It was early spring of last year, as I finally left the dungeonous Bunche Hall classroom in pursuit of fresh air and grass. I made my way to the sculpture garden’s horse statue, took off my shoes, put on my headphones, and laid down. As the first guitar licks of “Pictures of You” by Kate Bollinger and Drugdealer played through my ears, I felt the sun permeate my mind, washing away the past hours of learning about Jane Austen. Instead, I was left with an open mind; the world of daydreams was my oyster.
Cut to the Teragram Ballroom on a mildly frigid Friday night, in the liminal space between LA fall and winter that necessitates a coat until 11AM and after 5PM. My roommates and I were grateful for the dimly lit and tightly packed venue’s relief from the cold air, despite all of us being East Coast natives. As we weaved our way to the front, I admired the predictably fashionable crowd donning eclectic accessories and, for an indecipherable reason, multiple fur hats. The stage was modestly set with a backdrop of the moon and imperfectly shaped stars seemingly cut out of cardboard. In a display of serendipitously perfect timing, Kate Bollinger and her band took their places onstage as we reached the front and wordlessly began playing “What’s This About (La La La)” from her 2024 release Songs From a Thousand Frames of Mind.
As a daughter of a music therapist and a younger sister of two brothers in local bands, Bollinger has been surrounded by music her whole life, but Songs From a Thousand Frames of Mind is her debut studio album. At the University of Virginia, Bollinger studied cinematography and poetry while self-releasing music. Her cinematographic inclinations can be seen throughout her self-directed music videos, while her reflective and literary lyrics speak for themself. She has released two EPs and opened for a plethora of impressive artists including Faye Webster and Tennis, but this headlining tour is a celebration of Bollinger’s ability to truly fill up a room, as reflected by her successful studio album release and growing fanbase.
In a purple dot dress and yellow tights with a star on her guitar, Kate Bollinger aesthetically aligned with the conception of her that I had formulated. I often listen to Bollinger while decompressing in the sun and her music has become a regular staple in my apartment’s kitchen while my roommates and I cook. Bollinger’s music embodies a sense of airiness, encompassing feelings of wistful daydreams and leaving space for imagined scenarios of the subconscious. “Got a lot of friends here I think. And some enemies too,” Bollinger said jokingly before moving into “Postcard From a Cloud,” followed by the song that provided my introduction to her, “Yards / Gardens.”
And sure enough, Bollinger played “Pictures of You” as one of her closing songs, resulting in an overwhelmingly excited crowd as someone shouted, “do that one again!” By the end of the show, I was reminded again of how her dreamlike guitar riffs and melodic instrumentation provide the perfect brainspace for contemplation. Her sensitive lyricism and authentic demeanor proved to be undeniably endearing as the already sold-out crowd bought out her merch table, shedding light on just how lovely of an artist Kate Bollinger is. So find some sun and listen to her debut studio album Songs From a Thousand Frames of Mind here:
