Catie Offerman Talks Finding Her Voice and "'Til I See You Again"

There was nothing in Catie Offerman's path that would signify she would become a musician. She didn't sing until a little later in life and no one in her family played any instrument; she simply wasn't in a musical environment, but it only took a short while until she'd become consumed by it. “I think music found me,” she says.

Interest first struck when she saw a girl playing the piano at church as a little kid. “She was up there playing and it sparked my curiosity and asked my parents if I could take lessons. From there, it was history," she exclaims. After she began playing piano, her inquisitiveness was continuously itching for more; she started playing guitar, fiddle, and accordion. “It never really stopped," she states. "I’m still doing it.”

And despite instruments coming naturally to the rising artist, Offerman also wasn't a singer when she first started down her musical pathway. Singing to her, made her feel naked, shy, and exposed. She also notes that as a music fan, she was naturally inclined to listen to and was drawn to the instrumentation of a song and record, rather than the vocalists. “I have a free spirit and I realized at some point that me just backing people up and playing for them as a side man wasn’t going to ultimately fulfill my heart and so I had started writing songs," she explains. “I had to find my emotional voice before I found my physical voice as in I had to start writing songs for me to realize that I had something to say."

In her late teen years, Offerman attended the highly-coveted Berklee College of Music in Boston, leaving her hometown in Texas behind. After graduating in a mere three years, Offerman went to Los Angeles chasing an opportunity to work with a big wig manager, but at the end of the day, her heart wasn't happy. “I remember moving out there and thinking, ‘Oh my gosh all of my dreams are coming true,'" she says, "Then you realize you are so far from where you started.” She calls the LA years of her life her "bonus years" that taught her what she wasn't, how to cope with hearing 'no' as an answer, and how to manage expectations.

Photo by Alysse Gafkjen

Her experience in LA led Offerman to trace her roots as she explains, “I had to get back to the basics of what I love, what I grew up on, and the things that always work for me." She wanted a southern community that reflected what she grew up with, and Nashville could provide her with that.

Her debut single “Happyland Trailer Park” was released in March of 2022, even though she had signed her record deal with UMG Nashville around two years ago; a few weeks before COVID swept the nation to be exact. After the tumultuous times, being able to put out one singular track made her world. “What I have control of, and small things seem to accomplish a lot more," she notes before adding, "so for me, that’s putting out a song, connecting with people, going and playing a show, playing that song, seeing people light up and seeing what songs they like more than another - you just can’t beat that." Since "Happyland Trailer Park" she's released other singles like "Don't Do It In Texas," "Get A Dog," and most recently "'Til I See You Again."

"‘Til I See You Again" was written by Offerman alongside Jessi Alexander and Ryan Beaver. The single came to life in the studio with her producer Dan Huff who added a fun, upbeat production to a song about digging your own grave. Although married, Offerman dedicates "'Til I See you Again" to the past losers in her life as she says, “We’re all so guilty of having that one person in our life that we say that we wouldn't go back to, we were done with, they’re not worth the heartbreak and then they walk in the room, there they are, and the whole thing starts all over again.”

Offerman also played the fiddle parts that can be heard in the background of the tune, keeping her love for the instrument alive in her contemporary space. “The fiddle is still a huge part of who I am. That’s a really cool element about this song." The music video for the track was just released yesterday and acted as Offerman's first-ever official music video as an artist.

A few weeks ago, it was revealed that Offerman would be going on tour with Parker McCollum and Corey Kent for McCollum's spring tour that begins in February. “I’m so genuinely excited for this and I, honestly, don’t get excited for much. I think it’s a way of protecting myself a little bit," Offerman explains, citing her LA days for the reason why. But she pushes on to say that when she got the call for this tour, she was genuinely over the moon. “This gives me a chance to connect with people and hit the road and play night after night. I can’t wait to see everybody.”

To see Offerman out on the road, purchase tickets here.

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