Independent Arts News Reporting 
Pictured Above: Cat Ridgeway. Photo Credit: Gabe Lugo.
Cat Ridgeway Pounces into the Spotlight
By: Keith Loria
The indie singer plays Red Bank’s The Vogel on Tuesday, September 30th and Philly’s World Café Live next week on October 1st
Describing her sound as “indie rock for overthinkers,” Cat Ridgeway is quickly making a name for herself among music lovers. Hailing from Orlando, Ridgeway taught herself how to play guitar, harmonica, trumpet, trombone, drums, piano, mandolin and bass, and it’s her devotion to the craft that has attracted the attention of many in the biz.
“I grew up around the corner from a recording studio and when I was in seventh grade, they started hosting an open mic called ‘The Music Café’ and every Tuesday, I would try to come in and have a new song written,” she said.
While there, she was discovered by Greg Wright, the studio’s owner, who had worked with the likes of Deep Purple, Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. He saw something special in the young singer.
“He talked to my dad and asked if this was something I was serious about doing, and my dad said, ‘Heck yeah,’ and he wound up booking me and my brother for a studio session to record one of my songs,” Ridgeway said. “To hear a song of yours at that age go from just this acoustic idea that you came up with on your bed to a full-fledged production with different players all over it—when I heard that through the studio monitors, I knew that was what I wanted to do forever. It felt like magic.”
Pictured Above: Cat Ridgeway. Photo Credit: Gabe Lugo.
At the time, Wright was putting together a DVD series called Living Legends Music, where he was bringing in musical legends to film some of their hits for an expanded DVD release. The performers would then play at a show and Wright had Ridgeway open for the various acts so she could build a resume and people would take her seriously.
“I was 14, 15, opening for Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane, Bill Payne of Little Feet and all these crazy musicians, just really sharpening my teeth,” Ridgeway said.
By 18, she released her first album, “Passenger Seat,” which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. “Nice to Meet You” came out five years later, and by that time, her star was steadily on the rise.
In 2016, Canadian indie pop duo Tegan and Sara personally selected Ridgeway as the winner of their worldwide cover contest for the song “Stop Desire,” noting her prowess across five different instruments as helping her stand out among the thousands of others who entered.
A few years later, Ridgeway’s home paper, Orlando Weekly, named her “Best Singer-Songwriter” three years in a row, and Cat Ridgeway & The Tourists was named top touring band the past two years.
In March, Ridgeway released “Sprinter,” an album that has emerged as a critical darling. Its most recent song “What If?” which deals with the question of one’s existence in the universe, charted at No. 1 on CDX Surging and Emerging AAA Chart this summer.
“We just hit the six-month mark of it being out, though it took us over two years in the studio,” Ridgeway said. “My co-producer is Mike ‘Two Tall Trees’ Savino, and it was really just me and him holed up in his basement studio for days on end, experimenting with sounds. Then he brought in some awesome players—Claude Coleman Jr. from Wien, Josiah Wolf from the band Why? and I had some of my bandmates jump on to play some horns and sing and stuff like that.”
In support of the album, Ridgeway is currently touring with jazz bebop vocalist Victoria Swift, who now fronts the rock band Dame, and the two groups will be playing The Vogel in Red Bank on Sept. 30 and World Café Live in Philadelphia on Oct. 1.
“We are going to have quite a rocking show,” Ridgeway said. “We have a trio coming up from Florida, and our bassist is based in Brooklyn now. Our drummer and I have been doing these duo sets where I’m playing bass with my feet, and she’s playing bass and drums at the same time with a synth and playing drums with her other hand and feet. So that might be able to free up our bassist to play some lead guitar, and he’s a Berkeley grad, so you definitely want to hear him on guitar.”
Touring is one of her favorite aspects of her career, pointing to the fact that no two days are ever the same, even if she’s playing in the same venue.
“It’s all about the people you meet, the places you see, and the throughline between all of it is that you get to play music,” Ridgeway said. “I think it is the most incredible thing that messing around on an instrument and having fun is what has brought me to have all of these insane experiences.”
While Ridgeway is looking forward to getting back in the studio soon to work on a new album, she’s really enjoying supporting “really cool acts” like Dame and hopes people will give the show a try.
“If the thought of hearing punk rock on a banjo intrigues you, you should check us out,” she said.
Check out Cat Ridgeway’s Official Tour Schedule & find tickets at: www.catridgeway.com/tour
