Kathleen Williamson  
Sacred Spud^® Productions
(520)623-8414

(212)537-6684
www.kathleenwilliamson.com 
 

BIOGRAPHY  

“Her ability as a writer and the overall intelligence of pieces like "I Can See the New View" will convince many to keep listening.” Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Music Guide

  
At the Marco Fiume Blues Passion Festival, Rosanno, Calabria, Italy, 2005
photo credit: Deborah Monroe

 Sing Out Magazine wrote, “Williamson brings a new relevance to the word "eclectic." Kathleen Williamson continues to take Americana songwriting and indie music production up another notch with the 2005 release of her finely crafted CD, The Sacred Spud, featuring such wonderful accompanists as the legendary late Hal Rugg on pedal steel.  The Tucson Weekly Tucson Music Awards (TAMMIES 2006) honored The Sacred Spud with Best New Release and gave Kathleen the Best Songwriter and Best Folk Music Categories.

 Williamson’s “Love is Best of All,” 2003 CD of jazz, blues, and folk originals won awards such as Tucson TAMMIES awards for Best CD and Best Songwriter and the 2004 ASCAPlus Award (American Society of Composers and Publishers) for the prestigious artistic value of her original compositions.  Kathleen also garnered the Arizona Blues Showdown with Lisa Otey, as well as the 2004 and 2005 ASCAPlus Awards.  KXCI-FM (Tucson) has included Kathleen’s compositions on several of their compilation CDs.  WBAI-FM’s Amy Goodman has twice featured Kathleen’s live music on Democracy Now! radio and television broadcasts.  Nancy McCallion included Kathleen’s rendition of the traditional Gartan Mother’s Lullaby on the 2005 Lullabies for New Beginnings, a non-profit CD compilation benefiting New Beginnings for Mothers and Children in Tucson.

 As a songwriter, singer and guitarist, Kathleen s career spans over three decades and around the world.  She began with folk and rock bands in her native New York City as a teenager.  In 1974, she moved to Jerome, Arizona, where she performed as a solo as well as a duo with her renowned mentors, Americana artist Katie Lee and jazz guitar legend Joe Wolverton. In 1978, she performed extensively in Ireland and won the prestigious Westport’s Cailean Deas Singing Pub Competition for her balladeering.  By the early 80s, Kathleen was one of Northern and Central Arizona’s most popular solo performing artists,  delighting audiences with her energetic performances and unique musical diversity.  She relocated to Tucson in 1986 where she obtained doctoral degrees in both law and anthropology.  She became a popular fixture in the Tucson music and political cultures.  Kathleen maintained her solo act and songwriting while collaborating extensively with renown blues diva Lisa Otey in the formation of Owl’s Nest Productions^® record label and in their internationally acclaimed musical duo.  

Kathleen is currently splitting her time between New York and Arizona. Licensed to practice law in both jurisdictions, after 17 years of criminal litigation and judicial pro tempore work, she earned an  LL.M.  in Intellectual Property Law at the Cardozo School of Law in New York and is focusing on Arts and Entertainment Law, Copyrights and Trademarks ( www.williamsonandyoung.com). 

photos:

Kathleen at Charley's @ Weatherford Hotel, Flagstaff Arizona 1980 - photo by Martin Tomlinson

 

 

 

 

 

                                          ©1985 Photo by Bill Peck

 

 

The late Joe Wolverton and Kathleen Williamson circa 1986 Arizona.  Photo: Deban Piper

                          

Meson Panza Verde, Antigua, Guatemala, summer of 1993

 

2002 photo by Deb Whalen

 

Kathleen Williamson and Lisa Otey as AZ Blues Champs at IBC Memphis, 2003 photo by Don Speers

 

Lisa Otey and Kathleen Williamson, Tucson, Arizona - 2003 photo by Kristin Giordano

Lisa Otey & the Desert Divas: Williamson, Liz McMahon, Lisa, Anna Warr, "Hurricane Carla" Brownlee

KLH&E Four-O: Kathleen, Lisa Otey, Ed DeLucia, and the late Hal Rugg, Tucson 2004

       

Above: Lisa Otey, Kurt Buschmann, Vince Weber  & Kathleen Williamson at Angie's/Tivoli Theater, Reeperbahn, Hamburg 2005

Marco Fiume Blues Pasion, Rosanno, Italy 2005 - photo by Luciana Sorrentino

 

Kathleen Bayley (left) and Kathleen Williamson recording "Don't Make a Scene Kathleen" for the album "The Sacred Spud" May 2005.  photo credit James Wood

At Javalina's Coffee & Friends, 2005 Tucson, Arizona - photo by Steve Stayton

Kathleen & one of her favorite singers, Mary Redhouse, at Katrina Benefit, Tucson, AZ

 

 

website © 2006 Kathleen Williamson