Since starting The Influences back in 2008, discovering new music has always been the driving force behind it. That fact remains sixteen years later. So, when I first heard Katherine Priddy’s music earlier in 2024, somewhere inside a light bulb switched on. Her music – although obviously different, reminded me of The Influence familiars like Doghouse Roses and Rachel Sermanni from Scotland and made me explore her earlier releases. Much to my delight, she joined me at record store De Groeverij in Houten, the day after performing at Utrecht’s Ramblin Roots festival and recorded this session. Featuring George Boomsma on guitar and backing vocals, Katherine Priddy recorded Father of Two and covers of Nick Drake and Leonard Cohen.

The start

Since her 2018 debut EP Wolf, Birmingham, UK folk artist Katherine Priddy has swiftly proven herself as a standout talent. Richard Thompson once named her ‘the best thing I’ve heard all year’, and her haunting vocals and intricate finger-picking guitar style have garnered widespread acclaim. This recognition led to performances with artists like Richard Thompson, The Chieftains, Loudon Wainwright III, Vashti Bunyan, and Guy Garvey. Garvey said about Priddy: ‘Utterly brilliant…one of my favourite voices in contemporary music’.

Katherine Priddy’s first album, The Eternal Rocks Beneath (June 2021), gained her more momentum through 2022. She played her music in new countries, including Australia at the Port Fairy Folk Festival, and in Kansas City, USA, at Folk Alliance International. She also performed at her first European festival, Ilse DeLange’s Tuckerville, in The Netherlands. A big highlight was being invited to sing at the BBC Proms in London’s Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra, which was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Home, family, love, and memories.

In 2023, she featured on The Endless Coloured Ways, a tribute album to Nick Drake – whom she covered on this The Influences session as well. The album features songs from artists such as Aldous Harding, John Grant, Bombay Bicycle Club, Self Esteem and Guy Garvey. That same year, Priddy appeared as a special guest at Guy Garvey’s show at The Roundhouse, even being joined by himself to perform a duet together.

In early 2024, Katherine Priddy released her second album, The Pendulum Swing, through Cooking Vinyl. Produced once again by Simon J Weaver in Birmingham, the album debuted at No. 1 on the UK Folk Charts, and harbours explorations of themes like home, family, love, and memories.

British tour

Early in the new year, Katherine Priddy is going back out on tour in the United Kingdom. Find all the dates on her website.

Photos

Keep watching

Thank you for watching and enjoying this session. You’ll probably like some other sessions from The Influences’ archive too, like these earlier ones we filmed.