Armed with her unusual guitar style and crystalline soprano voice, Kate McDonnell teamed with her twin sister to perform around their Baltimore hometown during their high school and college years. After a four-year sabbatical from performance in the mid-80s, Kate returned to music by partnering with guitarist Freddie Tane, at one time a member of Bill Haley’s Comets.
In 1989, Kate started writing her own songs and began racking up serious critical recognition in the early 90s, she was named a New Folk Finalist at the Kerrville Folk Festival and a finalist at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Showcase in New York State. In 1992, she released her self-produced debut album, “Broken Bones.” The CD was praised in prestigious folk periodicals. Sing Out! called her a “strong vocalist and guitarist [with an] outstanding ability to write excellent first-person songs,” and Dirty Linen described “Broken Bones” as “a striking showcase for her skills as a songwriter and performer” and called Kate’s voice “flexible, adventurous and moving.”
Kate has appeared on the internationally syndicated “World Café” radio show and performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C She hit the studio in the summer of 2020 to record her 5th album “Ballad of a Bad Girl.” Here latest CD is "Trapeze."
Blend a powerful singer, crisp acoustic guitar player and a heartfelt observer of the world and you will have singer-songwriter, Lynn Hollyfield. Layers, her new solo recording, exploded on the folk scene in 2010, receiving air play and positive reviews-nationally and internationally-marking her as a rising star of contemporary folk music.
Hailing from Staten Island, NY, Lynn picked up a guitar at age 10 and started playing, learning from great jazz artists like Ella Fitzgerald and contemporary influences like the Beatles, CSNY, Shawn Colvin and John Hiatt. She soon started writing her own songs infusing these sounds to find her own voice, mingling contemporary folk, pop, blues and jazz. The resulting blend has been called an “indie-folk-pop style which could have (her) opening up for 10,000 Maniacs or Cowboy Junkies.” (Leicasterbangs, UK).
She was first heard in the DC area as part of the duo, Hollyfield & Spruill, releasing two recordings, Slipping Time and Blue & Green. Layers, marks a turning point in her work, and brings together her wit, smoky sweetness and a thoughtful reverie to her first, solo recording. The Maryland Independent praised Layers as “a pensive, roots-driven collection which features the artist's angelic voice and fluid guitar picking.” Layers, has been listed as one of the Top Albums of 2010 on the Folk DJ Playlist and her work landed her 4 WAMMIE (Washington Area Music Association) nominations in 2011. Her songwriting has received recent Honorable Mentions in the MASC (Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Contest) and The Indie International Songwriting Contest-Folk Category. Jane Woods, from Fanrealm said, “Hollyfield’s songs are beautiful and contain a universal wisdom we can all identify with. (Her songwriting) celebrates the truly important things in life – the journey not the destination.”
Lynn supports other local musicians and songwriters by hosting monthly a SAW Open Mic (Songwriter’s Association of Washington) in Greenbelt, MD and is a founding member of the Homegrown Coffeehouse, Accokeek, MD, now in its 12th season.
