Biography
Katy Kirby has built a reputation as a singer and songwriter whose warm, articulate voice pairs with insightful lyrics and a talent for memorable melodies. On her first album, Cool Dry Place, released in 2021, she worked within a playful adult-alternative framework that incorporated Omnichord, Space Echo, trumpet, and a complete ensemble. The follow-up, Blue Raspberry, arrived in 2024 as a more sincere and warmly orchestral project that grew out of her deliberate decision to compose love songs for the first time.
Raised in a small Texas town and homeschooled, Kirby began performing as a child during church services. While attending college in Nashville she initiated the material that became her debut album, switching majors five times, briefly leaving school, and ultimately completing an English degree alongside a circle of creative peers. After several additional years of work, the nine-track Cool Dry Place was finished at her childhood residence in Spicewood, Texas, just outside Austin. Key contributors included co-producer and engineer Alberto Sewald, guitarist Hunt Pennington, and multi-instrumentalists Logan Chung and Zach Tittel.
Following the independent release of her 2018 sampler EP Juniper, Cool Dry Place appeared in February 2021 through Austin’s Keeled Scales in association with Secretly Distribution. During this period Kirby performed as support for Waxahatchee, Julia Jacklin, and Alex G. She started developing her second album at the same moment she was growing more self-aware and entering her first queer relationship. Intending to write love songs for the first time, she emphasized beauty in the arrangements and drew inspiration from Andy Shauf’s The Party and Lomelda’s Hannah. The resulting Blue Raspberry features orchestral textures, a mellower tone, and a stronger vocal presence. Produced by Sewald and Chung with string arrangements by Rowen Merrill, whose credits include Bully and Dreamer Boy, the album marked Kirby’s introduction on the Anti- label in January 2024.
Raised in a small Texas town and homeschooled, Kirby began performing as a child during church services. While attending college in Nashville she initiated the material that became her debut album, switching majors five times, briefly leaving school, and ultimately completing an English degree alongside a circle of creative peers. After several additional years of work, the nine-track Cool Dry Place was finished at her childhood residence in Spicewood, Texas, just outside Austin. Key contributors included co-producer and engineer Alberto Sewald, guitarist Hunt Pennington, and multi-instrumentalists Logan Chung and Zach Tittel.
Following the independent release of her 2018 sampler EP Juniper, Cool Dry Place appeared in February 2021 through Austin’s Keeled Scales in association with Secretly Distribution. During this period Kirby performed as support for Waxahatchee, Julia Jacklin, and Alex G. She started developing her second album at the same moment she was growing more self-aware and entering her first queer relationship. Intending to write love songs for the first time, she emphasized beauty in the arrangements and drew inspiration from Andy Shauf’s The Party and Lomelda’s Hannah. The resulting Blue Raspberry features orchestral textures, a mellower tone, and a stronger vocal presence. Produced by Sewald and Chung with string arrangements by Rowen Merrill, whose credits include Bully and Dreamer Boy, the album marked Kirby’s introduction on the Anti- label in January 2024.
Albums
Singles
