Katey Laurel

Smooth but edgy, nostalgic but fresh, and as comfortable as old slippers that wear like a cocktail dress, Denver singer/songwriter Katey Laurel's style is dichotomy with class. The perfect blend of eclectic and catchy, Katey's songs push the envelope of modern pop music.

"A natural born singer-songwriter...Kate has a voice like Emmylou Harris and a story-telling knack like the great Joan Baez."

- Samantha, Donen, The Vail Trail Vail, CO

“Kate Laurel Smith’s biggest fans are people just like her. They are teenagers and twentysomethings who are trying to carve their own paths while trying to ignore a world of voices telling them to do more, do faster and do it all by age 30’My music is for people who want to dig deeper,’ she said. ‘It’s for people who want to relate to the music and feel a lot through it.’”

- Autumn Phillips, Arts and Entertainment Writer, The Steamboat Pilot and Today, 4 Points

“Her debut album is a self-written, self-produced jewel.”

- The Tomahawk, Mountain City, TN

“One of Denver’s brightest new songwriting stars.”

- Ed Skibbe, Nashville songwriter and host of Denver’s D’Note Spotlight and Western Beat

Having cut her teeth on bluegrass and Appalachian Mountain folk music and polished her rough edges with a classical music performance degree, twenty-five year old Colorado-based singer/songwriter Kate Laurel Smith brings a diverse musical background to the plate. She has musical experience most recently grounded in Classical French horn, but looks to a widely varied list of musical influences in every genre from Roots Rock and Roll to Jazz. Ben Folds, Over the Rhine, Natalie Merchant, Damien Rice, Elliott Smith and John Mayer are just a few of the folks who have frequented her ever-busy CD player in recent years. While her smooth, rich voice has reaped comparisons to the likes of Sarah McLaughlin, Norah Jones and Emmylou Harris, Kate’s songwriting has evolved into an eclectic but catchy brand of folk-pop she can call all her own.

Kate’s variety of musical experiences began when she was a small child. Although she was born in Middlebury, Vermont, her parents shortly thereafter hit the road for a four year sight-seeing excursion around the continental U.S. in several mid-60’s Volkswagen buses. Seasonal employment pit stops landed the crew in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Maine, Kansas, Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas and all across Canada. Kate’s parents nurtured in her a love for live acoustic music; they played acoustic guitar, mandolin and lap dulcimer. When they stopped traveling to settle down in the mountains of Colorado, the record player was up and running, spinning Doc Watson, the Red Clay Ramblers, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan and Emmylou Harris to name a few. Later, with the addition of a new stepfather, Kate discovered her love for rock and roll with Led Zeppelin, Little Feat, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, the Who, Tom Petty and the Eagles. Live concerts and bluegrass festivals topped the list of vacation destinations, and there was always something playing in the car cassette player.

When she was old enough, Kate begged to take piano lessons. Several teachers and an inconsistent five years of study later, Kate slipped away from the classical discipline to play by ear. She continued her intellectual pursuit of music with the French horn, eventually majoring in music performance at Huntington College in Indiana. Four hard years of successful study left her feeling unfulfilled, however, and she didn’t discover why until she started writing songs partway through her senior year of college. At the time, she was also singing backup vocals and playing keys for a coffee shop folk-rock trio that called themselves Alabaster. It was this involvement that re-sparked her passion for the folk music that had built her musical past and ignited a new zeal for the art of songcraft. Modeling much of her early song structure and piano style after the artists she admired most at the time, Ben Folds, Over the Rhine and Natalie Merchant, Kate started writing, and kept writing. After graduation, Kate picked up guitar and stayed in Ft. Wayne to play for a year. She decided to split from the group in January of 2004, and moved home to pursue a solo career.

August of 2004 saw the release of Kate’s self-produced debut album, “Sometimes,” a homegrown diamond in the rough made up of musical snapshots from her first two years of writing. After a season of penning verses, practicing and home-recording in her mountain-town apartment, Kate packed up her life and moved to Denver in search of venues, fans, fellow musicians and the promise of the broader musical horizons of the city. Forty-some odd songs later, Kate has plans to release her sophomore album, “Confessions,” a collection of intimate songs written and recorded upon her arrival in Denver.

In the past two short years, Kate’s smile has graced audiences and her songs have filled the following venues:

Vicker’s Theatre, Three Oaks, MI

The Firefly, Ft. Wayne, IN

The Abbey, Indianapolis, IN

The Trail’s End and Robert John’s Stone Creek Café, Delaware Water Gap, PA

Bongo Billy’s Salida Café, Salida, CO

Loaded Joe’s, Avon, CO

Adam’s Mountain Café and Kinfolks, Manitou Springs, CO

The Table Mountain Inn, Golden, CO

Mahogany Ridge Brewery and Grill and The Rio, Steamboat Springs, CO

The Toad Tavern, Littleton, CO

The D’Note, Arvada, CO

The Soiled Dove, The Walnut Room, Bender’s 13th Avenue Tavern, Stella’s, Common Grounds, Mile High Coffee and Writer’s Square, Denver, CO

Rock ‘n’ Soul Café, Boulder, CO

21st Annual Tucson Folk Festival (Songwriting Competition Finalist), Tucson, AZ

and more

"I play primarily in small venues, clubs, bars, coffee houses, restaurants and private parties. I've played in Colorado, Arizona, Michigan, Indiana and Pennsylvania, but hope to be touring nationally within two years."

"I am most easily influenced by Over the Rhine, Ben Folds, Elliott Smith, Natalie Merchant, Sixpence None The Richer, Sarah McLachlan, David Gray, Travis, Coldplay, the Counting Crows, Amos Lee, Patty Griffin, Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Rosie Thomas, Dave Matthews, Denison Witmer, Susan Enan, Damien Rice, Sufjan Stevens, Howie Day, James Blunt and Griffin House.

I grew up listening to Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, the Red Clay Ramblers, Doc Watson, Tim and Molly O'Brien, Elton John, Jackson Browne, The Eagles, Tom Petty, Steve Miller Band, Little Feat, Led Zeppelin, the Who and Fleetwood Mac.

My diverse background has made me prone to enjoy very good music in all genres. I am often caught listening to any and all of the following: 10,000 Maniacs, Aaron Copland, ABBA, Adrienne Young & Little Sadie, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Angie Stevens, Aqualung, Arms and the Boy, J.S. Bach, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Beck, Beethoven, Ben Harper, Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Bill Malonee, Buddy Holly, C.J. Lewis, Cake, Carbon Leaf, Orff, The Cars, Citizen Cope, Clem Snide, Collective Soul, The Cowboy Curse, The Cowboy Junkies, The Cranberries, Crowded House, The Cure, Dave Barnes, David Bowie, Diana Krall, Dido, Dire Straits, The Dixie Chicks, Duncan Sheik, Enya, Erin McKeown, Erin Roberts (Porlolo), Erin Sitton, G.F. Handel, George Gershwin, Gerram Mathews, Gillian Welch, Puccini, Verdi, Hayden, Haydn, Heather Combs, Berlioz, Holly Williams, Hootie and the Blowfish, Imogen Heap, India-Arie, Indigo Girls, Jars of Clay, Jason Mraz, Jem, Jewel, John Butler Trio, John Legend, Jordan Carp, JP Hoe, Kasey Chambers, Keane, Kim Taylor, Kings of Convenience, Kris Delmhorst, Lifehouse, Liz Phair, Lyle Lovett, Macy Gray, Mandalay, Martin Sexton, Matt Wertz, Maurice Ravel, Meese, Micah Nightingale, Michael Card, Michelle Shocked, Missy Higgins, Moby, Mouret, Mozart, Natasha Bedingfield, Nick Drake, Nickel Creek, Norah Jones, Oasis, Pachelbel, Paula Cole, Pedro the Lion, Peter Mulvey, The Police, The Postal Service, The Pretenders, The Proclaimers, Quasi Chai, R.E.M., Rachael Yamagata, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Richard Strauss, Rilo Kiley, Rob Drabkin, Robinella and the CC String Band, Rockwell Church, Ron Sexsmith, Rufus Wainwright, Sacha Sacket, Samuel Barber, Sara Groves, Sarah Masen, Sergei Rachmaninoff, The Shins, Shubert, Son Volt, Stargazer Lily, The Strokes, The Sundays, Sunny Taylor, Switchfoot, The Talking Heads, Third Day, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Tom Waits, Tracy Chapman, U2, Vince Guaraldi Trio, Vivaldi, The Waifs, The Wallflowers, Waterdeep, Weezer, Wheat, The Whitlams, Wilco, and Zach Nichols."

"I am currently endorsed by (and obviously play) Kurzweil keyboards. I also play Gibson acoustic guitars and use Mackie and Shure live sound reinforcement and Mogami cables."

"I like to leave you with a little quote from Ms. Natasha Bedingfield--she helps capture my independent take on the industry of songwriting, 'You know I had some studio time booked but I couldn't find the killer hook, now you're gonna raise the bar right up, nothing I write is ever good enough, but THESE WORDS ARE MY OWN.' No one ever has the exact same experience, so we will never run out of unique ways to describe life. As long as there is a brother or sister or lover or friend who is hurting or laughing or loving or crying, I will strive to capture those moments in a song that they will relate to, live and breathe and heal with."