We all have secrets. For Katie Pruitt, the secret she kept for most of her life was that she is gay. Raised in a conservative community, she feared revealing who she really is would cost her relationships. And when she finally decided to tell her secret, it didn't go over very well. Talking didn't help. Arguing didn't work. But then she wrote a song about her experience. In this talk, Katie explains how adding a melody to her secret helped make reconciliation possible. Katie Pruitt is a Nashville transplant from the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. Pruitt tackles human topics such as religion, mental health, and contemporary love songs with a modern twist. Her passionate delivery and powerful message brought her to a CBS This Morning performance and are the reason her name has graced bills like Pilgrimage Festival, sharing a stage with Bob Weir, and opening for Neil Young.
After the 2020 release of her album, Expectations, Pruitt was named one of Rolling Stone’s “Artists You Need to Know” and was featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered for her song "Grace Has A Gun." Not long after that Expectations appeared at 16th on NPR’s best albums of 2020 list, and ranked third in Rolling Stone’s “30 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2020.” Katie was nominated for both a Grammy (Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical), and American Songwriter’s Best Emerging Artist. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx