Cat and The Queen a.k.a. CATQ is Cat Montgomery, Toronto-based musician and multidisciplinary artist. The keyboard – a.k.a. The Queen – is Cat’s first friend and has been her primary artistic outlet. 

After some time away from the city, Cat returned to Toronto and was confronted with reality. Mentally, she got herself into a bad spot. In the throes of pretty severe alcohol abuse, she felt as if she couldn’t get it together. One afternoon when she was in her bathtub – soaking silently, overcome with the fantasy of ending it all – something sparked in her: an urgent calling to go to her piano. Still wet from the bath, sitting at the piano, she wrote the lyrics out with total flow. 

“Leave Here Tonight” is a song that witnesses a journey from grief and darkness to release and freedom. It starts in a dark, dark spot: the desire to leave life. Throughout the track it breaks out of this paralysis and moves into a place of high energy prayer and life summoning. Cat wants this song to be an opportunity for listeners to get in touch with their grief – whether it be their own personal grief or a collective grief – and let it be a vehicle of some kind of emotional catharsis. It is also a gentle reminder that we need friendships and kindness in order to make sense and meaning in this insane world.