Waxahatchee Artistfacts

2010
Waxahatchee is an American indie music project formed in 2010 by American singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield (born January 4, 1989).
Hailing from Birmingham, Alabama, a city steeped in American history, Katie Crutchfield's music is influenced by her Southern roots. Growing up, she and her twin sister Allison immersed themselves in the region's signature country music, belting out tunes by Shania Twain and Trisha Yearwood.
The Crutchfield sisters' musical tastes radically changed when they discovered The Strokes. This pivotal moment led them to explore the band's influences, venturing into the alternative rock sounds of Guided By Voices and the Velvet Underground.
Another life-changing experience came at 14 when they attended an R.E.M. concert where they had a Southern spiritual epiphany that solidified their desire to pursue music. This early exposure to diverse genres planted the seeds for Crutchfield's own evolving sound.
For their 16th birthday, Danny Gamble, a regular at Crutchfield's grandparents' restaurant in the little college town of Montevallo, Alabama, gifted the twins bespoke compilations of music by women. Katie Crutchfield recalled to Mojo magazine scoffing at Lucinda Williams but embracing Fiona Apple and PJ Harvey. "I remember thinking, this is country. I am punk rock. I am indie rock."
The Crutchfield twins formed their first band, The Ackleys, in high school, channeling their passion for alternative rock, but their paths diverged after attending different colleges.

The sisters regrouped and formed a new band, P.S. Eliot. This time, they went full-on pop-punk, releasing two albums: Introverted Romance in Our Troubled Minds (2009) and Sadie (2011).
P.S. Eliot disbanded in 2011 and the twins embarked on separate musical ventures. Katie established her project, Waxahatchee, which she'd started the previous year, and Allison carved her own path with the band Swearin'.
Despite her initial shift away from country, Allison believes Katie's arching melodies and plaintive tone betray her rural roots, even in earlier Waxahatchee projects like 2012's American Weekend and 2015's Ivy Tripp.

"Whether it was conscious or not, Katie's always had an element of country," Allison told Mojo. "That's why it's named Waxahatchee, after the creek where our parents have a place. She was always trying to reconnect with our youth."
Katie Crutchfield has openly discussed her struggles with alcoholism, which came to a head during the promotional tour for her 2017 album Out in the Storm. She got sober, and her decision to give up drinking heavily influenced her critically acclaimed 2020 album, Saint Cloud.
Katie and Allison Crutchfield reunited to form Snocaps, releasing their surprise self-titled album on October 31, 2025, their first full collaboration since P.S. Eliot. The name comes from Allison's love of Sno-Caps candy.

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