CHLOE KAY AND THE CRUSADE CHAT ACHIEVEMENTS AND NEW SINGLE ‘LIES’
Chloe Kay and The Crusade is all blues, soul, and rock & roll, adding that extra flavour to your day. Based in Sydney/Eora, the band have blown us away with their impeccable, groovy new single, ‘Lies’, which is out everywhere today and serves as a blues anthem that will be sure to get you moving. To celebrate the release, Chloe Kay had a little chat with us which you can check out below.
Introduce yourself and describe every band member in one word.
We’re Chloe Kay and The Crusade, an eora (Sydney) based five piece blues, soul, rock n roll band!
Chloe - Enthusiastic
Juan - Mysterious
James - Steady
Adam - Finessed
Pat - Charming
Your new track ‘Lies’ will be out next week which is really exciting. Can you expand on the meaning of the single and the importance it has to you.
Lies is a super funky, upbeat, soulful single about taking back control - it’s essentially an empowerment anthem for people who are realising their self worth and learning to say no to relationships that aren’t giving them what they need. The song’s about having a dishonest, indecisive person stringing you along and basically wanting you to beg for their time and attention. It’s about saying “no, I deserve more” and taking back your own power.
It’s important to me because It’s something I myself and many people around me have gone through, and it’s so important that we learn to take personal accountability and walk away from those kinds of relationships and friendships that aren’t serving us so we can find ones that do.
I hope other women will find solidarity in and connect with the song in particular!
The band was crowned winners of the 2023 Sydney Blues Society "Favourite Emerging Act" award - were you guys surprised? What was going through your mind at the time?
Honestly yes, we were surprised that we won! I just felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to be recognised by other musicians and music lovers on the scene for the hard work we’ve put in. It’s a nice reminder to keep pushing forward and pursuing what we’re passionate about. To win an award like this just means that we’re being seen, heard and appreciated and that’s all we could really ask for!
You were also finalists in the Bluesfest Busking Competition and performed on a smaller stage within the Bluesfest 2022 festival grounds. What was that like?
Bluesfest has a special place in my heart, I haven’t missed a festival in 9 years and I’ve had some of the greatest moments of my life on those grounds. I've essentially grown up there, so to place in the finals last year, play a smaller stage at the festival and be included on their 2022 playlist was surreal. I was also featured alone on a huge banner promoting the comp this year at the festival which was almost more surreal, a real 360 moment for me. I’m manifesting a main stage performance and that smaller performance just fed the fire even more! I even had a few different people approach me at the festival this year and tell me they had watched us in 2022 and it was a highlight for them which was incredible.
What are some other achievements that you as a band are super proud of?
To have had praise and play from Triple J as a band making the kind of music we do has been so unexpected and inspiring, also having support from Joe Bonamassa - he’s one of my heroes so the fact that he has included 2 of our singles on multiple playlists has been a huge highlight for me! I’m also proud to have played at the Woodford Folk Festival, gotten incredible international reviews from Rolling Stone, American Blues scene, Louder Mag etc. I’m just proud of the band as a whole!
What can people expect from your live performances?
People can expect a high energy set that features big, soulful powerhouse vocals, lots of feelsy, finessed playing and just generally a great fucking time. I love to get out and dance with the audience, and each of us put our whole being into our performances. We want people to walk away moved by our music and our show in some way.
What does the band have planned for the future? Anything you tell us about upcoming gigs or releases?
We’re planning to release a string of singles in coming months, followed by an EP! We have a bunch of shows coming up and we can’t wait for people to hear what we’ve been cooking up. Our next shows are; August 19th at Bucketty’s Brewery in Brookvale, August 27th at the Sydney Blues Society Monthly Jam, September 9th at the Blues and Roots Revival alongside Jesse Redwing and Owen Campbell in Dooralong, September 23rd at Lazybones Lounge in Sydney supporting the incredible Stefan Hauk.