Kat and Kate

(Kat and Kate on tour, October 25, 09 -  Princeton Coffeehouse Concert Series, Princeton, IL)

"They've just given us the folk concert of the year, and it's only March." Victory Music Review, April 2011
Read Hank Davis' Victory Review article about the duo's March, 2011 Seattle concert.
Read Gary Tuber's Chicago Examiner article about the new recording.
Duo videos can be found at Kate's YouTube channel.
The duo is on Facebook where you can join in on their conversation.
Hear music at myspace: www.myspace.com/katemacleodandkateggleston

New recording: Lost and Found        

"...this triumphant effort" Gary Tuber, Chicago Examiner, June 27, 2011
Recently released to radio, this recording has already been chosen as a featured recording on Celtic Radio, and has been chosen as CD of the month for July on the Iowa Public Radio's folk music program hosted by Karen Impola.
Lost and Found is available through Waterbug Records, at their concerts and in digital download format through CDBaby. The 14 tracks feature a couple of original and previously unrecorded songs by the individual artists. It also includes new renditions of songs from previous recordings, some cover songs by some of their favorite artists, and some instrumentals. Hear some of the music at myspace. The information here and on the CDs page will be expanded over time, so if you are looking for lyrics or further information about the recording check the site at a later date. See video from the Seattle CD release concert: (I Love You Is) Sometimes a Sound, Africa.
(Posted July 3, 2011)

About the Duo

Together these two women create magic. Kate MacLeod and Kat Eggleston have performed together since 1999 and have now completed their second duo recording, Lost and Found, to be distributed by Waterbug Records. Their duo recordings supplement their individual work as roots-music songwriters and performers, but as a duo their charm and musicality transform into a sum greater than its parts. Their new CD features original songs, traditional instrumental pieces from the British Isles, and a few surprise covers including one by the super-group ABBA.

Their repertoire consists of original and traditional songs and instrumentals. In addition, both artists have a strong background in Celtic music that is reflected in their performances. Kate is featured on vocals, fiddle, and acoustic guitar. Kat is featured on  vocals, hammered dulcimer and acoustic guitar. The artists were introduced to each other through their affiliation with Waterbug Records, which carries some of their individual recordings. Their first duet recording was released by Wind River from Folk Era Records.

Kate and Kat both released individual recordings in 2009. Kat's is called Speak, and you can read about it on her website at www.kateggleston.com. For information about Kate's latest solo recording Blooming, produced by Tim O'Brien, see the CDs page or the Blooming page of this website. 

Recording Info: Recordings by these artists are distributed by Wind River from Folk Era, Waterbug Records, and Red Wing Records.

Abbreviated Biographies

Kate MacLeod
Kate MacLeod composes classic American music, and is best known for her original songs and her unique fiddling style. Her songwriting style and live performances display an unbreakable link between traditional music and cutting-edge contemporary songwriting. She has been hailed as one of the “Ten Acts to Watch” by the editors of the MusicHound Folk Essential Album Guide. Kate's songs have been performed by her on nationally syndicated radio shows including NPR's "What's in a Song," Tom May's “River City Folk,” the holiday program hosted by Judy Collins, “Peace on Earth,” and have been sung by others on Garrison Keillor's “A Prairie Home Companion.” Fans of many music genres gather in audiences to hear Kate MacLeod perform. Her songs catch the ears of new artists, traditional singers, bluegrass musicians, celtic musicians, and songwriters of many styles. They find new life through other musicians at jam sessions and performances throughout the country, and have been recorded by artists from California to the Czech Republic. She also performs with Kate MacLeod and The Pancakes (Kate with Mark Hazel, Robert Dow and Steve Keen) the Celtic group Shanahy, Red Rock Rondo, Hal Cannon, Anke Summerhill, Robin Spielberg, and has recorded with a variety of performers across the United States. 

Kat Eggleston

Kat is one of the most accomplished guitarists and singer/songwriters in the Americana, Celtic and traditional music genres. Elating, moving, and amusing audiences with her beautiful blend of sweet melodies, gentle honesty and searing humor, Kat's music reflects a wide range of life's experiences with unusual clarity and authority. In a clear alto with flawless intonation, Kat Eggleston goes straight to the lyrical and emotional truth of every word and every note. Her musings on home, childhood, and her father's garden are gems of direct, unassuming plainspokenness. Her narratives push hard at our senses and demand we return again and again to pick up the pieces we dropped on first hearing, expanding our comprehension of difficult, personal and universal experience. Kat has released five CDs to date, three of which are available from Waterbug Music, one from Redwing Music, and the most recent--Speak--in August 2009 as an independent release. She is also an actor, instructor and hammered dulcimer player, and in addition has been a lead singer with The Otters and with the Irish band Bohola. She has played live and on recordings with David Bromberg, Bohola, the David Munnelly Band, Niamh Parsons, Jim Tullio, Tom Dundee, Dennis Cahill, Michael Smith, Andrew Calhoun, and many others. 


Past performances have included:

Irish American Heritage Center, Chicago, IL
Spirit of the Woods Festival, Brethren, MI
Gig Harbor Folk Festival, Gig Harbor, WA
Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse, Dallas, TX
Living Traditions Concert Series, Anaheim, CA
Acoustic Renaissance Concerts, IL
Camp Street Café, Crockett, TX
Live Oak Coffeehouse, Austin, TX
New Bedford Folk Festival, New Bedford, MA 
Club Passim, Boston, MA
Concerts by the Bay, Assonet, MA
Lake County Folk Club, IL
Two Way Street, Downer's Grove, IL
Folk Vespers, Salt Lake City, UT
Mountain Town Stages, Park City, UT
Entrada Institute, Torrey, UT
Thayne Stark Memorial Concert Series, Holladay, UT
Vashon Folk Festival, Vashon, WA
The Blue Heron Arts Center, Vashon, WA
Maple Street Chapel, Lombard, IL
Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Traditions Cafe and World Folk Art, Olympia, WA
Seattle Folklore Society, Seattle, WA

Review: Sing Out! Magazine, Rich Warren:

Don't awaken me if I am dreaming that Kate and Kat, together, recorded this heavenly CD of traditional and original songs. Two expressive but distinctly different voices twine around their favorite songs, songs that have influenced their own compositions along with some of their original favorites. MacLeod's more ethereal voice weaves in and out of Eggleston's more earthy tones, while singing their way through seven songs. MacLeod plays guitar and violin, while Eggleston plays guitar and hammered dulcimer. They bow, hammer, pluck and pick their way through five instrumentals. The CD opens with their entwining, enticing harmonies singing "Good Ship in Order," a traditional amalgam of "I Will Put My Ship in Order" and "Silver Dagger." The title instrumental, composed by Eggleston, hauntingly follows. They sing MacLeod's original fishing song, "The Annual Menhaden," and the reflection on capitol punishment "Tom Egan" that tells of a man wrongly executed for a murder he did not commit back in 1882. They sing Eggleston's dark "Measure for Measure," and the brighter "Go to the Water." This rendition of the latter song is better than the one on Eggleston's own CD. Their a cappella version of the traditional "The Two Sisters" is a stunner. They chose a particularly beautiful variant to wrap their voices around.

For Further Information Contact: Kate MacLeod, kmacleod at xmission dot com, www.katemacleod.com. Kat Eggleston, www.kateggleston.com