KT Tunstall is an artist whose name you may not remember, but her songs are definitively memorable. In her own words at the Fine Line Friday night, she lamented, “you all are probably here for the one song about a horse and a tree”, referring to perhaps her most recognizable song, “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” which was released in 2004.
After the Scotland native launched her career launched in 2004, she released a number of albums and is currently on tour promoting Wax. This newest album is the second part of a trilogy called Soul, Body, and Mind. The first album of the trilogy, Kin, was a work that showed she “finally made peace with being a pop songwriter”. She stated that Kin “was very much embracing [her] dharma as an artist, which is to write positive songs that have muscle, but also show their vulnerability.” This theme continues in Wax, which opens with the song, “Little Red Thread”.
I truly believe these newest albums are a mark of even more growth from the artist that got her start with “the one song about a horse and a tree.” KT is back even stronger than ever.
Opening for KT was Maddie Ross, an LA-based artist that writes a multitude of pop love songs with her producer, co-writer, and girlfriend Wolfy. This is reportedly their first time on tour, and they are truly endearing on stage. Their ability to connect with the crowd through their hilarious antics was perfect for the Fine Line, which is a wonderfully intimate space.
Maddie’s new EP, “Touch Hands, Touch Bodies” was released on October 12th, and I would ten out of ten recommend. Not everyone may be a fan of the genre of music, but her tunes will make you smile.
As part of her opening sequence, KT played the aforementioned “Little Red Thread”, reminding the crowd that we are all connected, even during times of uncertainty with current political division. KT uses music to bring us all together and sing along to the songs we love, and that is what I love about her as a performer.
And of course, KT eventually played the 2004 hit, “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree”, which everyone knew the words to. She played this one acoustic, which was perfect for crowd interaction. At one point in the night, KT read off a list of things that we were all missing by being at the concert, which included events such as “Laundry Camp” at the Mall of America. The description read that this camp will “make you fall in love with laundry”. It was incredibly funny and I couldn’t help but be impressed that she researched all of it before the concert. She concluded by thanking the crowd for forgoing everything else they could be doing to come and see her.
KT may not get as much credit as she deserves, but one thing that I learned on Friday night at the Fine Line was that those who are fans are HUGE fans and love the artist dearly. I am incredibly grateful that I got to see her live and witness the reason behind her success.
