Regional musician Kate McDonnell has captivated audiences all over the world with her award-winning songwriting, her unusual deft guitar style, and her jaw-dropping voice. Inspired by Joan Baez recordings as a youngster, Kate taught herself to play her mother’s guitar, upside down. Her family’s musical abilities continued to nurture Kate’s music. During high school and college years, she performed with her twin sister, which led to appearances with several other bands. In 1989 Kate started writing her own songs and began racking up serious critical recognition in the early 90s, when she was named a New Folk Finalist at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas and a finalist at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Showcase in New York State. A number of albums followed, including “Where the Mangoes Are.”

Kate took a sabbatical from music in 2006 to earn a master’s degree in social work and has been a child therapist since then. But music drew her back to writing and recording in 2020, and the CD “Ballad of a Bad Girl” was a result.

This Coffeehouse at the Walton Theatre concert will feature numbers from her very latest CD, “Trapeze.” For more information about Kate, see www.katemcdonnell.com.