Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield Goes Full Country, Starts a New Band

In early 2020, just before the pandemic, Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson exchanged albums. Saint Cloud and Sorceress sparked a bond between the two songwriters, and now they’ve formed the duo Plains.

As the name suggests, the project shows Crutchfield venturing further into the Lucinda Williams-esque country she leaned into on Saint Cloud, blending her voice with Williamson on the lead single “Problem With It.” Their new album, I Walked With You a Ways, arrives on Oct. 14.

The LP was produced by Crutchfield’s recent collaborator Brad Cook, and features Spencer Tweedy on drums. It was written between Kansas City, Los Angeles, and Marfa, Texas, and recorded in Durham, North Carolina.

“I’ve felt a connection to Jess’s songwriting and a kinship with her since we met years ago,” Crutchfield said in a statement. “Getting to lean into the influence of the music we both grew up with while also making something that feels very current and fresh to me was a great experience, and I’m so happy to finally share it.”

“Making this record with Katie was a deeply expansive experience for me as a songwriter,” Williamson added. “I really trust her ear and sensibilities, and she encouraged me to explore aspects of my songwriting that in the past I’ve shied away from. Katie’s support was so important for me as we wrote this album. We gave ourselves permission to lean into the music that raised us and write the kind of classic timeless songs that we both grew up singing along to. For me that was the Chicks and Dolly Parton, and having a place to channel those influences was an absolute blast. My hope with Plains was to tap into something Universal. I love the album we made, and I’m so excited to play it live.”

Their live shows will kick off this fall in Seattle, Washington on Oct. 21. They’ll head through the West Coast and over to the East, stopping at New York City’s Webster Hall on Nov. 11. The trek wraps in Kansas City, where Crutchfield lives, on Nov. 19.

I Walked With You a Ways Tracklist
1. “Summer Sun”
2. “Problem With It”
3. “Line of Sight”
4. “Abeline”
5. “Hurricane”
6. “Bellafatima”
7. “Last 2 on Earth”
8. “Easy”
9. “No Record of Wrongs”
10. “I Walked With You a Ways”

Plains Tour Dates
Oct. 21 – Seattle, WA @ The Neptune Theatre
Oct. 22 –Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
Oct. 24 – Sonoma, CA @ Gundlach Bundschu Winery
Oct. 25 – San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
Oct. 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ Belasco Theater
Oct. 28 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy and Harriet’s
Oct. 29 –Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
Oct. 31 – Dallas, TX @ Studio at The Factory
Nov. 1 – Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn
Nov. 3 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina’s
Nov. 4 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
Nov. 5 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
Nov. 6 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Nov. 7 – Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom
Nov. 9 – Washington DC @ The Howard Theatre
Nov. 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Nov. 11 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Nov. 12 – Jersey City, NJ @ White Eagle Hall
Nov. 13 – Boston, MA @ Royale
Nov. 15 –Toronto, ON, Canada @ Danforth Music Hall
Nov. 16 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
Nov. 17 – Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
Nov. 18 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Nov. 19. – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater