Carolyn Kendrick is a lifelong musician weaned on Willie and Billie (Nelson and Holiday, respectively) who has nurtured a signature aesthetic that draws on both of these artist’s traditions, all the while adding in sprinklings of her love of old-time music, bluegrass, and indie-rock. In the last five years, the North California-based fiddler, singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer has blossomed as a solo artist, boldly venturing beyond her role as an eclectic and virtuosic instrumentalist. Carolyn recently releases a pair of reflective, self-produced Americana singles, including “Break of Day,” and "Walker Clay" out November 4th, that are informed by real-life experiences. “Before I fell in love with songwriting, I was mainly immersed in instrumental music, but I started to realize the person I was trying to be I wasn’t actually interested in being,” Carolyn admits. “I just wasn’t feeling fulfilled personally and creatively. I started to realize there was a bigger world out there in music, and I decided to open up my horizons instead of limiting myself to being one specific thing.” Since issuing her debut EP in 2020, Carolyn has homed in on a bittersweet, Americana-flavored songwriting sensibility brimming with understated virtuosic instrumental elegance and intriguing metaphors. In addition to her solo career, Carolyn has produced and written music for the award-winning podcast You’re Wrong About (Podcast of the Year, iHeart Radio) and You Are Good—in 2021 she issued a collection of musical vignettes culled from her You Are Good compositions. Carolyn grew up in a family of accomplished musicians. She started on the drums before she discovered the violin. Growing up as a musician with a voracious appetite to play and learn, Carolyn made the most of every and any musical opportunity available to her as a violinist. She performed with jazz bands, vocal jazz combos, orchestras, ska bands, country bands, and funk bands, before shipping off to Berklee College of Music where she discovered her true voice as a musician. There, she fell in love with bluegrass and Old-time fiddling, as well as traditional folk music and songwriting. To this day, she remains active in the bluegrass and acoustic music scenes as a fiddler. Previously, Carolyn was in The Page Turners. That project shared the stage with beloved artists such as Bruce Molsky, Margo Price, Aoife O'Donovan, and Darol Anger, and crisscrossed the country, playing festivals and winning awards (Newport Folk Festival, Greyfox Bluegrass Festival, Savannah Music Festival; Freshgrass ‘Best Duo’ Award, The Fletcher Bright Award).
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