Kathy Kallick is an American bluegrass musician, bandleader, vocalist, guitar player, songwriter, and recording artist.
Biography
Kallick's mother, Dodi Kallick, was a leading member of the Chicago-area folk music scene of the 1950s and '60s. She helped establish Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music and was the first performer at the No Exit Cafe, introducing traditional musicians such as Frank Proffitt to midwestern audiences. Kallick's father, Bruce Kallick, is an amateur guitarist who gave Kathy a Doc WatsonLP record along with her first guitar. Kallick began performing by singing harmony with her mother, and she attended numerous acoustic music concerts and festivals as a teen. Inspired by other Chicago songwriters of the time such as John Prine, Steve Goodman, and Tom Dundee, she began writing and performing her own songs at coffeehouses. When Kallick accompanied old timefiddlerMichael Drayton, she switched from being a fingerpicking to flatpicking guitarist. She discovered bluegrass music while attending the San Francisco Art Institute, where the local music scene was welcoming to women and songwriters.
Bands
1970s
In 1975, Kathy Kallick, Laurie Lewis, Barbara Mendelsohn, Dorothy Baxter, and Sue Shelasky performed three songs at an open mic. This marked the beginning of the Good Ol’ Persons, one of the first all-women bluegrass bands. They released an album in 1977 and enjoyed a twenty-year run, releasing five albums and touring throughout the U.S., including two appearances at Bill Monroe's Beanblossom Festival, as well as performances in Canada and Europe.
1980s
By 1980, the Good Ol' Persons lineup consisted of Kathy Kallick, John Reischman, Sally Van Meter, fiddler Paul Shelasky, and bassist Bethany Raine. They were one of the first bluegrass bands to incorporate Latin, swing, folk, Cajun, and other musical genres into their music, as well as featuring the songwriting, lead playing, and vocal harmonies of women.
1996-Present
After the Good Ol' Persons disbanded, Kallick released three albums under her own name for Sugar Hill Records. In 1996, she formed the Kathy Kallick Band. Personnel for their first ten years and two albums included Tom Bekeny on mandolin, Amy Stenberg on bass, Avram Siegel on banjo, and, for the second, fiddler Brian Wicklund. The current iteration consists of Kallick, Bekeny, Annie Staninec on fiddle, Greg Booth on dobro and banjo, and Cary Black on bass; they have released three albums: Between the Hollow and the Highrise, Time, and Foxhounds , and the band continues to tour widely across North America and Europe.
Other musical collaborations
Kallick has continued to collaborate with Laurie Lewis since their Good Ol’ Persons days, releasing two albums, the latest of which is a tribute to their bluegrass mentors, Laurie & Kathy Sing the Songs Of Vern & Ray. Kallick and Lewis also toured Japan with an all-star all-women band that also included Sally Van Meter, Lynn Morris, and Markie Sanders. She has also toured and recorded with first generation bluegrass masters Frank Wakefield and Mac Martin, produced albums for High Country and Richard Brandenburg, and written and recorded award-winning music for children and families. Kallick appeared on four high-profile collections of bluegrass songs by women, as well as numerous compilation albums, some of which are included in the discography below. She has worked with many of the country’s other acclaimed acoustic musicians, including, in addition to those already mentioned, Peter Rowan, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Claire Lynch, Tim O'Brien, Ron Stewart, Jody Stecher, Kate Brislin, Darol Anger, Carol Elizabeth Jones, James Leva, Sandy Rothman, Bill Evans, Molly Tuttle, and Clive Gregson.
