Biography
Poignant and poetic, Charlotte Kendrick is an artist who creates an irresistibly intimate world with her songs. Her music is tenderly performed Americana folk rock reminiscent of Lucy Kaplansky or Nanci Griffith. With a refreshingly understated voice, she sings in the tradition of folk singers to whom the song matters most.
Charlotte’s new album, North of New York, is an album of songs about love, hope and home. From the light and propulsive bluegrass feel of “Off The Tracks,” telling of a heartbroken reckless spree, to “Let Go,” a loving, restful plea to her loved one to drop the demands of the world outside, North of New York tells an honest, simple story, evoking the same emotive immediacy of early Mary Chapin Carpenter material. The arrangements, courtesy of producer/collaborator Dan Rowe, are as disarmingly pure as the storytelling.
Though she had played music all her life, Charlotte didn’t try her hand at song writing until her early twenties, when she spent 2 years in West Africa with the Peace Corps. With no electricity at her disposal, her main source of entertainment became playing guitar and writing songs.
The experience inspired her to pursue music as a career. Upon returning to New York, Charlotte started from scratch; hitting open mic nights and playing every venue possible. During that period, she met producer and fellow-musician, Dan Rowe. The original plan was to simply record an EP together, but that soon turned into her full-length debut album, I Get Stupid. Just a few weeks before the release of I Get Stupid, Dan accompanied Charlotte on bass at the Village Underground, and they have been on stage together ever since.
In 2004, Charlotte and Dan followed up the release of their live album, Live at the Roger Smith, with a 40-date, cross-country tour that they booked themselves. The tour found them playing folk songs in biker bars, running out of gas in the middle of Nevada, and generally having what Charlotte reflects upon as “an invaluable experience.”
After hooking up with the New York independent label Sonablast and re-releasing I Get Stupid in the spring of 2006, the acclaim started to come in for Charlotte. Along with receiving accolades from multiple songwriting competitions such as the Billboard Song Contest, VH1 Song of the Year, We Are Listening Singer/Songwriter Awards, the Telluride Troubadour Contest and the Plowshares Songwriting Competition, Charlotte was chosen as a finalist in the prestigious New Folk Songwriting Competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival in 2006, joining the ranks of past finalists Shawn Colvin, Martin Sexton, and Lyle Lovett to name a few.
Charlotte Kendrick delivers music with a message. With North of New York she reminds us to give thanks, love the life we live now, and take the night off every once in a while. When asked about her goals, she says, “To look back and say I did what I was meant to do - sing songs that mean something to someone.” Consider it done, Charlotte.
NOTABLE VENUES: (by state)
Moonlight Music Café (Birmingham, AL)
Plush (Tucson, AZ)
Genghis Cohen (Los Angeles, CA)
Hotel Café (Los Angeles, CA)
Room 5 Lounge (Los Angeles, CA)
The Last Day Saloon (San Francisco, CA)
Acoustic Café (Bridgeport, CT)
Fairfield Theater (Fairfield, CT)
Bluebird Theater (Denver, CO)
Uncommon Ground (Chicago, IL)
Grand Emporium (Kansas City, KS)
Del Rossi’s (Dublin, NH)
The Living Room (New York. NY)
Makor (New York, NY)
Postcrypt Coffeehouse (New York, NY)
The Mercury Lounge (New York. NY)
The Knitting Factory (New York. NY)
The Cutting Room (New York. NY)
The Parkside Lounge (New York, NY)
The Towne Crier (Pawling, NY)<br>
Caffe Lena (Saratoga Springs, NY)
Pete's Candy Store (Williamsburg, NY)
Club Passim (Cambridge, MA)<br>
Johnny D's (Somerville, MA)
World Café Live (Philadelphia, PA)
Stone Soup Coffeehouse (Pawtucket, RI)
The Belcourt Theater (Nashville, TN)
Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse (Dallas, TX)
The Continental (Houston, TX)
The Gravity Lounge (Charlottesville, VA)
Jammin' Java (Vienna, VA)
The Purple Fidddle (Thomas, WV)
FESTIVALS:
Kerrville Folk Festival (Kerrville, TX)
Down on the Farm Festival (Quincy, FL)
Herndon Festival (Herndon, VA)
Cutting Edge of the Campfire Festival (Cambridge, MA)
HIGHSCHOOLS:
The Academy (Berkeley, CA)
The Thacher School (Ojai, CA)
Kent School (Kent, CT)
Westminster School (Simsbury, CT)
Brooks School (North Andover, MA)
Phillips Academy (Andover, MA)
Proctor Academy (Andover, NH)
COLLEGES:
Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ)
Brown University (Providence, RI)
Spokane Community College (Spokane, WA)
U. Wisconsin - Green Bay (Green Bay, WI)
Instrumentation
Duo Configuration:
Charlotte Kendrick: Vocals, acoustic guitar
Dan Rowe: Vocals, bass (upright and/or electric), piano (when available)
Can also play full band configuration.
Discography
"North of New York"
Full-length sophomore studio release, 2007
"I Get Stupid"
Full-length debut studio release, 2003
(Re-Released on Sonablast Records, 2006)
"Live at the Roger Smith"
Full-length live album, 2004
Links
| http://www.charlottekendrick.com |