Kathryn Roberts and Caroline Herring met for the first time during the highly successful Cecil Sharp Project. An admiration of each other’s talent and an instant friendship fuelled their determination to work together again. This performance at Cecil Sharp house will hopefully be the first of many as a duo where the ladies will explore each other’s back catalogue and write new material together.
Caroline Herring is one of the American South’s most unique and resonant voices. Herring grew up steeped in Southern literature, sang in church choirs, and had her start professionally as a host and house-band member of a live audience radio show in Oxford, Mississippi in the late 1990s. She then headed to Austin, Texas, where she delved into the music scene there and won Best New Artist in 2002. Since then Herring has pursued her career from Atlanta, Georgia. Herring creates what Vintage Guitar has called “musical tapestries full of dark landscapes, bittersweet images, and otherworldly moments.” Herring draws inspiration from a wide range of sources. From her 2001 debut Twilight and its immediate successor Wellspring (2003) to the widely acclaimed Lantana (2008), Herring’s music has been hailed for combining traditional sounds with striking, original observations into modern life and love. The Austin Chronicle proclaimed Lantana to be “the best modern Southern Gothic album since Lucinda Williams’ ‘Sweet Old World.’” On Golden Apples of the Sun, Herring staked out new terrain, exchanging the country-influenced sound of her previous albums for a more intimate approach and a nod towards the folk singers of the early 1970s. Herring released her first children’s album in 2011 entitled The Little House Songs. Herring will release a new album in spring 2012. She has been featured on some of the USA’s most prominent radio broadcasts, including NPR All Things Considered and Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion.
Born and raised in the South Yorkshire mining town of Barnsley, Kathryn has simply sung since she could speak. Her musical parents took great delight in introducing her to many types of music including a regular summer trawl of folk festivals. This engendered a lifelong love of traditional song and also introduced her to some of the finest young talent on the British folk scene. An early duo career with fellow Barnsleyite Kate Rusby led to much critical acclaim and an award winning album. This partnership led swiftly to the teaming up with 3 brothers from West Devon and the folk – pop band ‘Equation’ was born. Many years fronting the band saw Kathryn grace exotic stages all over the world, 5 years of which were spent almost exclusively in the U.S. Her relationship with Sean Lakeman flourished both personally and musically, and after a decade of relentless touring the two decided to return to their English roots and gig as an acoustic duo. Two albums and several tours of UK folk clubs swiftly cemented a formidable reputation. A lauded singer, one of the finest of her generation, Kathryn is held in high regard by peers and music fans alike. Now after a few years of proud motherhood she feels ready to return to the place she belongs, singing at the front of a stage.
