Newcastle-based indie quartet Cat Ryan have seen their career go from strength to strength. And with 2024 being a big year so far for the band, Georgina Shine had the chance to catch up with Mary-Anne about the group’s recent success and what’s to come.
You recently played Kendal Calling. How was that for you?
It was great. There was such a fun atmosphere with so much going on and it’s always nice to play to a bunch of new people who seem really into the music. I hadn’t been to Kendal Calling before but I’ll definitely be going back next year, whether we’re playing or not.
Saturday 28th September sees you headline The Cluny 2 in Newcastle. What can gig-goers expect from the show?
We’re all really looking forward to this one because it’s the biggest headline we’ve done. It’s a four-artist line-up with some of our favourite local artists at the minute, plus a very special guest band coming all the way from down south to play with us. For this show, we have a new set planned; we’ll be playing unreleased music and showcasing a very new song that Dan and I actually just wrote during our residency at The Glasshouse. We are also excited to reveal some new limited-edition merch which will be on sale just for this show. And in keeping with our tradition, we’ll be giving away a Cat Ryan tie-dyed t-shirt to someone at random during the show.
You mentioned your residency at The Glasshouse. How did that go? And what did you learn?
It was really enjoyable, and we were so lucky to have met a bunch of other talented musicians. Myself and Dan worked on a new song that I’d brought along half-written and we’ve now completed the demo, so we’re very excited about it and are hoping to record that soon.
With such a busy time over the summer for the band, what can fans expect from you next? Is there new music in the near future?
We’ve got some new music on the way, with our next single due for release in late autumn, and tying into that is our UK and Ireland tour. That’s happening across October and November, and we’ll be playing cities like London, Bristol, Dublin and Belfast and we have many more still to announce, so keep your eyes peeled.
If you were to put together a dream headline show, which three other acts are joining the bill?
Chappell Roan, Vampire Weekend and Charli XCX. Brat would perfectly complement our sound.
Cat Ryan head to The Cluny 2, Newcastle on Saturday 28th September. Tickets, priced at £10.00 in advance, are available from thecluny.com.
