Kathy Mattea

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Kathy Mattea Symphony

Grammy Award winner Kathy Mattea has an innate ability to connect intimately with any audience, whether performing in a small acoustic band or alongside a full symphony orchestra. Author Barbara Kingsolver writes, “The particular genius of Kathy Mattea is to call up the touchstones of hope and heartbreak that we all carry in our pockets.” Featuring her signature blend of Appalachian roots, bluegrass, and folk, Mattea’s symphonic program includes recent compositions interspersed with her classic hits like “18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses,” “455 Rocket,” and “Where’ve You Been?” This performance has delighted audiences of the National Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Atlanta Symphony, and many other esteemed orchestras.

Kathy Mattea: Songs and the Season

Kathy Mattea adds a new layer of artistic and spiritual growth to the long tradition of holiday music with her Songs and the Season program: a thoughtful blend of old favorites and music from her celebrated holiday albums, Joy For Christmas Day and the Grammy Award winning Good News. The unmistakable voice of Mattea explores music’s most basic human essence through timeless melodies and uplifting narratives while intimately connecting with her audience. From “Christmas Collage,” an innovative, insightful medley of traditional carols, to the supple gospel call-and-response of “Baby King,” to the dramatic “Mary Did You Know?,” Mattea’s Songs and the Season program displays her natural flexibility and hard-won artistic integrity. Mattea brings a fresh ear and a natural, unforced eclecticism to this musical experience. Her Christmas concerts are, she says, “more about the spiritual side of Christmas, and not so much about the holiday” – and the result is a performance that will bring both joy and reverence to this season of celebration.

Kathy Mattea Speaking/Keynote

The unmistakable voice of Grammy Award winner Kathy Mattea explores music’s most basic human essence through timeless melodies and uplifting narratives. Singer, musician, songwriter, public speaker, activist: Mattea’s music and message have taken her to venues across America from Maine to Alaska, and overseas from England to Morocco, from college campuses to capitol buildings, and from festivals to concert halls. Mattea’s music has spoken to millions of people during her 20-plus years as a recording and touring artist. Increasingly in demand as a public speaker, she has found a growing audience for the words and ideas she has to offer on a variety of issues, ranging from arts education to finding your creative path to global climate change, regularly presenting keynotes and educational programs at colleges and civic venues, both as stand-alones and in conjunction with concert appearances. Often interweaving her message with musical selections, Kathy’s speeches and keynotes seek to provide her audience with spiritual nourishment: food not only for thought, but also for the soul. An accomplished speaker, Mattea was chosen to deliver keynote addresses at both the Arts Northwest and Performing Arts Exchange conferences in 2010.

Kathy Mattea: My Coal Journey

A dedicated arts and education advocate, Grammy Award winning singer Kathy Mattea is also deeply involved in social and environmental activism. She believes that music can influence social change by giving a voice to those who have none. Trained by Al Gore following An Inconvenient Truth, Mattea has traveled the country with her own lecture presentation: My Coal Journey, a reflection on her coal country heritage, her personal experiences as an activist, and her artistic journey. My Coal Journey is a one hour program of stories, illustrated through a PowerPoint slideshow, and enhanced by solo performances of select songs from Mattea’s hit album, COAL. The presentation traces Mattea’s motivation for beginning the recording project, her research into the musical genre’s history, her family’s ties to coal mining culture in Appalachia, and the environmental and social justice issues surrounding coal mining methods in today’s world.

Calling Me Home 2:35 Kathy Mattea
West Virginia, My Home 4:32 Kathy Mattea
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*Gone, Gonna Rise Again
Calling Me Home EPK
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REVIEWS

Mattea remains one of Nashville’s most spiritual singers, and the songs she sings about love lost and humility are as fine as any she has recorded.
USA Today

Her voice stands out as a rare blend of warmth and power.
Hartford Courant

Kathy Mattea has never stuck to conventions within any genre: a country-music hitmaker in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Mattea has also made forays into Scottish folk, gospel and roots music.
NPR