Welcome to the
​Kathy Kallick Band

The Kathy Kallick Band is based along the west coast, from the San Francisco Bay Area to Anchorage, but their powerful mixture of original and classic music, mirroring their distinctive combination of traditional and contemporary sensibilities, has great appeal everywhere.

"Kathy Kallick has been a keystone of the West Coast bluegrass scene for decades. Her punchy rhythm guitar, sure-handed songwriting, and stellar contralto voice create a rich, engaging sound that should appeal to everyone from fans of hardcore Monroe-style bluegrass to the modal mountain melodies of mentors Hazel & Alice to more contemporary acoustic and urban folk styles … A true heroine in the pantheon of female vocalists in bluegrass, Kathy Kallick's deeply soulful voice, magnificent delivery, and  compelling musical styles shows she's one of the greatest bluegrass vocalists of her generation — or any other."
- David J. McCarty, Bluegrass Unlimited 

Kathy Kallick’s exceptional career includes winning a Grammy and two IBMA Awards, receiving a Lifetime Membership from the California Bluegrass Association, co-founding the internationally-acclaimed Good Ol’ Persons, and collaborating with the country’s top acoustic musicians – including her mighty band: Annie Staninec (fiddle), Greg Booth (dobro, banjo), Tom Bekeny (mandolin), and Cary Black (acoustic bass), all of whom are also wonderful singers.

“You’ll marvel at the individual virtuosity, group cohesiveness, and beautifully-sung Kallick originals that express both timely pessimism and tireless hope.”
- Derk Richardson, Oakland Magazine

Their shows and recordings include powerful and compelling Kathy compositions; dazzling and inventive interpretations of lesser-known instrumentals led by Annie, Greg, and Tom; distinctive covers of a wide range of songs with sources ranging from the Carter Family and Coon Creek Girls to Bill Monroe and Mac Martin to Rose Maddox and Richard Thompson; classics from the Good Ol’ Persons and earlier KKB releases; and plenty of new material. 

Led by one of the music’s extraordinary composers and vocalists, the Kathy Kallick Bandhas nearly  as much fun as the audience when performing, and their presentation — ranging from electrifying to humorous to bittersweet to soulful — is always inclusive and satisfying. And they’re truly a band, listening to and sparked by each other, contributing to the songs and the sound as a whole. 

​“Kathy Kallick makes bluegrass records that at their best — and decades into it she makes nothing less — are exciting propositions. She’s as gripping a vocalist as anybody on the scene, she has a superior band, and she writes and chooses superb material. If you ask for more than that, may the universe forgive you. Few present-day artists in the genre share her grasp of the larger folk background and older mountain music from which bluegrass emerged in the middle of the last century. Though it isn’t reviving them in any stale imitative sense, the Kathy Kallick Band knows those styles and incorporates them into its own sound.”
- Jerome Clark, Rambles

                           NEW RELEASE

Twenty years ago, Kathy Kallick released My Mother’s Voice, an album of songs learned from her mum, Dodi Kallick, who was a folksinger and educator in Chicago’s thriving folk scene of the 1950s and ‘60s. Dodi helped found the Old Town School Of Folk Music and several iconic venues – and  passed on the music to her daughter. She never recorded, but, as music producer and historian (and labor lawyer) Larry Ehrlich noted, “Dodi Kallick’s voice could be as tender as Carter Stanley, as plaintive as Piaf, or as cutting as a straight razor. It could bring sorrow to your heart or a smile to your lips; it all depended upon what Dodi wanted to do.”

The only thing My Mother’s Voice lacked: performances by Dodi Kallick herself. However, a reel-to-reel tape was discovered in the WFMT archives labeled "Dodi Kallick Midnight Special, 1966 and 1969.” That’s inspired an 18-track sequel to Kathy’s 2002 album, combining Kathy’s new recordings with musical pals and highlights from those radio shows. 

What Are They Doing In Heaven Today? has just been released on Live Oak Records, and is available on Bandcamp.
It’s already garnered significant radio airplay as well as chart action:
    • "Put My Little Shoes Away” is fourth on Folk Alliance International Song Chart for May, 2022.
    • For the month of June, What Are They Doing In Heaven Today? is the #2 most downloaded folk/bluegrass album on AirPlay Direct; #8 overall.
    • For the week of June 17-24, What Are They Doing In Heaven Today? is tied for most added on NACC Folk Chart.

Tour Schedule

Next up: a festival in Colorado!

​Check out the SCHEDULE page for details.

Feature Recording

Listen to Horrible World

KATHY KALLICK (guitar, vocal)
with
1. MOLLY TUTTLE (guitar, vocal): Put My Little Shoes Away - listen HERE
2. TRISTAN  SCROGGINS (mandolin): Sittin' On Top of the World
3. CLIFF PERRY (guitar, vocal) & LAUREL BLISS (dobro, vocal): Little Moses
4. JIM HURST (guitar, vocal): Jimmy Brown the Newsboy
5. KATHY KALLICK BAND: Footprints In the Snow
      Annie Staninec: fiddle; Tom Bekeny: mandolin; Greg Booth: banjo & dobro; Cary Black: bass
6. KATHY KALLICK BIG BAND: The Wild Side Of Life > It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels (see live performance video below)
      Annie Staninec: fiddle; Tom Bekeny: mandolin; Greg Booth: dobro; Cary Black: bass plus 
      Juniper Waller and Riley Thompson: vocals; Paul Shelasky: fiddle
7. ANNIE STANINEC (fiddle): Handsome Molly
8. MIKE COMPTON (mandolin, vocal) & JOE NEWBERRY (banjo, vocal): Farther Along
9. LAURIE LEWIS (fiddle, vocal) & SUZY THOMPSON (guitar, vocal): What Are They Doing In Heaven Today?

DODI KALLICK

1. What Are They Doing In Heaven Today?
2. I'm A Long Time Traveling
3. Cotton-Eyed Joe
4. One Hundred Miles
5. Row Us Over the Tide
6. Red Clay Country
7. Down In the Willow Garden 
8. My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountains
9. The Parting Glass
All tracks (except as noted): Dodi Kallick – vocal, dulcimer
      4: Dodi Kallick – vocal, guitar and 9: Dodi Kallick - vocal
All tracks (except as noted): The Midnight Special, WFMT, 1966 or 1969
      7: with Hobart Smith (fiddle), 1963 and 8: Frank Proffitt Memorial concert - Old Town School Of Folk Music, 1966

Thanks to Irene Young for recording Kathy’s 9-19-18 concert, “My Route To 66,” at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley. Two of the new songs got their debut on that occasion.

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Featured Video

Foxhounds Kathy Kallick Band

The Wild Side Of Life > It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels
Live at the 2022 California Bluegrass Association’s Father’s Day Festival

THE KATHY KALLICK BAND -
Kathy Kallick: guitar, vocals
Annie Staninec: fiddle
Tom Bekeny: mandolin
Cary Black: bass
Greg Booth: dobro
plus
Paul Shelasky: fiddle
Juniper Waller: vocals
Riley Thompson: vocals

CONTACT

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