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Katie Powderly & The Unconditional Lovers (electric Americana) WEINBERG AMERICANAFEST AFTERPARTY


OFFICIAL WEINBERG AMERICANAFEST AFTERPARTY

Katie has been on PBS & NPR, and has toured from New York to Colorado, Texas to Tennessee.  She has shared bills with Tony Rice, Del McCoury Band, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Black Lillies, Lake Street Dive, Woody Pines, Jill Andrews, The Honeycutters, J.P. Harris & The Tough Choices, The Deadstring Brothers, and many others, including sold-out shows with Langhorne Slim and The David Mayfield Parade on the east coast. Her singing and harmonies have been likened to Gillian Welch (Isthmus, Madison, WI) and Gram Parsons (City Paper, Rochester, NY.)

Katie is a songwriter’s songwriter. Her music is for people who pay attention: lovers of Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, her mentor Steve Earle, Jason Isbell, and folks who appreciate a person who can turn a damn phrase. Ms. Powderly can turn a damn phrase. Lucky for her she can also sing, belting it out when necessary, and she’s put together quite a hot little back up band, The Unconditional Lovers, in her new home of Frederick, MD.  The Unconditional Lovers consist of some of Frederick's finest musicians, including Colin Shultzaberger, Kevin Etzler, and Seth Dorcus, who have been playing music together since childhood, and who share a powerful musical connection with one another and with Powderly.

She used to be sad, writing forlorn and longing lyrics for former lovers, aching ballads beckoning back the one(s?) that got away. But not anymore. Nowadays she’s more like Nikki Lane: confident, badass, not afraid to tell the truth, maybe even name names. In the words of Joni Mitchell, “she’s just so busy being free.”

Her album, Slips of the Tongue, was recorded in both Madison, WI, and Knoxville, TN, with a band comprised of musicians from both states. The Madison portions were recorded at Smart Studios, owned by Butch Vig of Garbage. Smart is best known as where Nirvana recorded parts of Nevermind and Smashing Pumpkins recorded Gish. Mike Zirkel (Best Studio Engineer 2011, 2012 Madison Area Music Awards) engineered the Wisconsin portions of Katie’s record.

The Tennessee portions of her album were recorded at Elkgang Studios in Knoxville, which is the recording studio of Scott Minor, drummer of the now defunct Sparklehorse. Minor has engineered some of East TN’s hottest Americana releases, including The Black Lillies’ Runaway Freeway Blues, 100 Miles of Wreckage, and Whiskey Angel, as well as Jill Andrews’ eponymous EP.  

In order to achieve the specific sound she was going for, Katie knew she would need a hybrid WI/TN band, so she enlisted the help of nine of her friends. This group just so happened to include some of East Tennessee’s best known Americana artists, including bassist Bryn Davies, who currently tours with Jack White after a long stint with up-and-comer Justin Townes Earle, but who has also recorded and toured with such luminaries as Guy Clark, Tony Rice Unit, Patty Griffin, and others. Bryn performed on the 2012 Grammys alongside Jack White, and has also appeared on Saturday Night Live, David Letterman, and other nationally-airing television programs. Jill Andrews, Josh Oliver, and Tom Pryor form the rest of the Tennessee contingent, names you might recognize as members of the former everybodyfields or from The Black Lillies, who have been recently featured on CMT and have played over a dozen times at The Grand Ole Opry.

The Wisconsin musicians include Jon Vriesacker of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and Andrew Harrison who has also toured with Joe Pug.

Katie now resides in Frederick, MD, after a four-year sojourn across the country.

Like Katie's music? There's a button for that. http://www.facebook.com/katiepowderly Really like it? Own it now. http://katiepowderly.bandcamp.com Katie Powderly and Josh Harty appear in the official video of Katie's original song, "Tables, Turning" from her March 2012 release, Slips of the Tongue, on Red-Winged Blackbird Records.

Doors 9:30 | Music 10. Must be 21 & up with proper ID. Followed by Joe's Truckstop.