Watch: KITTIE Plays First Show In Five Years

Reunited Canadian metallers KITTIE performed yesterday (Thursday, September 8) at this year's Blue Ridge Rock Festival at the Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia.

Joining guitarist/vocalist Morgan Lander and her sister, drummer Mercedes Lander, at the show were guitarist Tara McLeod and bassist Ivana "Ivy" Vujic.

Prior to Blue Ridge, KITTIE had not performed since its reunion show at London Music Hall in the band's native London, Ontario in 2017, celebrating the group's documentary "Kittie: Origins/Evolutions".

Morgan and her sister held their first rehearsal together since 2017 in April. A month earlier, Morgan confirmed to Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio that KITTIE will play more shows beyond the already announced appearances at the Blue Ridge Rock Festival and at the When We Were Young festival in October. "That's it for this year," Morgan said. "But next year, we definitely will. But I think those opportunities will come later on.

"We don't have anything set in stone, but I think it's something that, like I said before, once these doors are open, I think we can expect to feel comfortable doing a few more little things here and there and hopefully we'll be able to do some more one-offs in the States and Europe and that type of thing," she explained. "So the possibilities are endless."

Asked in a recent interview with the "Talk Toomey" podcast what led to Vujic returning to KITTIE for the current dates, Lander said: "Ivy played on two of our albums, the last two albums that we did. She left the band right before the very last big tour that we ended up doing; she did the Soundwave Festival [in Australia] with us in 2012, and those were the last shows that we did with her. And she just kind of settled into her life, started a family, got married, and so that's sort of been what she's been up to. But Ivy's a metal girl at heart and she's always been super, super easygoing about stuff. I just sent her a message and I was, like, 'Hey, can we talk?' And we had a really, really great phone call and I just sort of explained the situation, explained what was going on. I asked her if she'd be into doing it, and she was, like, 'Yeah. Sounds great.' … It's very much one of those things where you don't talk that often anymore, you don't see each other that often, but then, when you all get together again, that chemistry and that vibe is always there."

Morgan continued: "I feel like that lineup of KITTIE in particular was always very super pro, super chill — no stress, no drama. Just, like, 'You know what? We're gonna go out there and we're gonna sound amazing.'

"She's an incredible bass player. I don't think that Ivy gets enough credit. She is absolutely incredible. So it's gonna be great."

Vujic joined KITTIE in 2008 and appeared on the band's fifth studio CD, 2009's "In The Black". She also wrote and recorded bass for KITTIE's sixth album, 2011's "I've Failed You".

When We Were Young will be held on the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on the Strip on October 22, October 23 and October 29.

In January, the original lineup of KITTIE — Morgan, Mercedes, Fallon Bowman (guitar) and Tanya Candler (bass) — reunited for an online chat to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of its gold-certified 2000 debut album, "Spit".

Candler left KITTIE after the release of "Spit" in order to finish high school and was replaced by Talena Atfield.

Bowman exited KITTIE in 2001 and started her own industrial/electronic project, AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT.

After KITTIE completed the touring cycle for 2011's "I've Failed You" album, the band entered a long period of inactivity during which Morgan focused on a marketing job for a chain of fitness clubs while Mercedes worked in real estate and more recently at a software company. The group also began work on a career-spanning documentary, "Origins/Evolutions", which finally saw the light of day in 2018 via Lightyear Entertainment in North America.

"I've Failed You" sold 3,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 178 on The Billboard 200 chart.