Getting to Know "Cosmic Cowgirl" Jada Cato

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It’s been over two years since I first encountered country artist Jada Cato at the Concert for Love and Acceptance in Nashville, but I’ll never forget her performance. From the moment she began to sing, you couldn’t help but pay attention. This young lady knew how to work a stage and her voice was captivating. I met her after the show and we exchanged numbers, hoping to do an interview. Unfortunately, that never happened, but I feel like there’s a reason for that. Just as I joined a new media outlet, I received a text from Jada Cato. She was looking to do an interview and I was ready to get started. Perfect timing.

A Georgia native who spent many years in Birmingham, Alabama, Cato now calls Nashville home, and she loves it. “I moved from Birmingham to Nashville last winter. I love being close to my co-writers and being in the middle of all the events.” She adored living in Birmingham, but in Nashville she’s completely immersed in the songwriting community and the possibilities are endless.

In order to catch up a little, I spent some time watching videos and reels on Cato’s social media sites. During that adventure, I discovered two songs she’s written, but not yet recorded. “Stripper Money” is a fun (and hilarious) tune about making as much cash as an exotic dancer. “I Smell Smoke” is a searing revenge song. Cato laughed and commented, “If you wanna be a woman in country, you have to have some violence.” Although they haven’t yet been recorded and released, there’s a pretty good chance they will be in the future. Recent releases from Jada Cato include “Strange Times,” co-written with Waylon Payne, son of the late Sammi Smith, and “Roll Tide,” an anthem for every Alabama fan, the biggest of all being Cato herself.

As I said, I would never forget seeing Cato perform live because she’s a true entertainer. When she’s singing, you have to watch. I asked her if she felt she has a natural ability to entertain or was it something she had to learn? Not a beat skipped and she replied, “Definitely natural. I’m just naturally a little dramatic. I carry a little flair with me. I mentioned she was probably demanding the spotlight as a two year old, to which she said, “It’s like you were there.” I guess I called that one right.

When I saw Cato at the Concert for Love and Acceptance, I noticed how stylish she was. They don’t call her the “Cosmic Cowgirl” for nothing. She’s an expert at putting together pieces that are fashionable, yet eclectic enough to make her stand out. Like so many Nashville artists, she isn’t doing all of her shopping at pricey boutiques, she discovers her best pieces in “great thrift stores and consignment shops.” 

It seems her Nashville move is already proving to be a wise one. Bigger and better gigs have been coming her way, including CMA Fest 2026 and an April tour all over England. When speaking of her time across the pond, Cato speaks excitedly, “It was the most amazing experience ever. I can’t wait to go back. I’m already plotting and planning to be back to play some venues and festivals. The venues are amazing and so are the owners. It was like little slices of Nashville all over England and it was really cool.”

I wanted to hear more about that trip and Cato shared how much she loves the audiences in England. “I was soundchecking at Ruby Rae’s in Newcastle, up near the Scottish border, and the person running sound was like, ‘Hey, are you gonna play ‘Shooting Stars?’ My wife loves that song, she plays it all the time.’ I was so surprised! Like, ‘Really? She knows me?’” They do! Europeans love American country music and they listen to a lot of independent artists. I’ve heard this story before so many times. The fans know the lyrics, they sing along and they really listen. They aren’t having conversations during performances and they aren’t staring at their phones. They respectfully give their full attention to performers and that’s thrown American artists for a loop more times than I can count. If England is impressive, let’s talk about Denmark. Nashville artists are wearing out the air between Middle Tennessee and Denmark, flying back and forth as often as they can. I told Cato she needs to get to Denmark and she said, “You’re reading my mind.” 

A fairly recent project Cato had the opportunity to take part in was the recording of Ty Herndon’s single “Testify to Love.” The song included lead vocals from Herndon, Michael Passons and featured Melissa Greene. Backing vocals were supplied by Herndon, Passons, Greene, Jada Cato, Andrew Mitch, Jessica Rose and Bryan Ruby. The end result is an exhilarating song of peace and love. The song was penned by Hank Pool, Jr., Robert T. Riekerk, Ralph Van Manen and Paul Field. I recommend it to anyone who gravitates toward uplifting group numbers. 

Jada Cato had a blast in jolly old England and upon her return to Music City she was immediately busy with a song release and a gig in Midtown. “I was at a writer’s round at The Stillery with Nashville Tour Stop,” she began, “afterwards this young woman from the round comes up to me and says, ‘Hey, my boyfriend (also part of the round) and I, we don’t do country anymore, but we have this song that we’d love to put out with a country artist. It’s called ‘Maybe Mars’ and you’re the ‘Cosmic Cowgirl,’ so I think it might be cool. Just give it a listen. You might hate it, but let me know what you think.’ So she texted it to me and just reading the lyrics I was already so enamored. Then during the demo I could just hear so much that could be done with it, so I’m hoping we can get a couple different versions out of it.” The “Cosmic Cowgirl” dropping a song called “Maybe Mars?” I vote yes. 

There’s even more than that moving to the front burner soon. “Hopefully this fall I’ll make my return to Dollywood for the Harvest Festival October 1st to 4th. I’ll be playing solo acoustic at Dollywood, so anybody wanting to come to Knoxville and hang out, please do!” If you’ve been there, you already know, if you haven’t, Dollywood is one of America’s greatest gifts. It’s beautiful, fun, family-friendly and East Tennessee in the fall might be one of the most gorgeous places on Earth. If you’ve been thinking about a wonderful autumn excursion, you might consider it.

I love to keep an interview moving, but my brain wouldn’t let go of “Maybe Mars.” I wanted to dig a little deeper, but I was afraid to ask anymore questions about it, fearing we might never get to the end of our conversation. So I simply said, “I love the title of ‘Maybe Mars.’” Well, I learned something new that day. Jada Cato isn’t a one-trick pony, not by a long shot. She’s so incredibly smart! She knows a lot of things about a lot of things. She took the reins and continued our journey into outer space and I wasn’t sorry.

“It’s super timely for me,” she explained. “Just a little astrology nerd thing. I just went through my Saturn Return.” I had no idea what that was, but I found out. A Saturn Return is an astrological event that happens when the planet Saturn goes back to the exact spot it was in the sky when you were born. It happens roughly every 27 to 30 years with a second Saturn Return between 56 and 60 and a rare third in one’s late 80s. So interesting, but what does it mean? Cato had the lowdown. “The Saturn Return when I turned 30, it was full of life pivoting lessons and the song so encapsulated my Saturn Return. It lined up perfectly with my life.” Life pivoting lessons? Yes. The Saturn Return is a time when you suddenly reevaluate your decisions, your current situation and more or less take stock of your life. 

Cato added, “I’ve been working on ‘Maybe Mars’ with the songwriter Sammi Rae, who’s also producing it. The other writers are Sarah Baker (Rella) and Jakob Miller.” I mentioned that I missed my Saturn Return at 60 and she reassured me. “You didn’t miss it, you lived it! Now that you’re conscious of it, you can look back and say, ‘Hmmm…’” Since we spoke, I certainly have and it’s scary how much I really believe in it now. It truly was a year of reflection and reassessment. 

“Maybe Mars” isn’t the only song we can expect to eventually hear from Jada Cato. When she told me about another one she wrote, I hope I begged hard enough for her to record it. Somehow we went off on a tangent about how fast summer was flying, which ultimately led to us musing about how quickly life goes by and iconic songs like Kenny Chesney’s “Don’t Blink.” Cato described a song she co-wrote with Hadlie Jo Pritchard called “Everything Must Go.” “It’s one of those really ‘story-telly’ country songs. Like when two people meet, then things happen in life, then they get old and one of them dies. The one left has to sell the house and it’s just one of those depressing types of songs.” Depressing, but so very real. She went on, “I can be in the busiest bar and I’ll look up and see someone crying.” At my point in life, I feel this song so deeply and I haven’t even heard it. The theme is something I talk about with my husband nearly every single day. She must record this and if you agree, please drop her a line on social media.

Upcoming dates to see Jada Cato live include Hand Cut Nashville on August 31st and The Nashville Fair on September 11th in the evening. She’s also hoping to make it to Mexico in the very near future to get in the studio with an artist she met this year during CMA Fest. A longtime fan of Spanish and Tejano music, Cato’s Mexican collaborator is a country singer who records in English, but the song they’re working on will be in “Spanglish,” a mix of Spanish and English. She said, “There’s a hook I’ve been holding on to for a while and I wanted to write the song with a Spanish speaker that also did country, so what are the odds?” The odds are crazy, proof that the universe is always watching.

It won’t be Cato’s first rodeo with Spanish lyrics either. Last year she released a duet with Jake Hoot (Season 17 winner of The Voice), a cover of the wildly popular “Feliz Navidad.” To say it’s glorious might be an understatement, their voices together create a cocktail more magnificent than the most perfectly-crafted margarita. Put it on your holiday playlist and I’ll bet it becomes a seasonal favorite.

Nearing the end, I asked Cato a random question. “If you were a multi-millionaire, where would you be and what do you believe you would be doing at this very moment?” She responded, “Oh wow. If I was a multi-millionaire, I would already be in the studio working on all this stuff. Then I’d be back in Nashville and since I already have a five year plan for all the grants I’ve been applying for, I’d be recording a full-length album. I’d also be giving back to some non-profits in Birmingham and Nashville and everywhere else. I’d be helpful to the community in whatever ways I could be. I do work with queer artists and I’m a Co-Artistic Director of the Birmingham Black Repertory Theatre (BBRTC). Our focus is on marginalized youth. Just as the Concert for Love and Acceptance took its final bow, the year after that the BBRTC went to The Listening Room. We had Rissi Palmer, Frank Ray, Brei Carter, Tia Sillers, Lauren-Michael Sellers and Matt Bloyd. It was an amazing night of diverse country performances, interviews and speeches.” The event Cato was describing at The Listening Room was called Denim & Diamonds: A Southern Takeover. It took place on September 17, 2025. From all accounts, it was a highly-successful venture.

As I’m sure you’ve figured out, Jada Cato is a huge proponent of helping her community, adding that she’s about to start offering low-cost holistic services, among other things, for artists. Meditation, vocal technique workshops and other health and wellness-based services are on deck with her new project. This is so important for artists just making their way through the Nashville music industry, as any of the offerings mentioned are quite expensive. She remarked, “In Nashville, it’s a minimum of $1500 if you want a really great quality single, and musicians recording with you for a day cost so much. In the spirit of collaboration, I’m doing some trading and bartering with some different producers that I trust. Like, ‘Yeah, I’ll put some vocals down for you. Do you wanna produce a song for me?’ It’s really the way we’ll be a sustainable industry.”

Finally, because we are Center Stage Magazine, so far in the life of Jada Cato, what has been her most memorable “Center Stage” moment? She replied, “So far, I would say touring England because it was like a culmination of everything that went before that. All the hard work, recording music, meeting co-writers and practicing hard to accompany myself for long enough to support a tour like that, yeah, England. A year ago these were just dreams and then I made it happen and I’m very, very proud of that.”

As she should be. Keep an eye on Jada Cato. She’s not one to sit still and not one to question. She knows what she wants and she keeps reaching until she gets it. Follow her on all of her social media sites and don't forget to send her a message telling her that Center Stage Magazine sent you!