
I went to college with Katie Buono – we would play the occasional open mic night at the local coffeehouse, but the only time we actually played pop music together was when we played a version of “Julia” together on a friend’s recital. Between those firsthand experiences and my peripheral knowledge about what she was up to, I knew she was one of the people at school who knew what she was doing. So I should’ve been prepared for Down by the Riverside, the solo album she wrapped up shortly after I left Oberlin.
I should’ve been, but I wasn’t.