Slayyyter Almost Quit Music — Now the Singer Is Drawing Massive Coachella Crowds
Before she had a capacity crowd screaming every word at the Mojave Stage, Slayyyter was ready to walk away from music entirely.
The 29-year-old singer, born Catherine Grace Garner in Kirkwood, Missouri, made her Coachella debut in April 2026 — and the response was so massive it drew comparisons to Chappell Roan’s 2024 set. But rewind just a little, and the story almost had a very different ending.
‘It’s Just Not Working Out”
Before releasing her third studio album, Worst Girl in America, Slayyyter seriously considered leaving the industry behind.
“Things just weren’t going as I’d hoped,” she told Range. “I was like, ‘I’ve put so much into this, I’ve lost so much money, and it’s just not working out.’”
She stayed. And then Coachella happened.
“It feels like such a dream come true. I have always wanted to attend Coachella—let alone play it—since I would see photos on Tumblr when I was in high school. It feels very surreal,” she told Vogue.
Her set included tracks like “Beat Up Chanels,” “Dance” and “Crank” — and the crowd knew deep cuts, not just the singles.
“I was surprised how many people knew the words to the non-single songs on the album. The crowd response to ‘Crank’ was maybe my favorite moment of the whole set, though. Everyone was just screaming: It felt like the room was shaking!”
From a Bedroom Closet to Columbia Records
Slayyyter’s path to Coachella didn’t follow any traditional playbook. She attended the University of Missouri for one year before leaving in 2016 to pursue music full time. What followed was a grind that most aspiring pop stars don’t talk about openly.
She started making what she described as “‘80s lo-fi pop” music, producing and editing songs herself while working from her bedroom closet at her mother’s house. To support herself, she worked service jobs, camming and findomme work.
Her stage name is derived from a variation of the surname of Ron Slater.
She began releasing music independently on SoundCloud. Her debut mixtape, Slayyyter, arrived in 2019. Her debut studio album, Troubled Paradise, followed in June 2021, with Starfucker dropping in September 2023. Worst Girl in America was released in March 2026 on Columbia Records — a major-label milestone.
Along the way, she completed three solo tours and toured with Charli XCX, Kesha and Tove Lo.
‘The Trashy St. Louis Girl’
Even as her career accelerated, Slayyyter has been candid about feeling like an outsider in the pop world. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, she laid it out bluntly:
“I’m naturally loud, and my music definitely mirrors that. In industry settings, I’ve always felt like I’m the trashy St. Louis girl, and a little bit of insecurity comes with that. I don’t feel polished when I look at other celebrities with their glossy designer clothes and teams of people adjusting their hair. I’ve felt very out of place and like the drunkest, most annoying person in the room. This album is funny and leans into that kind of personality.”
That unpolished honesty is exactly what resonates with the audience that packed the Mojave Stage — fans who found her through SoundCloud uploads and stuck around as she leveled up.
What’s Next for Slayyyter
Slayyyter is set to tour in support of Worst Girl in America, with a North American run beginning in September 2026, followed by dates in Europe and the U.K. in October.
For someone who nearly walked away from all of it, the schedule ahead looks like vindication.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
