Since emerging with her debut EP ‘Wolf’ in 2018, UK artist Katherine Priddy has quickly become one of the most exciting names on the British scene. Declared ‘The Best Thing I’ve Heard All Year’ by Richard Thompson, who later invited her to join him on his Irish tour in 2019 and UK tour in 2021, Priddy’s haunting vocals and distinctive finger-picking guitar style have seen her sell out a headline tour and support world class artists including The Chieftains, Loudon Wainwright III, Vashti Bunyan and Guy Garvey.
Over the past two years, she has performed on Later…With Jools Holland, at the BBC Proms and played well-earned spots at prestigious festivals in the UK and abroad such as the Glastonbury Acoustic Stage, where she also performed live on BBC 2, Green Man, Cambridge Folk, where she was awarded the Christian Raphael Prize, Green Man, End of the Road and Beautiful Days.
Her much anticipated debut album, ‘The Eternal Rocks Beneath’, was released in June 2021 on Navigator Records to great acclaim. The album singles received over 200 plays across national radio including BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 2, and upon release, the album received a 5 star review in Songlines, a 4 star review in the Guardian Observer, reached No. 1 in the Official UK Folk Charts and No. 5 in the Americana charts. Folk Radio UK made Priddy ‘Artist of the Month’ and said of the debut LP: “Foundations rarely come stronger than this. A debut of true substance, it’s like searching for a simple shelter and stumbling upon a diamond mine.” The album was later chosen as Album of the Week on RTE Radio 1 in Ireland, and made the list of Top 10 2021 Folk Albums in Mojo Magazine as national radio plays continued months after the release.
2022 got off to a flying start with Priddy taking her music abroad for the first time with a series of shows in Australia, including a performance at Port Fairy Folk Festival, as well as a showcase in Kansas City USA as part of Folk Alliance International and her first foray into the European festival scene with a performance at Tuckerville in Holland. The end of the year brought with it an invite to perform one of her songs from The Eternal Rocks Beneath as part of the world-renowned BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall, accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra and broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. This was a perfect showcase for Priddy’s songwriting and its ability to transcend genre, as well as a demonstration of the momentum of the debut release which still rolls on, two years later.
In 2023, Priddy’s momentum showed no signs of slowing as April brought with it a new single release on Chrysalis Records as part of a Double LP of Nick Drake covers titled ‘The Endless Coloured Ways’. The album features songs from a wide range of esteemed artists such as Aldous Harding, John Grant, Bombay Bicycle Club, Self Esteem and Guy Garvey. Priddy appeared as a special guest at Guy Garvey’s spectacular show in April at The Roundhouse, even being joined by the man himself to perform a duet together.
Early 2024 saw the release of Priddy’s eagerly-awaited second album The Pendulum Swing via Cooking Vinyl (label). Once again recorded in Birmingham by producer Simon J Weaver, the LP went straight in at No.1 in the UK Folk Charts, and explores themes of home, family, love and memories. Songlines Magazine declared it ‘One of the albums of the year’, whilst the Guardian Observer described the LP as ‘a rich, poised second album’. With The Pendulum Swing, Priddy has kept moving forward whilst acknowledging and honouring all that has gone before. The album was accompanied by a headline UK and Ireland tour, playing a string of sold out shows and culminating in a milestone performance in London’s Union Chapel.
Priddy’s original works are delivered with an emotional maturity, depth and a tenderness that still carries a darker edge. Her lyrics are particularly noteworthy – a tribute to her life-long love affair with literature and poetry and the stories she weaves are transporting. It is clear that, despite the delicate nuances of her sound, Katherine Priddy is not a fragile wallflower, but a woman who means business.