each song within it, are going to be something special.
Butts, who has a background in musical theatre and grew up seeing the Oklahoma! play, which takes place in the area in which she grew up, every year at a local theater. Now turning her love for the play and the inspiration with which it has provided her into a killer concept record, that includes features from her husband and Flatland Cavalry frontman Cleto Cordero as well as the legendary Vince Gill, this is sure to be some of her best work yet.
Check out the whole Roadrunner tracklist below:
“Overture: My New Life Starts Today” (Richard Rogers, Oscar Hammerstein II)
“Roadrunner” (Butts)
“Other Girls” (Butts, Natalie Hemby)
“Wild Juanita’s Cactus Juice” (Butts)
“Soliloquy: Out Of MyDreams”
“Come Rest Your Head (On My Pillow” ft. Vince Gill (Butts)
“People Will Say We’re In Love” ft. Cleto Cordero (Rogers, Hammerstein II)
“Buckaroo” (Butts)
“That’ll Never Be Me” (Butts, Angeleena Presley)
“Spur” (Butts, Megan James)
“If I Can’t Have You” (Butts)
“Bang, Bang (Poor Jud is Dead)” (Sonny Bono)
“You Ain’t Gotta die ( To Be Dead To Me)” (Butts, Hemby)
“Like I should” (Butts)
“Hunt You Down” (Kesha, Richard Nowels)
“Followed You To Vegas (Butts)
“Elsa” (Butts, Courtney Patton, Jimmie Davis)
As we await the June 28 release of Butts’ third studio album, make sure you keep listening to her existing catalog, and perhaps even more importantly, get out there and see a live show when she and the band roll through your city.
Kaitlin Butts 2024 Tour Dates:
May 25 – Arlington, TX – Levitt Free Concert Series
Jun 1 – Lexington, KY – Railbird Music Festival
Jun 15 – Ardmore, OK – Depot Days
Jun 28 – Pendleton, OR – Jackalope Jamboree
Jul 5 – Riaza, ESP – Huercasa Country Festival
Jul 9 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown
Jul 10 – Fargo, ND – Fargo Brewing Company
Jul 12 – Billings, MT – Thirsty Street Brewing Company
Jul 14 – Whitefish, MT – Under The Big Sky Festival
Jul 17 – Boise, ID – The Grove Plaza
Jul 19 – Denver, CO – Globe Hall
Jul 20 – Telluride, CO – Telluride Americana Fest
Aug 4 – Chicago, IL – Lollapalooza
Aug 8 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion+
Aug 9 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center+
Aug 10 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena+
Aug 25 – Bottesford, UK – The Long Road Festival
Aug 26 – Brighton, UK – Concorde 2*
Aug 27 – London, UK – Scala*
Aug 29 – Bristol, UK – The Fleece*
Aug 30 – Manchester, UK – Academy 2*
Aug 31 – Paisley, UK – Mill Town Music Fest*
Oct 5 – Salt Lake City, UT – RedWest Fest
+ supporting Dierks Bentley
* Supporting Flatland Cavalry
