Macy Kate on Spring Fest ’22 and Growing Her Sound  

Pop and R&B artist Macy Kate can still remember the exact moment her dreams came true. After taking part in ABC’s show Rising Star, she decided to move to Los Angeles and begin searching for a record label to call home. She met popular artist Flo Rida’s artists and repertoire representative at a music conference after he tracked her down over a few days. Kate took advantage of the opportunity and agreed to come to Rida’s recording studio to perform live for him.

“I always bring my keyboard with me because I play the piano classically, and I played an Alicia Keys song, ‘If I Ain’t Got You,’” Kate recalls. “It was a bit nerve-wracking at the time, but I had been performing for five years before that point.” After Flo Rida heard Kate sing, he signed her on the spot. “Flo was an incredible mentor for me and he included me on his tour all over the world,” Kate says. “I will always be grateful for his support, and I will never be able to repay him for that.” She was careful not to feel too excited, because at that point she had attended a lot of similar meetings with different label executives and hadn’t yet been signed. But this particular moment worked out, and everything changed. 

“I have found a team and studio in SLC where I can record while I’m traveling.” 

She has a few other music memories that stick with her too, like when she was younger and watched Christina Aguilera’s Christmas special. “I think this is where my deep, soulful tones originated, in addition to playing the piano,” she says. It makes sense that Kate would love artists like Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Xtina and Mariah, as well as other ’90s music, 

But, there’s one specific memory she has where she realized she wanted to be a musician. 

Kate says, “I was in a performance singing group in Florida, and the girls that I performed with were so good that they inspired me at a young age to pursue singing as many of the members auditioned and were chosen for ‘American Idol,’ ‘The Voice’ and ‘America’s Got Talent,’ she explains. “When it changed for me professionally was my time in Atlanta where I was able to start working with Akon’s team in the Buvision studio. It was here that I met Amber Grimes, and she really inspired me to pursue singing professionally. She believed in me and recommended that I consider signing with Bu.”

These days, Kate is making good on that dream. She recently performed as an opening act  at the 2022 Spring Fest. Kate says she “loved performing” for the festival and “was surprised at how many fans I have here in SLC, and more importantly a lot of fans knew the words to my new music, which is so rewarding for me.” Kate is hoping to do more shows in Utah in the future. 

Kate released her debut EP, Cry For Help, in early 2020, and looking back at that, she says it was “a big pivotal moment for me because I, of course, didn’t know a global pandemic was about to hit and affect the entire world. At the time I thought it was going to affect me in a negative way, but it did the complete opposite.” The entire experience changed her perspective on the idea of releasing music. As people were staying away from family and friends, Kate received messages about how her EP helped them get through the quarantine. 

“People never want to feel alone, and with my EP Cry For Help, it assured my audience that they weren’t alone in what they were going through,” she says.

This is something Kate also keeps in mind during the creative process, how music can help someone feel less alone. “The creative process is one of my favorite parts of music because I get to tell my story,” she says. “I get to relate to my audience. I can literally express the feeling I’m feeling in that exact moment. It’s so therapeutic for me. Feels like I’m getting everything off my chest,” she says. 

“I will always be grateful for [Flo Rida’s] support, and I will never be able to repay him for that.”

As her music journey continues, Kate says she is currently writing, producing and recording new music on the daily. She continues to evolve in not only her craft, but her position and awareness of the music industry. “I am un-signed by a major [label], self-funded and [loving]the moment that I am in right now, Kate says. “Yes, I wish I had big-label funding, but I love making my own decisions of music direction, communicating directly with fans and managing my creative direction.” 

Kate just wrote a song called “Proud of Me” and performed it for the first time at Spring Fest. The response? Impeccable. “It’s a super personal song to me when I was going through a really dark time,” Kate says. “As a creative, I go through so many ups and downs, and I get in massive creative funks. When I wrote this, I was reflecting on everything I had been through and came up with this amazing record and I cannot wait for it to come out,” she says

Kate loves Utah and the underground music scene we have here, especially in R&B and pop. “I have found a team and studio in SLC where I can record while I’m traveling,” she says, adding that the state is “so beautiful—the people are beautiful. It’s hard not to fall in love with it.” 

As Kate continues to grow, she wants to empower women in the music industry. “The ratio of male to female artists in music is 5:1,” she says. “The business is tough, and not having the same opportunities as male artists is de-motivating and I hope to change that.” Kate will start by launching a women-empowered NFT collection soon.

Check out Macy Kate on Spotify and keep up with her via Instagram at @macykate. 

Read more interviews with musical artists:
Just Don’t Give a Fuck So Much: Form of Rocket’s Tape Release
Divine Feminine: Luna13’s Bass Metal and Burlesque