Today, the New York City-based, New Mexico native shares her album Rumpumpo with the world. Kate Vargas, the “junkyard folk” artist, has put aside the party for meditation, yoga, clean eating, and a fresh perspective on life as she hones in on her music.

Weeks before Vargas was scheduled to record her new album, the pandemic struck. At an impasse, she struggled to move forward in her craft. Months later, in a conversation with a friend about feeling stuck, he stated Newton’s First Law:  “An object in motion stays in motion and an object at rest stays at rest unless acted upon by an outside force,” which subsequently inspires the first single and title track off her album, “Rumpumpo”.

Rumpumpo features the previously released singles “Church of Misdirection,” and “Glorieta to the Holy Place”, an ode to her home of New Mexico that celebrates the pilgrimage to Chimayo. Each year, thousands of people travel over 30 miles to El Santuario de Chimayo on Good Friday to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus. The church is said to have healing powers, particularly the sand inside. Vargas sings about a young girl who hears of this holy place and takes it upon herself to make the pilgrimage for the sake of her suffering family amidst the pandemic.

With Rumpumpo, Vargas continues her meteoric rise with songs that stir the emotional cauldron, blazing a genre-bending path that is both sonically and lyrically daring.