Kate MacLeod's Mind the Gap
SINGLE SONG RELEASED September 27, 2024
Never Looked So Good to Me Before
Available on all streaming formats and at YouTube
Read the article about this band in the December issue of The Bluegrass Standard.
Kate MacLeod’s Mind the Gap is a Neo-Traditional Americana band that performs striking original and traditional music. Mind the Gap features award-winning songwriter and instrumentalist Kate MacLeod on fiddle, guitar, and the rare Appalachian lap dulcimer, accompanied by vocalist/guitarist Paul Hammerton, vocalist/bassist John Bryant, and vocalist/mandolinist Matthew Metz.
THE BAND CAN PERFORM AS A TRIO OR QUARTET.
Kate’s original songs have been recorded by other artists from California to Europe in Bluegrass, Celtic, and other roots music genres. Grammy-winning musician Tim O’Brien produced her Blooming recording, and Grammy-winning bluegrass artist Laurie Lewis included one of Kate’s songs on her 2024 recording release. As stated by SingOut! Magazine, Kate "channels the spirit of the great Carter Family classics.”
She has toured in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, and the UK.
In concert, you’ll hear the band’s renditions of classics such as Wildwood Flower, Milwaukee Blues, and some of Kenny Baker's fiddle tunes, along with Kate’s original songs and instrumental pieces.
Where did the band's name come from?
There are a few things that contribute to the band members loving the phrase "mind the gap" enough to use as their calling card. First of all, most people who have traveled are familiar with the phrase "mind the gap" from train station signs and announcements at stations in the UK and other large cities around the world, meaning...watch your step at the gap between the platform ad the train. In addition to that meaning, the phrase in brought up in counseling and therapy sessions, for reminding people to watch out for their important personal issues, and life decisions, that are sometimes dropped due to habit, or overwhelm. The word "gap" is also a charming geological term for a rugged and difficult-to-pass gap between high elevation hills and mountains, common in the region that the band's musicians live and work. The word "gap" is also used used in the stock market, and science. It is a universal concept.
BAND MEMBER BIOS
Paul Hammerton sings vocals, harmony, and plays acoustic guitar. A native of the UK and former teacher, has he has been living in Virginia for many years, playing the American traditional music he knows and loves. As a popular self-accompanied singer and Old Time string band musician, Paul has teamed up singing with Kate MacLeod and playing his 1950 Gibson J50 guitar, and 1917 Gibson A2 mandolin, for others to hear and enjoy.
John Bryant plays acoustic bass and sings harmony. Born and raised in West Virginia, he studied music education at West Virginia University. John played trombone aboard cruise ships for several seasons before returning home to the Mountain State. He's now living in Shepherdstown, WV and is working as a bassist in a variety of music ensembles and as a sound technician for concerts and festival events.