Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
The surprise hit Friday night was New York City's Dee Carstensen, a singer/songwriter who plays piano and harp. Carstensen's exquisite voice and incisive lyrics brought tears to my eyes. And when she played the harp, I felt like my heartstrings were being plucked.
-Lorne Mallin
THE VANCOUVER PROVINCE
- VANCOUVER PROVINCE
There is nothing gimmicky about the music and style of one of the bright new voices in the pop-folk realm. Dee Carstensen may still be new to most of the world, but her polished compositions and delivery put her in league with Mitchell, Shawn Colvin, and Rickie Lee Jones. Like them, her style is mainstream pop yet immediately recognizable as hers alone.
BAY AREA EXPRESS
- BAY AREA EXPRESS
Dee Carstensen is an exception in many ways. She writes smart, complex songs about love, relationships and searching for fulfillment with the authority of one who's been there. Definitely not your average singer/songwriter.
Jim Lee
DIRTY LINEN
- DIRTY LINEN
Dee’s performance was one of the most serendipitous moments at the Rocky Mountain Folk Festival; she was one of the most talked about performers there.
-Steve Szymanski
PLANET BLUEGRASS
- PLANET BLUEGRAS
Discography
1993 Beloved One - NYC
1995 Regarding the Soul - Blue Thumb
1998 The Map - Blue Thumb
2000 Home Away from Home - Exit Nine
2001 Can You Hear a Lullaby - Rounder
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Its a harp. A concert harp!
47 Strings. 85 lbs. Dancing Fingers. But its a Sarah McLaughlin, Joni Mitchell or Shawn Colvin sound that emanates from it. And yes, even a little Jimi Hendrix or Elton John at times.
Its an experienced style.
Honed at the prestigious Eastman School of Music from her hometown of Rochester, NY, and countless honored stages- from Passim to Lilith Fair to the Newport Folk Festival to WolfTrap. A performer who garners standing ovations after her first song!
Its the company she keeps.
Her past recordings have featured the work of Neil Dorfsman (Sting, Dire Straits), Ben Wisch (Marc Cohn, Jonatha Brooke, Patty Larkin), Mark Knopfler, and Mike Mainieri, (renowned jazz vibraphonist / husband). She has shared stages with Paula Cole, Sinead O'Connor, David Wilcox and Dar Williams. Dees work has appeared in the Sally Field film Beautiful , starring Minnie Driver, Neil Simons remake of The Goodbye Girl, and most recently, Jane Andersons film, The Prizewinner of Defiance Ohio, starring Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson. Dee has also contributed to the sci fi TV series VR5, Christine Lavins Tribute II, and CD projects of Dar Williams, Vance Gilbert and Art Garfunkel.
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