Kate McDonnell, singer-songwriter, plays her guitar upside down and backward (UDB) and sings with her whole being. She has performed solo at the Newport Folk Festival, on the Mountain Stage radio show, on WXPNâs World CafĂ©, and at the Kennedy Center. Her award-winning songwriting has been singled out for praise by the Village Voice, Sing Out!, the Boston Globe and Dirty Linen. Kate has two CDs on Waterbug Records, and one each on Appleseed Recordings and Brambus Records, and her fifth and sixth albums were self-produced on her label Dog-Eared Discs. Kate took a 15-year break, starting in 2006, to earn her masterâs degree at Smith College in child therapy and worked as a school therapist for children in special education programs...
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Kate McDonnell, singer-songwriter, plays her guitar upside down and backward (UDB) and sings with her whole being. She has performed solo at the Newport Folk Festival, on the Mountain Stage radio show, on WXPNâs World CafĂ©, and at the Kennedy Center. Her award-winning songwriting has been singled out for praise by the Village Voice, Sing Out!, the Boston Globe and Dirty Linen. Kate has two CDs on Waterbug Records, and one each on Appleseed Recordings and Brambus Records, and her fifth and sixth albums were self-produced on her label Dog-Eared Discs. Kate took a 15-year break, starting in 2006, to earn her masterâs degree at Smith College in child therapy and worked as a school therapist for children in special education programs. But since the muse never stops haunting the artist, Kate decided to go back into the studio to record her fifth CD, Ballad of a Bad Girl which was recorded as a trio with luminaries Jerry Marotta and Tony Levin, an album which rose to #5 upon its release and #16 for the year of 2021 on the Folk DJ charts. Kate teamed up again with her songwriting partner Anne Lindley to present a fresh batch of soulful, fierce, and engaging new songs on her sixth album Trapeze, released in September of 2024, which also jumped to #5 upon its release.âGirl Blueâ began in Albany during the recording process for the âI Am Not a Starâ EP. Fate intervened here, and the first single âFire Under Waterâ was plucked from obscurity and placed in the #7 slot on Spotifyâs âNew Music Fridayâ playlist. Suddenly this âbrand newâ artist was sitting between Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga on perhaps the biggest discovery playlist of the moment. The song charted on Spotifyâs Viral Charts in the US, UK, Canada and globally. It received 1 million streams in less than a month. The entire EP performed incredibly well and many opportunities arose for Girl Blue. Later that year, fate struck again and Girl Blueâs cover of the Fleetwood Mac song âDreamsâ was placed on âNew Music Fridayâ and reached #2 on the US Viral Charts. Since then, Girl Blue has received many opportunities to travel, perform, and see her songs placed in international commercials, television shows, radio shows, and advertisements. She has gotten to open for acts like Dar Williams, Sean Rowe, Mikaela Davis, and the late Justin Townes Earle.
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