The remarkable story of how a waitress supported Stevie Nicks

Catty appeared at Nicks' BST Hyde Park show, but the build-up seemingly required blood, sweat and tears and a huge amount of faith – without a debut album and a name that was far from the biggest on stage singer sent her team an email to everyone they could find to plead for her to be on stage in the coveted spot next to her hero. Nobody answered.

Alongside her musical dream, Catty works as a waitress, but her efforts to perform in the all-female lineup made her realize some hard truths about her own confidence. Luckily everything was positive. “I had a lot of trouble taking care of myself for a long time,” she explains Far out. “But for some reason in the last two or three years I feel like I've really come into my own.” That confidence – and it's all justified; Catty is an incredible writer and performer – that's what made her put on her most convincing hat and take the coveted spot at Nicks as best she could.

“When they announced Stevie Nicks, it was the first time ever that I was like, 'No, I have to do this, and I'm good enough to do it.'” It was the first time I did that. Even my manager was like, 'Huh, what?' So I thought, 'We've got to email everyone as best we can.' We've just got to go full throttle.'” The inevitable silence overtook her hopeful dream.

Most musicians probably would have taken no for an answer, but Catty isn't just anyone and she knows it. “Everyone was trying their hardest to get this done and no one responded,” she says. “So we found the booking agent on Instagram and I sent her a voice note like, 'Girl, listen, I'm the biggest Stevie Nicks fan.' This is so embarrassing, but I really think I should be in this lineup.'” As she listened to the recording, the fight wasn't over yet – she said that unfortunately all the spots were taken.

However, after the agent was sent a tempting email that he couldn't refuse, the rest, as they say, is history. Beautiful, long overdue, cathartic story. “They told me (the news) when I was on Beth McCarthy’s tour, who is literally one of my best friends in the whole world. (They told me) before I went on stage, and I literally just fell to the floor. I fell to the ground. I cried my eyes out.”

Catty joins a growing list of popular musicians restoring the relevance of pop music in today's landscape, along with artists like Charli bring a world into a genre that had long since given in to superficial commercialism.

Albums like Roan's The Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess are not just elegant, sugary pop brilliance; They are the sign of a queer resurgence. No, a lesbian one. And Catty is thrilled to be a part of it. “Pop-rock has time right now, but lesbians? I think, finally!” she laughs. “This is me, and even if these things aren't 'popular,' I'll still be,” she adds. Discussing the excitement surrounding the current pop-rock moment, she continues: “I've been waiting for guitars to come back into music for some time, but even when it starts again, it will still be my music. “

The singer recalls how, growing up, she struggled to find musicians she could identify with. Catty recalls: “For a long time I struggled to find people to look up to, especially because I grew up about ten years ago. I don't remember seeing an out lesbian. We had Ellen (DeGeneres) and that was it.”

So far there has been a lack of self-confident lesbian musicians, which is of course a good thing, even if it's a bit late. “I remember needing it so badly,” Catty says. “I don’t think I would have been in the closet for so long, which is why I think an artist like that is so important to me.”

As for other influences, Catty doesn't shy away from those she enjoys, which in and of itself is entirely characteristic of queer culture's acceptance – an artist loved by many doesn't have to be queer through and through, but if they're cheesy, real and… is honestly, all in one, it could be coded as part of the community that holds such ideas, regardless of who the originator was.

“I’m really interested in CMAT and self-esteem right now,” she shares. “I think they're so incredible and so completely themselves. I'm just obsessed with them. I obviously love Chappell and Gaga. But should I say that? Is it embarrassing? I love Nickelback so much. I don't think it's embarrassing. I really love it. I think she's so incredible.” Everyone also remembers the first artist they fell in love with, so it's no surprise when Catty also reveals she's ABBA.

However, when it comes to creating her own art, she may draw on certain aspects of her cherished favorites, but ultimately it all comes from within. For her, music is personal and that's when she can really shine. “I just write about what’s happening to me,” she explains. “I had such a strange year in my personal life last year. I booked this wedding in Vegas, then canceled it and had a terrible, terrible breakup.”

Catty goes on to explain how she turned a bad situation into a good one: “But in terms of music and rock 'n' roll, I was like, 'Wait a minute, I canceled a wedding in Las Vegas, that's kind of good,' what shit is up way of looking at it. But I thought, 'I can write about this.'” In the early days, however, she encountered a complexity that many queer artists face at least once in their careers: the opportunity to first build a vision and a reputation before you come out and be honest about your identity.

Naturally, Catty rejected the entire idea, feeling that it was completely misaligned with her authentic ethos. “When I first started, I remember everyone thinking, 'Why don't you establish yourself as an artist first and then say you're a lesbian?' And I thought, 'I'm not going to lie.' If I write about a man, everyone in my life will say, 'Well, that didn't fucking happen,'” she quips.

Ultimately, the key to success is to be yourself – no matter what that may look and feel like and how many seem against it – in the most honest way possible. Catty knew she had something as she approached Nicks from all sides, and now she looks to the future and is excited about all the seemingly endless possibilities that lie before her. Your only advice for anyone wanting to do the same? “Believe in yourself to a delusional extent.”

For women, self-confidence or belief in oneself has always been linked to misogynistic views of delusion. A woman who is brave enough to see her talent as important or worthy of attention is usually viewed with disdain because female musicians, unlike their male counterparts, are supposed to be humble and humble. But the resurgence of queer pop-rock has nothing to do with that – because, in Catty's words: “If you're not yourself, it won't happen.”

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