Kate MacLeod and Kat Eggleston - Casually Referred to as 'K2'
Kate MacLeod and Kat Eggleston's performances and recordings supplement their individual work as roots-music songwriters and performers, but as a duo their charm and musicality transform into a sum greater than its parts. The artists were introduced to each other through their affiliation with Waterbug Records and first began performing together on a double-billed concert tour in Europe. By the end of the tour they had become a duo, backing up each others' work as if they had been doing it all their lives. Their extraordinary collaboration is an exquisite musical experience. They have been performing together since 1999 and since have published two full-length recordings, Drawn from the Well and Lost and Found. The most recent recording, Lost and Found, features original songs, traditional instrumental pieces from the British Isles and a few surprise covers including one by the supergroup ABBA. Both artists have a strong background in traditional American and Celtic music that is reflected in their sound. Kate is featured on vocals, fiddle, and acoustic guitar. Kat is featured on vocals, hammered dulcimer and acoustic guitar.
Rain
A song by Kat Eggleston from the duo's Lost and Found recording.
The duo's version of Kate's song, My Forsaken Love, was published in Sing Out! Magazine and included in the magazine's recording sampler.
"They've just given us the folk concert of the year, and it's only March." Victory Music Review, April 2011
Read Hank Davis' Victory Review article
about the duo's March, 2011 Seattle concert...
Abbreviated Biographies
Kate MacLeod composes classic American music, and is best known for her original songs and her unique fiddling style. Her songwriting style and live performances display an unbreakable link between traditional music and cutting-edge contemporary songwriting. She has been hailed as one of the “Ten Acts to Watch” by the editors of the MusicHound Folk Essential Album Guide. Kate's songs have been performed by her on nationally syndicated radio shows including NPR's "What's in a Song," Tom May's “River City Folk,” the holiday program hosted by Judy Collins, “Peace on Earth,” and have been sung by others on Garrison Keillor's “A Prairie Home Companion.” Fans of many music genres gather in audiences to hear Kate MacLeod perform. Her songs catch the ears of new artists, traditional singers, bluegrass musicians, celtic musicians, and songwriters of many styles. They find new life through other musicians at jam sessions and performances throughout the country, and have been recorded by artists from California to the Czech Republic. She performs her own music as soloist or with up to a four-piece band, with the Celtic group Shanahy, the Red Rock Rondo chamber-folk ensemble, artists Hal Cannon, Anke Summerhill, Robin Spielberg, and has recorded with a variety of performers across the United States.
Kat Eggleston is one of the most accomplished guitarists and singer-songwriters in the Americana, Celtic and traditional music genres. Elating, moving, and amusing audiences with her beautiful blend of sweet melodies, gentle honesty and searing humor, Kat's music reflects a wide range of life's experiences with unusual clarity and authority. In a clear alto with flawless intonation, Kat Eggleston goes straight to the lyrical and emotional truth of every word and every note. Her musings on home, childhood, and her father's garden are gems of direct, unassuming plainspokenness. Her narratives push hard at our senses and demand we return again and again to pick up the pieces we dropped on first hearing, expanding our comprehension of difficult, personal and universal experience. Kat has released five CDs to date, three of which are available from Waterbug Music, one from Redwing Music, and the most recent--Speak--in August 2009 as an independent release. She is also an actor, instructor and hammered dulcimer player, and in addition has been a lead singer with The Otters and with the Irish band Bohola. She has played live and on recordings with David Bromberg, Bohola, the David Munnelly Band, Niamh Parsons, Jim Tullio, Tom Dundee, Dennis Cahill, Michael Smith, Andrew Calhoun, and many others.
K2 also produced Seattle-based musician Rose Laughlin's recording, House of Memory.
Irish American Heritage Center, Chicago, IL
Spirit of the Woods Festival, Brethren, MI
Gig Harbor Folk Festival, Gig Harbor, WA
Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse, Dallas, TX
Living Traditions Concert Series, Anaheim, CA
Acoustic Renaissance Concerts, IL
Camp Street Café, Crockett, TX
Live Oak Coffeehouse, Austin, TX
North Elk Coffeehouse, North East, MD
New Bedford Folk Festival, New Bedford, MA
Club Passim, Boston, MA
Concerts by the Bay, Assonet, MA
Lake County Folk Club, IL
Two Way Street, Downer's Grove, IL
Rick Singer Photography, Spokane, WA
Folk Vespers, Salt Lake City, UT
Mountain Town Stages, Park City, UT
Entrada Institute, Torrey, UT
Thayne Stark Memorial Concert Series, Holladay, UT
Vashon Folk Festival, Vashon, WA
The Blue Heron Arts Center, Vashon, WA
Maple Street Chapel, Lombard, IL
Bridger Folk Music Society, Logan, UT
Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Traditions Cafe and World Folk Art, Olympia, WA
Pacific Northwest Folklore Society, Seattle, WA
Seattle Folklore Society, Seattle, WA
San Luis Obispo Folk Music Society, CA
Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago, IL
Review - Drawn From the Well
Sing Out! Magazine, Rich Warren
Don't awaken me if I am dreaming that Kate and Kat, together, recorded this heavenly
CD of traditional and original songs. Two expressive but distinctly different voices twine around their favorite songs, songs that have influenced their own compositions along with some of their original favorites. MacLeod's more ethereal voice weaves in and out of Eggleston's more earthy tones, while singing their way through seven songs. MacLeod plays guitar and violin, while Eggleston plays guitar and hammered dulcimer. They bow, hammer, pluck and pick their way through five instrumentals. The CD opens with their entwining, enticing harmonies singing "Good Ship in Order," a traditional amalgam of
"I Will Put My Ship in Order" and "Silver Dagger." The title instrumental, composed by Eggleston, hauntingly follows. They sing MacLeod's original fishing song, "The Annual Menhaden," and the reflection on capitol punishment "Tom Egan" that tells of a man wrongly executed for a murder he did not commit back in 1882. They sing Eggleston's dark "Measure for Measure," and the brighter "Go to the Water." This rendition of the latter song is better than the one on Eggleston's own CD. Their a cappella version of the traditional "The Two Sisters" is a stunner. They chose a particularly beautiful variant to wrap their voices around.
Special thanks go to the following people who supported the
duo's Lost and Found recording project through Kickstarter.com.
Harrison A. Agardy, Claudia Anderson, Nan Anderson, GD Armstrong, Vicki Bagette, Julie Blake, Jess, Caroline Carter, Matt Chasco, David Child, Jerry Cooke, Jon and Cynthia Cox, Judi, Paul Doubek, Tiffany Draper, Jules Eberhardt, Carla Eskelsen, Jay Einhorn, Jim Fine, Bill Flynn, Jeremy Friedman, John Gamble, Don L. Glass, M. Gucciard, Mary Heil, Cheryl Joyal, Tom Konrath, Rich Kluko, Rose Laughlin, Joseph Leavell, Rick Lee, David McConnell, Vicki McDaniel, David McRoberts, Alyse Middleton, Steve Midgley, Michael Mielke, Layton Nordell, Ray Ostwald, TR Ritchie, Deanna Rodriguez, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Joseph Schwartz, Joe Simunac, David Smith, Mark Smith, Aria Strack, Judith Weikle, David Wilford, Robert Wicker, Tom Wood, Jerri Zbiral, Max ZT
Past Performances Include
Review - Lost and Found Chicago Examiner, Gary Tuber
Kat Eggleston and Kate MacLeod's newest CD, "Lost and Found," was not quite ready for distribution when the duo appeared in the Chicago area last February. Too bad, because their minions of local fans could have been enjoying this triumphant effort a lot earlier. Never mind, it's here, and available, and worth the wait. We all know that Kat and Kate have very high standards, in their own musicianship, writing, vocals, and choice of repertoire. This newest CD proves that all over again. Performers on the CD are Kat and Kate, and that's it. Like a live performance. Not even a dulcimer. They don't need a brass section or choral vocal background. We know this, it's not news. It appears that great care went into the choosing of songs to include on Lost and Found. There are three each of Kat Eggleston songs and Kate MacLeod songs. Five traditionals (let's see, that's 11), one by a local favorite (Andrew Calhoun's "the Living and the Breathing Wind"), one by legend Jean Ritchie ("None but One"), and "Chiquitita," an Abba song. You heard me correctly, a song recorded originally by Abba. The only difference is, Kat and Kate get it right. Quickly becoming one of my favorite Kat Eggleston songs is her "Africa." It tells of her father's daydreaming as a kid, to escape in his mind from depression-era Oklahoma, much like any child might conjure up an imaginary friend, name him/her something like, ohhh, "Muddy" perhaps, to escape from good and wise advice coming from older siblings. Kids do that. "Lost and Found" was produced by
Kat and Kate, recorded in Texas, partially engineered in Utah, mixed in Washington, mastered in Tennessee, and to be enjoyed by their legion of fans in Illinois. Available from either of their web sites, KatEggleston.com, KateMacLeod.com, or Waterbug.com.