Divine AF is no stranger to evolution. The Tampa Bay-based, six-person act formed in 2017 as a duo, beginning with current vocalist Kat Star Song and drummer Claire Franklin.
Their sound quickly expanded, welcoming longtime collaborator Lova Michelle for guitar, keyboard and backing vocals. Singers Brittany Baldwin and Suzie Hopes followed, crafting their debut EP “This Side of Desire” for a 2018 release.
The EP also featured Jami Gee on lead guitar and offered a broad appeal, a testament to the openly LGBTQ+ collective’s talent and experience. Its six tracks featured “a musical range that brings you the heart of Americana, the depth of the blues, a slap of funk and all the feeling of soul.”
The group supported the album’s release on tour, playing at venues and festivals like New York City’s Bowery Electric and the Wookiefoot Shangri-La Festival in Minnesota. It cemented their sound as “a concoction of folk rock, classic rock and alternative that would find itself right at home on a Lilith Fair stage.”
Divine AF’s first EP was “a natural evolution of the first songs we wrote together,” they explain. “The title came about as the band stood at the corner of Dauphine and Desire streets on a Thanksgiving weekend trip in New Orleans.”
Gee has since left Divine AF on a permanent basis, though their first EP also included current member and bassist Seanna Makepeace.
“I went to see Divine AF play at St Pete Pride 2017 and knew that I had to be part of their magic,” she explains. “Music is all about connection and interplay for me and playing with this band has been everything I’ve ever dreamed of. Whether we’re writing something new or playing an old favorite, it feels like we’re operating as a single organism.”
It’s an energy evident in “Beautifully Broken,” their second, five-track EP released June 3 at Oscura in Bradenton. The group’s first single “Flo + Debb” officially followed June 16 and is available to stream now.
“‘Flo + Deb’ captures the complexities of romance within the LGBTQIA community in thrilling fashion,” it’s described. The group says the EP’s reception has been incredible, supported by fans new and old.
“People are so happy to have something after a long four years,” Divine AF says. “It’s a huge leap forward for us in production quality … people are really taken with the lushness of the production.”
“Listening to our new EP for the first time was a very emotional experience,” Michelle adds. “There were tears to hear the magic we had created together.”
One of the EP’s songs, “Kintsugi,” is named after the Japanese art of repairing pottery using lacquer mixed with powdered gold. It will serve as the EP’s third single.
“When our song was created it felt like a really big energy coming in creatively,” the band says. “Kat had conceptualized the metaphor of being beautifully broken internally, emotionally, with the Japanese art of Kintsugi … and brought the idea to the band as a dark down tempo feeling song that embraces our broken places as strengths, gold. The magic just exploded and evolved from there as everyone added their music and verses to the soundscape.”
The metaphor is “a thematic statement of purpose for both the release and the band in general: to love all life, and all in life, from its beauty to its beautiful flaws,” they also share. “Some other bands, driven by the vision of a single songwriter, might consider such a broad mission a flaw. If so, it’s a beautiful one — and one very much in keeping with the idea of Kintsugi, and the Japanese philosophy behind it, Wabi-sabi.”
Wabi-sabi is a world view centered on acceptance of transience and imperfection. Star Song was drawn to the concept for the EP and more.
“I love applying this philosophy to the band, because it gives us a lot of freedom to embrace our imperfections and to allow collaborators to flow in and out of the band,” she says. “Then we can really be present for whatever soundscapes or group dynamic is currently being created by the players present.”
That includes Gee, who is still featured on the EP and occasionally returns for live performances. Guitarist Jules Rayne is another recent collaborator.
Franklin says that “it is truly an honor to play with this group of amazing and talented women,” whatever the group’s make-up. “The true magic happens when we are live on stage performing. It’s a very nurturing and inclusive experience.”
“There is a sense of love, support and encouragement running at the foundation of Divine AF that really grows with every new performance,” Baldwin adds. “We reach new milestones and accomplishments with every new stage we play, big or small. I leave every performance proud to share a stage with these women and feel greatly rewarded to be a part of each magical performance.”
Hopes couldn’t agree more. She says Divine AF saved her life.
“I was a freshly recovering addict when I joined this band,” she explains. “I spent so long in fight or flight and hiding … I had no idea who I was. I do now. I do. And I found myself, hugely in part through making music with these women … I feel incredibly lucky.”
Vulnerability and authenticity like that are on display every time Divine AF takes the stage. The group says while they’ve often been discouraged from mentioning their LGBTQ+ identities “to avoid being pigeonholed into playing only LGBTQ+ spaces and events,” it’s more important to do so than ever.
“We want to be able to share our magic with the world,” Divine AF says. “We have definitely experienced the community having our backs and we’ve felt moved to be proudly out now more than ever in solidarity with our local communities as we face this tumultuous political climate together.”
Star Song says that’s what chosen families like the LGBTQ+ community and Divine AF are all about.
“We hold each other accountable and also wipe away the tears,” she notes. “There’s so much richness and magic and music in that embrace.”
Divine AF’s “This Side of Desire” and the first single from “Beautifully Broken” are available to stream on major music platforms now. For more information about the band, to purchase physical copies of their music and more, visit DivineAF.com.
