Nashville's Kate Campbell 'Wows' Audience at St. Aidan's

On the altar, which for the purposes of this concert functioned as a stage, recording artist Kate Campbell asked, "How many of y'all have never heard me before?"

About half the audience of sixty or so raised their hands.

"I like that!" Campbell nodded vigorously.

What the newcomers may not have known is that although they came out this Saturday evening to St. Aidan's Episcopal Church expecting a folk concert, what they got was a blend of music, storytelling and audience interaction.  Campbell, who has been reviewed enthusiastically by the Boston Globe and appeared several times on NPR, introduced most of her selections with narrative.

A number of the songs and stories elicited laughter from the crowd, who seemed to enjoy hearing about a cinnamon bun shaped like Mother Theresa and Christmas shopping at Cracker Barrell.  Campbell also elaborated on the human condition and topics related to the environment and American history.   "Crazy in Alabama," a song about civil rights, had several audience members whispering "wow."

During intermission, voice teacher Charles Williams explained why he and his wife Ruth "love" Kate Campbell.  "First of all the quality of the voice.  Then the emotional quality and the humor." 

Susan Katz Clark of Franconia, who was seated in the front row at the concert, said, "Every song is mesmerizing."

Fort Hunt resident Tom Delaney said that he and his wife Joyce "got an email with [Campbell's] YouTube video and we had to come."  He lamented the disappearance of folk radio and praised the existence of community groups such as Focus, which was responsible for bringing Campbell to serenade those assembled at St. Aidan's.

Focus is non-profit group that aims to promote folk and acoustic music to the local community.  Peter Lattu, a leader of the group, did much of the organization for Campbell's show at St. Aidan's.  While his wife Alison baked brownies for audience members, he contributed to publicity  and coordinated the volunteer ushers.  As to why they chose Campbell, Lattu said, "she sings the soul of the New South since civil rights."

Campell has lived in Nashville most of her life, and still calls it home today despite traveling around the country.  "My daddy was a preacher," she said.  "He was the storytelling type, so I get that from him.  The music comes from my mother's side."  Campbell began playing piano at age seven and picked up the guitar a short time later.  She also played clarinet.  Classically trained during childhood, she majored in music theory and composition at Stamford University in Birmingham, AL.  "I never had any voice lessons," she added.

Campbell said that she gets much of her artistic energy from songwriting.  "Sometimes I think I'm writing about one thing and then I realize the song is trying to tell me something." 

In the second half of the show, Campbell related a personal story about searching for an appropriate album cover, finding herself in an art gallery with paintings of panthers, and later penning the call-of-the-wild song "When Panthers Roamed In Arkansas."

Campbell has been a recording artist since 1995 and said she keeps going by "always trying different things" in her songwriting and recording.

One of her first public appearances took place at the Fairlington United Methodist Church, where Peter and Alison Lattu were audience members. 

"I don't get on a big bus like the Rolling Stones," Campbell quipped.  "But I like singing and talking to people."

Editors Note: The original version of this article said that Peter Lattu baked the brownies, it was his wife Alison. Fort Hunt Patch regrets the error.