Kaitlin Butts

Kaitlin Butts is married to Cleto Cordero, a fellow musician and the lead vocalist of Flatland Cavalry. Their relationship began as a long-distance partnership, with Cordero living in Lubbock, Texas, and Butts living in Ardmore, Oklahoma, several hours apart.

Both musicians understand the demands of touring, including late performances, setlists and show preparation. They often travel separately for work and value the periods when their schedules allow them to return to a shared routine.

Butts began singing when she was four or five years old and performed in musical theatre while growing up. A guitar-playing neighbor taught her songs she wanted to learn, and artists including The Chicks, The Wreckers and Miranda Lambert helped shape her interest in country music and songwriting.

She released her debut album, Same Hell, Different Devil, in 2015. Her writing is centered on detailed characters and difficult subjects, with songs that can combine emotional intensity, dark humor and vivid storytelling.

Butts followed her debut with the 2022 album WHAT ELSE CAN SHE DO, a personal record about women struggling and trying to find their way. The album's songs reflected a difficult period that had unfolded over four or five years and took a darker, more rock-oriented approach than her later work.

Her album ROADRUNNER was inspired by Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical Oklahoma!. After watching the musical with her husband, Butts began writing songs that matched its cowboy themes and visual world. The 17-track album balances darker material, humor, ballads and country drama, and includes her version of Kesha's "Hunt You Down" and a cover of "Bang Bang."

Vince Gill appears on the ROADRUNNER ballad "Come Rest Your Head (On My Pillow)." Butts also co-wrote songs for the album with Angaleena Presley, Natalie Hemby and Courtney Patton, including "That'll Never Be Me," "Other Girls," "You Ain't Gonna Die (To Be Dead To Me)" and "Elsa."

Butts made her official Grand Ole Opry debut on November 5, 2022. She has toured with Morgan Wade, Flatland Cavalry and Lainey Wilson, and was scheduled to join selected dates of Dierks Bentley's Gravel & Gold Tour.

Her collaboration with Flatland Cavalry on "A Life Where We Work Out" was certified Gold. She has also performed in Oklahoma, where audiences had followed her music since her early shows in local bars.