Britni Petitt
Kat and the Hurricane (clockwise from top center): Kat Rhapsody, Alex Nelson and Benjamin Rose.
Two years after the release of 2021’s acclaimed Sorry EP, Madison’s gender- and genre-bending rock trio Kat and the Hurricane has returned with a new single, “On My Way Back,” available June 16. The new track will be making its live debut when Kat and the Hurricane take the stage at Madison’s Live on Queen on June 23.
Originally conceived as an acoustic folk track, “On My Way Back” is a triumphant, energetic new single that the band calls their “dance-rock anthem of the summer.”
“A lot of our fans and a lot of our community are trans, queer or marginalized in some way,” singer and keyboardist Benjamin Rose says. “We’re going to write about the hard parts of that, but sometimes it’s just fun to dance with people you feel safe around. We just wanted a song people can dance to.”
Together, members Rose (keyboard/vocals), Kat Rhapsody (guitar/vocals) and Alex Nelson (drums) create what they affectionately refer to as “sad lesbian music.” With a powerful blend of pop and rock sound, they layer synths, guitar, sincere lyricism, and Nelson’s dynamic drumming to create evocative, catchy indie rock music.
Kat and the Hurricane started as Rhapsody’s solo project in Janesville in 2015. After releasing their Miles Away EP in 2017, Rhapsody met Rose at a local open mic. Eventually, they both moved to Madison, where they met drummer Nelson and collaborated on the 2020 Libra EP. Their five-track Sorry EP was the first project the band worked on together from the beginning, creating a cohesive collection of tracks marked by propulsive instrumentation as well as Rhapsody and Rose’s harmonies.
Since then, Kat and the Hurricane continue to make waves in the Madison music scene, winning several Madison Area Music Awards, including Best New Artist in 2020, as well as Rock Album of the Year and Rock Song of the Year in 2021. They’ve cultivated a community through both their loyal fanbase and their collaborations with other local artists, including other queer bands and hip-hop artists.
“Having grown up in so many parts of the Midwest, it’s really great to be in such a queer and trans-affirming space,” Nelson says.
In 2021, they began hosting Kat and The Hurricane Presents, a variety showcase that’s a platform for local queer art — anything from music to dance to comedy. “For us, it’s about lifting up the voices that aren’t usually heard,” Rhapsody says. It’s a way, they say, for them to support queer and trans representation in a way they never saw in music growing up.
“I feel like that informs a lot of how we write our music,” Rose says. “‘Would this have spoken to me when I was 13, and wanted to hear music that was not only fun to dance to, but also felt like it was actually speaking to my lived experience?’”
Through their lyricism and their live performances, they approach their own lived experience with a vulnerability and authenticity they hope resonates — and the upcoming Live on Queen performance is no exception.
“On a big stage like Live on King, we can’t not be political,” Rose says. “Just being onstage in front of that many people looking the way we look and being the people that we are, unfortunately in this climate is a political thing.”
For the second year in a row, Kat and the Hurricane will be headlining Live on Queen — a drag and dance party event that’s part of FPC’s Live on King summer concert series, taking place on the 100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. As a record number of anti-LGBT bills are being introduced across the country this year, their Live on Queen performance will be an opportunity to celebrate queer joy together.
“When we have a platform of that size, we have a responsibility to craft a space where people can feel joy and feel catharsis, in a world where there’s not a lot of places to feel that,” Rose says. The band also hopes their Live on Queen show serves as a beacon of possibility for younger fans in the audience.
“We are the representation that we needed when we were kids, too. And now we get to be that for other kids,” Rhapsody says.
Kat and the Hurricane also have upcoming gigs at Fete de Marquette on July 14 and The Bur Oak on Aug. 2.
