Kaity Rae at the Green Note Review by Nathalie Larsen

If you read my review of our headliner at the first London-based Belles and Gals gig, Hannah Rose Platt, you’ll know that we also had the privilege of being joined by an opening act, Kaity Rae. It was my first time hearing Kaity and I can tell you – it will not be my last. In my previous words, she set the audience on fire and she has immense potential, so I thought I would give a little taster of her set here.

The set started off with the song Before I Knew from Kaity’s latest and very recent EP – a song of an ex-boyfriend with a catchy hook. It is no surprise that this song has garnered her comparisons to Taylor Swift: “I’d done anything for you but whatever we had didn’t mean anything to you now did it… I’d done anything for you”. She followed up with an unreleased song called Nashville which really showcased Kaity’s vocals and which we can only hope will be released later on.

Kaity explained that she’s currently studying songwriting at university (adding in there for the naysayers that yes it’s a real subject) when introducing the next track. Having been asked to write a song for a boyband for an assignment, Katie’s producer thought it would actually make quite a good country pop song Back In My Heart. It’s also on her latest EP and I couldn’t help but thinking the chorus was perfect for Dan + Shay (yes, I might be in C2C mode already – you can’t blame me).

The next song was probably my favourite song of the evening. It was finished after Kaity visited a songwriters festival in Nashville last April (where she cried like 5 million times) and called Up in Smoke. It was vocally exquisite and truly enchanting. I can’t wait to hear it again and I think it really showed Kaity’s songwriting progression.

Kaity followed with All That I Am also off her latest EP – this came pretty close to being my favourite to be honest. Kaity explained it was about going for her song writing dream 100% and not listening to all those doubting – it was delivered with such authenticity, power and emotion that it made me a little wobbly. This song solidifies Kaity not just as an artist, but as a role model for others and an inspiration. She is clearly wise beyond her years and has got some guts to stand up for her passion at a young age!

It’s not really a set if there’s not one cover in there and dutifully Kaity added one in there as the next song. It was an excellent re-interpretation of John Mayer’s Love on the weekend and I must admit I much preferred this countrified version, which really got the audience going.

Overall, Katie is a performer with a big P. She managed to get a crowd of Londoners – notorious for being difficult – to sing along before 9pm. While I’ve already mentioned her likeness to Taylor Swift, I’m also getting a Kelsea Ballerini and Kira Isabella vibe. I think Kaity has the potential to be the UK’s answer to Kelsea Ballerini as she continues to grasp opportunities and hone her talent. I can’t wait to see Kaity again – which for me will be Nashville Nights at the end of March – I hope to see you there!

Review written by Nathalie Larsen