There is no voice as distinctive in alt-dance-rock as Kate Pierson’s. Just ask Iggy Pop, Jack White, and R.E.M., all of whom enlisted her vocal contributions for such memorable tracks as “Candy,” “Venus,” and “Shiny Happy People,” respectively. Best-known as a founding member of the singular, trailblazing B-52s, Pierson is beloved for her soaring vocals and ear-catching keyboards, at the forefront of the group for nearly 50 years. This past year, nine years after her solo debut, 2015’s Guitars and Microphones, Pierson crafted a diverse collection of her most personal songs yet on the infectious, emotive Radios and Rainbows out via SVR.  “It’s an eclectic group of songs,” says Pierson, “anthems, dance things, a disco song… Overall, the album has an upbeat vibe because I wanted to put out something positive in these dark times. I wanted to make it fun!” One of the most infectious songs on Radios and Rainbows, was the dub-tinged “Pillow Queen”, “a bouncy flirty summer song about someone who’s beautiful but doesn’t really respond,” says Pierson. “It’s a sex song – sexy and frothy.” Today, “Pillow Queen (remix) “ just dropped with new energy and vigor via Welsh artist  Bright Light Bright Light, along with a super-funnntastic video via Kate’s creative director John Stapleton.

“I really wanted to put out something fun to celebrate summer while continuing to support the Pride movement,” explains Kate. So I reached out to electro pop artist Bright Light Bright Light – who is so joyful, positive and LGBTQ+ supportive and asked him to do a remix of my song “Pillow Queen” from my album “Radios and Rainbows.” It turned out to be the perfect match! The “Pillow Queen Bright Light Bright Light Summer Remix” will be released on August 1 to keep the Pride going….so let’s turn up the volume and dance to this rainbow colored party groove!”

Songwriting is nothing new to Pierson. As far back as her teens, she “had a folk group in high school called the Sun Donuts,” she recalls. “We wrote our own folk protest songs. I was very influenced by the folk movement in the ‘60s – that’s how I became politicized – hearing songs by Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Phil Ochs.” Fast forward to the madcap B-52s, formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976, which turned New Wave music on its head, eventually scoring multi platinum success and gaining millions of fans.

Yet between B52s recording sessions, movie appearances, and lengthy tours, Pierson longed to cut her own songs she’d been writing. “When the Bs were touring all the time and doing so much work, it felt like such a family dynamic,” Pierson explains. “To me, it would’ve been a betrayal if I’d done something on my own outside the B-52s. It was a prison created by my own mind.” Finally, during the band’s brief hiatus in the late ‘90s, she wrote and recorded enough songs for a solo album. “But our manager put the kibosh on it,” she says, “because he worried that our label Warner Bros. would object.”

  A portrait of the many sides of Kate Pierson, Radios and Rainbows has compelled the singer-songwriter “to do more live shows,” she says. With stripped-down accompaniment, Pierson plans to perform at intimate venues and “let the emotions and the feelings of the songs come through, showcasing my vocals.”

“My creativity has been unlocked!” Pierson adds. “I still have a lot more songs in me, and I’m already looking forward to recording my next album!”