Music / Get To Know
Katy J Pearson: ‘It’s a very strange time to make music’
As so often the case with ‘one of our own’, Bristol has watched the rise of Katy J Pearson with a fuzzy sense of pride.
Fans might recount early shows at The Louisiana, where she’d make the roundtrip from her hometown of Cirencester to play as a teenager. Or perhaps they remember her intimate matinee show – with her brother on guitar – at the Exchange, where she bantered happily with Big Jeff.
Equally, they might have spotted her back at The Louis during lockdowns, working the door this time, or in the crowd at Crofters Rights around 2018 checking out “amazing” up-and-coming bands from round Europe: “It was so exciting. We were really trying to see bands before they got big. I was so gutted when it closed.”
is needed now More than ever
Whatever the memories, KJP’s classy, honey-toned pop with equal parts humour and vulnerability has captured the hearts and minds of many across the city and further afield.
Ahead of a hometown show at SWX on November 29, Katy sat down with Bristol24/7 for a deep dive into the new album, her approach to songwriting and the state of the scene as she sees it today.
Katy on her last date of The Last Dinner Party tour, in Berlin, before embarking on an “insane” 19 hour journey home – photo: @annwphotos
When we talk, Katy’s just returned from a two-week European tour supporting The Last Dinner Party, including a non-stop 19 hour drive home from Berlin which she says was “actually quite insane.”
But that kind of slog is just part and parcel of being a musician – even for those that, like Katy, have an established career that has led to an invitation to play on the renowned BBC Later With Jools Holland show not just once, but twice.
“It was amazing, just crazy,” she says, of her latest appearance which aired on November 9; “You dream about it when you’re younger, so it’s a huge thing for me.”
Katy revealed she felt the pressure much more this second time around.
“After the first song the makeup lady put loads of powder on me because I got so flushed, then gave me a flannel so I could cool down!” she laughs. “I wasn’t very collected which was annoying but – it is what it is, and it is scary.
“It has felt more challenging as I’ve got bigger. The stakes feel bigger, you’ve come so far and everything feels like it’s resting on a knife’s edge. You have to appreciate every moment you have in this career because it is unstable.
“In this job there’s no rest for the wicked. It’s a cycle, and all of it powers you to keep wanting to write because it can be really stressful – so then you pick up a guitar.”
It’s perhaps a reflection of the industry that an outwardly successful artist feels, inwardly, that their career remains insecure.
That knife’s edge that Katy refers to is one currently felt across the sector with reports of low margins, unsustainable pay, and an endless grind just to keep afloat.
The grassroots music scene, both locally and nationally, is in crisis, with venues closing at an astronomical rate, musicians forced out of the profession and organisations like the Music Venue Trust advocating for systemic change to stop a full-blown collapse.
Katy has fond memories of the small venues that nurtured her interest in music and gave her those first opportunities to perform – “But the industry’s very broken up now and there’s such disparity in those succeeding and the people not. There’s no middle ground anymore,” she reflects.
In the photo booth at Rough Trade Bristol after her November album launch show – Katy is a champion of the local grassroots music scene which supported her at the beginning of her career – photo: Katy J Pearson
“I used to see artists at all levels managing to make it work. Now it’s not like that. Even for me, with things going well – I can’t afford to do more than two tours a year. I’ve had to say no to some amazing support tours because I would make a loss.
“Right now it is really hard and quite scary. It’s a very strange time to make music. Things are changing. I’m not seeing as many smaller bands on the road. There’s not the money there was.”
With all this in mind, releasing her third record is an inarguable achievement. Katy agrees: “Making this record was so special and I’m so proud of it,” she says of Someday, Now released on September 20. “I got to make a body of work that felt right, and very true to myself.”
Katy at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, where she recorded her third album – one she says “was just the most wonderful thing to make” – photo: Seren Carys
SWX have described Katy as a ‘pop singer-songwriter for the modern catastrophic age’. Is she happy with this description and does it fit with the themes of this latest record?
“I like that they’ve said pop, not folk!” she says. “That’s cool. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. I do want to commentate on things but gosh, that’s big shoes to fill. But part of me is like, fuck it, yeah! Go on then.
“Making this third record has given me so much more confidence. I now feel so ready to push myself more lyrically, and really think about what I’m trying to say. I think that all comes with experience and practice. The more you write, the better you get. It’s all about sticking with it.
“And the album is definitely me – it’s very much a narrative of my experiences, emotions and feelings, trying to unpack my life. It is a very vulnerable record, and there’s no better feeling than singing these songs to an audience that are relating to that. It’s so powerful, and also very healing.
“Bonding with that part of myself and letting myself out with these songs has been very freeing. I might as well tell the truth if I’m going to be releasing these songs!”
With the latest record, which has been welcomed by critics, Katy says she’s taken the opportunity to ‘own her feelings’ – photo: Katy J Pearson
It’s an approach that has taken abit of time to embrace, but allowing herself to be vulnerable, she says, has been so valuable, and following her creative inspiration has enabled her to forge exciting collaborations with artists as diverse as Yard Act, Wet Leg and a variety of musicians on a new Wicker Man soundtrack.
“It is really hard to be a female artist,” she says. “It’s taken me a long time to be accepting of myself and feel safe to be vulnerable, to trust my own way of telling stories.
“With songwriting, trust your gut. Write for yourself – and if it helps other people, that’s a bonus. The most important thing is to just be as completely true to yourself and authentic as you can be. Don’t let people push you about.”
Big picture aside, for now Katy’s enjoying celebrating her album being out in the world and is looking forward to bringing the festivities back to her adopted hometown – as well as anticipating a post-show pint.
“It’s going to be a really special homecoming,” she says of Friday’s show at SWX. “It’s going to be so cool to play in front of so many people and it’s a great venue.
“I love the Bank Tavern round the corner – we’ll pop round there for a Guinness after the show I reckon!”
Katy J Pearson is at SWX on Friday, November 29. Find full details and tickets at swxbristol.com/events/katy-j-pearson
Main image: Megan Graye
Read next:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
