Katie Pruitt Makes A Powerful Declaration on 'Expectations'

XPN | By Stephen Kallao,

Published March 9, 2020 at 11:01 AM EDT

The first time I heard Katie Pruitt's song "Loving Her," I was taken aback by the very first line you hear: "If loving her's a sin, I don't want to go to heaven." That's a powerful declaration from a singer-songwriter. It's especially powerful coming from a gay artist raised in the South without much precedent and with very few role models to follow.

Somewhat appropriately, you can hear a bit of Brandi Carlile in Pruitt's lyrics and delivery. Her debut album, Expectations, tackles her experience growing up in a family that didn't always accept, much less understand, her choices. I'll talk to Katie after this performance of the song "Expectations," recorded live for the World Cafe. Hear it all in the player above.

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Stephen Kallao

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John Myers

Since 2017, John Myers has been the producer of NPR's World Cafe, which is produced by WXPN at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Previously he spent about eight years working on the other side of Philly at WHYY as a producer on the staff of Fresh Air with Terry Gross. John was also a member of the team of public radio veterans recruited to develop original programming for Audible and has worked extensively as a freelance producer. His portfolio includes work for the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, The Association for Public Art and the radio documentary, Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio. He's taught radio production to preschoolers and college students and, in the late 90's, spent a couple of years traveling around the country as a roadie for the rock band Huffamoose.

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