About That Song: Kaatwalk
About That Song #115
In our special series, singer-songwriter Sarah Morris interviews artists about the songs that shaped them.
Hi! I’m Sarah Morris. I’m wildly in love with songs and the people who write them. There have been a few songs in my life that have been total gamechangers—songs that made me want to be a songwriter and songs I’ve written that made me feel like I am a songwriter. About That Song is a space where I can learn more about those pivotal songs in other writers’ lives.
For our 115th edition, I was delighted to connect with Kaatwalk! As a member of The Holy North and one-half of the duo Marv & Kaat, she appears to choose every opportunity to collaborate with other musicians, while also devoting herself to creating music that offers up her voice as a solo artist.
Kaatwalk’s Build album artwork. Photography by Alexander Butterfield; graphic design by Anton Domeier.
Sarah: Hello Kaat!! A Twin Cities-based singer-songwriter, you’ve spent the last few years building an impressive live performance schedule and releasing a steady stream of excellent singles. After releasing the EP A Week in June in … June (on 6/26/26! A palindrome!), you’re preparing to release Kaatwalk’s debut album, Build. This feels like a wonderful opportunity to get to know a bit more about you, your musical journey, and the songs that have brought you to where you are today.
Do you remember the song you heard that made you want to be a songwriter? Tell us about that song.
Kaat: When I was growing up, I always loved singing. My go-to karaoke song at 10 years old was “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse. Every day when I got home from school, I would sit by the window (so I could see my mom driving up) and sing karaoke on YouTube for hours. When I would eventually see her car swing around the corner, I would switch my tabs to homework. I did this every single day. I LOVED singing “Lay Me Down” by Sam Smith, “Gravity” by Sara Bareilles, “The Story” by Brandi Carlile, “Over the Love” by Florence + The Machine, “Stay” by Rihanna, and many, many others.
I loved singing those songs because the lyrics would hit the absolute depths of my soul as the world’s most dramatic 13-year-old. It wasn’t until I was 16 and started dabbling in playing guitar that I actually considered that writing a song was a thing that an average person like me could feasibly do. I loved the idea that I could just write out everything I feel and maybe someone could hear my lyrics and connect with them. Music helped me so much in my life, and while there wasn’t necessarily one song, it was the repeated deep connection I felt that made me want to be a writer. It was the emotional ballads that made me fall in love with the idea that humans can connect so many different experiences over the same line of lyrics.
Sarah: This is such an epic playlist of songs that help us GET THE FEELINGS OUT! Your after-school YouTube time, my after-school MTV or cassette in the boombox—thank goodness for music!! Once you began writing, did you feel like a writer immediately? It took me a few years of writing before I believed it—was there a song that gave you that “a-HA! I AM a songwriter!” moment? Tell us about that song.
Kaat: I’ve been writing little tunes since I was 16 years old. At that point, I never thought about whether I was a writer or not because I was just playing around and trying to have some creative fun. I suppose anytime I sat down and specifically tried to be a songwriter, I was never able to write a song. It only works for me when I’m in the mindset to get out an emotion and/or play around.
Sarah: I appreciate this—keeping it in the spirit of play is enlarging for our creativity, whereas sitting down to do it can feel like pressure.
Kaat: It’s funny to think of myself as a “writer” because I’m terrible at spelling, punctuation, grammar, and I don’t know very many big fancy words, to be quite honest with you. In fact, I hope you are proofreading this right now.
Sarah: HA! Well, I am doing that, yes! Although I only edit my guests’ answers if my computer gives me the red underline! And also, you’re doing great. Fancy words need not apply!
Kaat: I guess none of that matters too much since songwriting is a way of communicating a vibe or a feeling that aligns internally and hopefully with others too. My writing style is authentic and simple, and I like to have a lot of fun with melodies and phrasing.
Sarah: Yes! Maintaining one’s truest true voice feels of the highest value to me. I think listeners know. In 2022, you released your debut single, “Rum in Your Coffee.” It hit my ears as a smoldering message to someone who had perhaps left, and it showcases the heck out of your vocal and emotional range. All come-in-close whispers and in-the-distance wails. What can you tell us about that song?
Kaat: That song was the first I ever released. I wrote it in the bathroom when I was working at a surgery center front desk. Sometimes I had a lot of time on my hands during my shifts, and I would just write out little ideas on a piece of paper.
I was having a particularly rough day and I was thinking about some of the things from my childhood that I was processing in therapy. The lyrics flew onto the paper as if it was a journal entry with a melody in my mind. I understood what the melody would be. With the whispers and the wails, I had a vision. And then I went to the bathroom and recorded a voice memo of my idea so that I would know how to sing it later on.
I had a hard time putting this song to chords and picking a key that felt right. This was in 2021, and I was pretty new at both playing guitar and songwriting. Finding the right chords for an already fully written melody as a beginner guitarist was very hard for me. That was one of the songs that definitely helped me learn to not give up when you’re hitting a wall. It was a puzzle that wrote itself, and it was up to me to solve it if I wanted the song on the other side. I learned that sometimes parts of the songs can come easy to us, but when it comes to finding the right chords and building the right structure, it can take anywhere between 10 minutes and multiple years. This song will be re-released on the album, Build, with a completely new version called “Rum in Your Coffee (2nd Life).”
Kaatwalk. Photo credit: Hrishi Shah.
Sarah: Cheers to you for having the wisdom of patience with a song. And ALSO the wisdom of “let’s play with this friend again.” I look forward to hearing its 2nd life!
“You help me stay, so I thank you for being you, thank you for being you.” This lovely and tender moment of gratitude closes the 4-song EP A Week in June, which you released earlier this summer. Can you tell us about that song?
Kaat: “Thank You for Being You” is a song I wrote when I was inspired by human kindness. I was reminiscing on all the moments my life and mind had been saved by pure love. While this song was very much inspired by my fiancé, it’s also a love song to all the people in my life who help me feel grounded in a world where we have no control. I chose to end the EP with “Thank You for Being You” because the meaning of that song is exactly what I’d like people to take away from that entire project; Small acts of kindness and care cannot only change someone’s life, but they can save their life and inspire others to do the same.
Sarah: Oh goodness, yesyesyes. Times a million. Thank you for writing that song, and for saying those things here. I’m a believer.
In the title track for your upcoming album, Build, you declare, “I’m out of my mind—you’re out of yours too—I wanna build a home with you.” I love this admission that building a life with someone can be a rather wild and reckless act. Can you tell us about THAT song?
Kaat: The song, “Build,” directly references pieces of the love story between me and my fiancé. I wrote this song when I was walking our part-time dog, Rosie Posie Puddingtail. I still have the very first voice memo. I was looking at our home of the last 4 years, feeling full of love and nostalgia from the first time I walked in the door 6 years ago.
We met during the spring of 2020, and on our third date he came down with COVID symptoms. I had to quarantine in a separate room at his house (where we now live together) for 2 weeks because I was potentially exposed to the virus. He was basically a stranger to me at that point. I played his 4-string guitar and FaceTimed him every day from the other room in the house. “- Sunlight, wooden room, four strings on a FaceTime / Two weeks was all I needed to fall in love with your mind -”
Sarah: Oh my—that is such a gorgeous beginning to build a love story upon!
Kaat: Verse two references the ebb and flow of hardships you face when growing with someone. I believe when we find the right person, we suddenly are fully thrown into facing ourselves whether we want to or not. It’s scary, messy, and challenging, but we aren’t alone. When that is met with full support for each other in that process, it’s so beautiful. “-You stayed in my way through tidal waves of bad days / Cold shoulders, breaking boulders and I built this wall high / With hard times, drunken nights, long talks and big fights / And I gave in, and you gave in too”
Building a life with someone does feel like a rather wild and reckless act just because of all the stigma, media, and advice. Everyone has something to say about love for better or worse. However, it was not my intention to call starting a life with someone a reckless act. Instead, I’m acknowledging that I am an absolute handful who’s completely out of her mind and that I found my person who happens to be just as crazy and in just the same way. I find it absolutely exciting!
Sarah: It is exciting, yes. And also—congrats on your engagement! Between the engagement and the new album, I imagine you are busy. Live performance is a big piece of your puzzle—you mentioned at the start how much you love singing—do you have any upcoming Midwest shows where we might hear you sing these songs?
Kaat: Yes, you can hear all of these songs at the album release show! We’ll be selling and signing CDs a whole month before the actual album comes out on November 6th.
Sarah: Wonderful! Thank you so much for stopping by to talk about THAT song with me, Kaat. I am wishing you all the very best things as you celebrate Build!
Get an early listen to (and pick up an advance copy of!) Kaatwalk’s new album at the Crooners Main Stage Showroom tomorrow (Thursday, Oct 1, 2026)! Find tickets and more info.
Listen to “Thank You for Being You”
Build Album Credits
Kathleen Campbell: songwriting, vocals, acoustic guitar, synth, piano on “Love Yourself”
Marv Gohman: violin, viola, mandolin, electric guitar, electric 12-string guitar, harmonica
John Wright: electric guitar, electric bass, upright bass, Bass VI
Jeremy Harvey: drums on “Build” and “Hard to Love You”
Noah Levy: drums on “My Fault,” “Love Yourself,” “Monster,” “Chasing Highs” and “Rum in Your Coffee”
Dan Neale: slide guitar
Daryl Boudreaux: percussion on “Stop the Rain”
Martial Besombes: Piano
Phil Solem: drums, bass, electric guitar on “Sorry I Ate Your Cereal” and electric piano and bass on “Stop the Rain”
Bob Delage: upright bass on “Can’t Be Alone”
Recorded at Villa Studio, Savage, MN, + Villa West Studio, Shakopee, MN (Engineer John Wright and assistant engineer Elijah Deaton-Berg), Garden Studio, Burnsville, MN (Engineer Marv Gohman), and
Giraffe Haus Studio, Nashville, TN (Engineer Phil Solem)
Produced by: Kathleen Campbell, John Wright, Marv Gohman, Phil Solem
Gregg Zafft: Executive Producer
Mastered by: Greg Reierson at Rare Form Mastering
Designed and edited by: Anton Domeier
Logo design: Weston Shelander
Album cover photography by: Alexander Butterfield
All songs written by Kathleen Campbell, except “Can’t Be Alone,” “Stop the Rain” and “Hard to Love You” written by Kathleen Campbell and Marv Gohman
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Morris. Photo credit: Tom Smouse.
Sarah Morris is a superfan of songs and the people who write them, and a believer that certain songs can change your life. A singer-songwriter / mama / bread maker / coffee drinker who recently released her fifth album of original material, she’s been known to joyfully sing with people in her Big Green Bathroom.
