The Perlich Post: Caitlin Rose in full bloom

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Caitlin Rose in full bloom

Congratulations to the music biz judges of BMI's Road To Bonnaroo competition for having the good sense to select Nashville singer/songwriter Caitlin Rose as one of four acts to be added to the 2010 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The smokin', drinkin' and pinball-playin' 22 year-old hotshot singer/songwriter, who'll soon have Jenny Lewis and Neko Case watching their backs, beat out hoards of bearded Southern dude rockers led by Kroeger-esque frontmen reeking of Polo and PBR at four 8 Off 8th shows at Nashville's Mercy Lounge to join fellow Road To Bonnaroo winners The Non-Commissioned Officers, How I Became The Bomb and Space Capone in earning coveted slots at the four-day event (Thursday to Sunday June 10-13) held on a 700-acre farm in the middle of nowh... er... lovely Manchester, Tennessee.

Everything suddenly seems to be falling into place for Rose who formerly fronted the horribly-named Nashville buzz band Save Macaullay which never made it outside of Davidson County and whose mom Liz Rose pays the bills by writing hits for Taylor Swift. In February, the younger Rose's stellar seven-song Dead Flowers EP – featuring her winning rendition of the Stones' brush-off missive title track, a cautionary tale of teen pregnancy called Shotgun Wedding and her catchy ditty about forbidden love known as Gorilla Man – was picked up for UK release by the Names label and then in March she knocked out a crowd of industry insiders at three cool SXSW showcase gigs in Austin. Her upcoming Bonnaroo closing day gig at the Troo Music Lounge on Sunday (June 13) at 1:20 pm along with her appearance at the UK's stacked Green Man Festival August 20-22 and some gushing Daytrotter hype (see links below) should provide a huge boost to her profile beyond her already sizable drunken werewolf girl following. It's all a sweet set-up for her forthcoming album currently in the final tweaking stage and slated for release in September which should make October's Austin City Limits Festival in Austin one helluva coming out party for Rose.

Sinful Wishing Well at SXSW 2010