Pamela Valfer, aka Kitty Craft, is an artist hailing from Minneapolis. Within recent years, she has gained a cult following for her infusion of lo-fi and trip-hop beats accompanied by dreamy vocals.

Although Valfer’s works only recently rose to prominence, she has been involved in the underground music scene since the 1990s. Before starting Kitty Craft, Valfer was a member of a band called Saucer, which was heavily influenced by the sound of Sonic Youth. After leaving the band and being drawn towards the lo-fi craze of the 1990s, Valfer began to experiment with recording the songs she wrote using a 4-track recorder and set her focus on beat-driven music.

Throughout the mid to late 1990s, Kitty Craft released several EPs which were met with success in the indie music scenes of the United States and Japan. In the early 2000s, Valfer retired from the Kitty Craft project in order to pursue her passion as an art professor and showcased her physical artworks in exhibitions around the world.

After a nearly two decade hiatus, Kitty Craft re-emerged and published “Beats and Breaks from the Flower Patch” and “Catskills” on streaming platforms in 2019. Prior to this, Kitty Craft’s discography was only accessible on cassettes or through recordings of past performances.

When the lo-fi genre underwent an unexpected resurgence in the early 2020s, Kitty Craft’s discography was launched into virality as various social media users discovered and spread her songs. Her stardom was propelled even further as popular indie artists such as Clairo and TV Girl publicly shouted out her work to their fans.

Since the success of her first two albums, Valfer has continued to release more of Kitty Craft’s discography onto streaming platforms. Additionally, Valfer returned to touring as Kitty Craft in late 2024.

After missing my chance to see Kitty Craft in 2025 alongside the alternative rock band, Panchiko, I immediately seized the opportunity to watch her perform at The House of Blues in downtown San Diego.

Jackie Mendoza plays the cabasa. (Image / Olivia DeGagne)

Setting the scene for a night of whimsy was San Diego native, Jackie Mendoza. Inspired by her family’s roots in Tijuana, Mexico, Mendoza masterfully combines elements of Latin and electric pop to make sonically complex soundscapes accompanied by narrative lyrics.

Using the electric ukulele as a foundational instrument, she has honed her craft to develop a unique sound that transports her listeners into a dream-like state. During her performance, she showcased her capabilities as a musician beyond her sound engineering prowess by playing the guitar, harmonica, and cabasa.

My personal favorite songs from her discography that I would recommend giving a listen are “Natural” and “La Luz.”

Dead Calm engages the audience. (Image / Olivia DeGagne)

Valfer mentioned during her set that Dead Calm’s new album “Keep Moving” has been on repeat in her house, and it is easy to see why after watching them perform.

Led by Irish musician, Liam McCay, Dead Calm hones their slowcore sound by focusing on emotional vulnerability. The simplicity of clean guitar riffs and repetitive instrumentation effectively highlights the soft and detached vocals of McCay and company as they lament feelings of heartbreak.

Although the group’s slogan is “never stressed I’m dead calm,” the audience was anything but calm as the band played hits such as “Bleed,” “Mountain,” and a cover of Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy.”

Kitty Craft sings sweetly to the crowd, featuring Pamela Valfer playing guitar center stage. (Image / Olivia DeGagne)

When Kitty Craft took the stage, the crowd was ecstatic. During her set, she made sure to give warm praise to her openers, the audience members, and her bandmates.

There were many firsts for Kitty Craft this night. For the first time, Valfer’s dad was in attendance at one of her shows. Additionally, Kitty Craft played an unreleased cover of “Androgynous” by The Replacements, which I am anticipating relistening to once it is published.

Kitty Craft’s setlist consisted of hits from viral breakthrough albums “Beats and Breaks from the Flower Patch,” “Catskills” and various compilation albums. My personal favorites of the night were “When Fortune Smiles,” “Par 5,” “11 Hours and 16 Days” and “Alright.”

Accompanying Kitty Craft was a series of imagery broadcasted on projector screens and televisions around the venue. Various sceneries such as rolling hills with wild flowers, psychedelic moving patterns and colorful geometric shapes were well suited for the atmosphere of each song.

Overall, Kitty Craft’s set was fun, sweet and authentic. If Kitty Craft has a tour date in a city near you, I would highly recommend purchasing a ticket.