Walker Lecture Series: Concert with Kate Campbell

Singer-songwriter Kate Campbell took up piano at age seven before switching to the guitar as a teenager during the folk-rock heyday of the 70s. Since then, over the course of thirteen albums, she has written, recorded and performed almost exclusively on the acoustic guitar. On 1000 Pound Machine Campbell returns to the instrument of her childhood and enlists Will Kimbrough to produce the eleven-song disc. Campbellʼs subtle piano and crystal-clear vocals are complimented by sparse arrangements featuring Kimbroughʼs consummate guitar playing and soulful sounds from the legendary Spooner Oldham. Muscle Shoals ace David Hood (electric bass) and Americana stalwarts John Deaderick (keyboards), Dave Jacques (string bass), David Henry (strings), and Paul Griffith (percussion) add to the mix. Emmylou Harris lends haunting harmony on a true narrative about death-row prisoners who find peace through meditation (Alabama Department of Corrections Meditation Blues) while Sloan Wainwright adds exquisite background vocals to “Wait for Another Day.”  Campbellʼs tunes weave a southern-flavored tapestry throughout the album and include a gem that imagines Rosa Parks and George Wallace sitting side by side on a bus ride (Montgomery to Mobile), a paean to the Alabama landscape (Red Clay After Rain), a tribute to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Spooner Oldham (Spoonerville), and a beloved civil rights anthem (Walk with Me). 1000 Pound Machine is Kate Campbellʼs note of gratitude to piano teachers everywhere who believe that “a simple pair of hands” can inspire and carry the listener to “the music of the
spheres.”

“I canʼt think of many Nashville troubadours whose albums I look forward to more eagerly than Kate Campbellʼs.  You need this womanʼs music in your life.” -MUSIC ROW MAGAZINE

For more info contact Deborah Lynn at info@katecampbell.com  or katecampbell.com