Katie Crutchfield delivered her rendition of the record at Jason Sudeikis’ annual Thundergong benefit
Waxahatchee stepped into the glitz and glam of “The Life of a Showgirl” during a recent performance at Jason Sudeikis’ annual Thundergong! benefit. The musician born Katie Crutchfield covered the closing track from Taylor Swift‘s latest album, leaning into the subtle country twang and storytelling. Crutchfield welcomed a special guest vocalist to the stage to take on Sabrina Carpenter’s featured verse.
Last year, Crutchfield performed the Tortured Poets Department deep cut “But Daddy I Love Him” during an appearance in Leeds Park. She also added one of the singer-songwriter’s tracks to her pre-show playlist while on tour. In an interview with Pitchfork, Crutchfield noted that she discovered the song after a friend sent it to her, asking if she’d had a hand in writing it because of the similarity in style. She hadn’t, but she’s clearly drawn to the music.
Earlier this year, Crutchfield released the collaborative album Snopcaps with her twin sister, Allison Crutchfield. “This feels like a classic indie-rock record, minus the pedal steel and other signifiers that rebranded Waxahatchee as a kind of New South country-rock project,” Rolling Stone wrote in a review of the record. “There’s certainly no question that Waxahatchee is one of America’s greatest rock bands. But the push and pull of styles here between two artists with different obsessions and skillsets — the mark of so many touchstone bands, sibling acts or otherwise — makes Snocaps an equally-compelling outfit.”
The Life of a Showgirl has only been out for a few weeks, so there are sure to be more cover renditions to come. Over the weekend, Bowling for Soup shared their version of “Actually Romantic” after receiving a similar note about sonic similarities. The band shared that they were sent two different messages saying, “I don’t know if BFS has plans for a cover song anytime soon, but Taylor’s ‘Actually Romantic’ has you guys written all over it! I can literally hear you singing it when I listen!” That was enough for them to take it on.
Anyone can be a showgirl if they put their mind to it.
