Performance Series - Coming to the BAC

More about CAT

CAT (born Catherine Elizabeth Cosentino) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She grew up by the shore in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Cat spent a good portion of her childhood working toward rock-stardom, dancing in front of the mirror to albums like Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” and Cyndi Lauper’s “She’s So Unusual.” Cat started performing at the age of 3, beginning her stage experience as a young ballerina.

From a young age, Cat’s original work had always been geared toward writing poetry, and through her writings, she began to hone her skills as a songwriter and lyricist.  She received her first guitar at the age of 10, and by age 17 she was a full-fledged ‘gigging musician’ booking herself at local coffeehouses, and sponsored street busking events such as Red Bank’s annual ‘Street Life’.  Performing her original material at these locales gained momentum quickly, and Cat was able to build a strong and loyal fan-base in the Jersey Shore area.

Building a strong musical/performing foundation through her college years, Cat began booking larger shows in the Tri-State area.  She landed several Opening Spots for national acts such as John Eddie, Jeffrey Gaines and The Head and the Heart.

Upon completion of her first EP “Box of Chocolates” in 2011, Fire Song made its way on Manoan Music’s October 2011 Digital Compilation Disc. Box of Chocolates (BOC) was built from the ground up with the help of Woodstock sound engineer, Robert Frazza, (Tony Levin and Todd Rundgren).  Collaborations with Chris Gartmann and Joey Eppard (The Band 3) gave BOC the kick it needed to launch CAT the soloist, to CAT the band.

During her time in Woodstock, she began revamping her sound and attitude toward music. “It all became very ‘real’. Traveling to Woodstock made music very tangible for me. This having been my first time in a recording studio, I was learning a lot about myself as an artist. Every day spent in the studio was a learning experience and it made me realize quickly that…I never want this to stop.”

CAT joined Glen Burtnik (Styx) on stage as a choral backup singer in November 2011. She was an Asbury Park Music Award nominee two years in a row (2010, 2011). She won Top Pop/Rock at the 2012 Jersey Acoustic Music Awards. In addition to her songwriting career, Cat is currently working Music Jar Productions on an original musical/film titled “CITY!”. Cat appeared in two films featured at the Garden State Film Festival in 2011 and 2012.