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."
Modern Americana with deep roots; Tony Denikos' music is witty, cutting, purposeful and reflective. His authentic voice will drive the stories straight to your heart.
"Tony Denikos' songwriting is filled with emotion and romanticism, moving from social commentary to small portraits of American life.... A good example of modern Americana and songwriting of noble birth." ~ Fabio Cerbone, Italy
"...like a sponge Tony absorbs all the (Americana) influences and then wrings out something entirely his own." ~ Benny Metten, Belgium
After years of playing pubs and bars in various configurations Tony decided it was time to record a collection of songs he'd written and released Naked & Smiling. The Washington Post calling Tony a, "Tunesmith in the best sense of the word", and folks started coming out to listen to his originals. A tradition of recording songs about real-life, mixed with humor, heart ache and wit was born.
