Join us for CKsquared - A Benefit Show for ArtRage!
About the performers:
Charlie King and Colleen Kattau sing with a common passion that makes you believe the
world could be saved by beauty. Their songs are like flowers growing from the hard soil of
political realities, rooted in the belief that music can cultivate a new reality by embodying
visions in song. Best known for the work they do independent of each other, they’ve been
sporadically performing together since 1993. The common repertoire they’ve developed is
rich, harmonious and brimful with comic relief.
Charlie has been at the heart of American folk music for over 50 years. His songs have been
recorded and sung by other performers such as Pete Seeger, Holly Near, Ronnie Gilbert,
John McCutcheon, Arlo Guthrie, Peggy Seeger, Chad Mitchell and Judy Small. He is the
2018 recipient of the Phil Ochs Award, recognizing his music and activism for social and
political justice in the spirit of Phil Ochs. Other honors include an "Indie" award for one of
the top three folk recordings of 1984. In May of 1998 the War Resisters League gave their
Peacemaker Award to Charlie and to Odetta. Pete Seeger nominated Charlie for the Sacco-
Vanzetti Social Justice Award, which he received in November 1999, and in 2014 he
received the Joe Hill Award, a lifetime achievement award for excellence in the field of labor
culture.
Colleen is a bilingual vocalist songwriter who stirs listeners with her clear voice, collective
spirit and rhythmic sensibility. She’s been called “our lady of peace” and is a beloved singer
in her community bringing diverse folks together in song. She has recorded seven albums
and three successful benefit compilations for environmental and peace actions, and is
Syracuse Area Music Awards nominee, most recently for her 2020 album Besos Kisses. Her
music has been featured on Democracy Now, and she performs at Phil Ochs nights. In 2019
she toured in Italy performing at the International Ritmi y danze dal mondo Festival and the
European Ecovillages Conference. Besos/Kisses is her 2020 release. She recently performed
backing vocals and a duet with Reggie Harris on his #1 2021 Folk Chart release: On Solid
Ground.
Charlie was raised in Brockton, MA and now lives in Shelburne Falls MA. He cites as
musical influences the folk music revival of the 1960's, the civil rights movement and the
Vietnam War era. Folk legend Peggy Seeger says, "If we had more Charlie Kings in the
world, I'd be less worried," and Tom Paxton adds, "Luckily, we have him!"
Colleen is originally from Long Island, NY, but is a longtime resident of Central New York.
Her primary musical influences are an eclectic mix of artists from Joni Mitchell to Mercedes
Sosa and Violeta Parra of the Latin American Nueva cancion or “New Song” tradition.
Colleen performs solo and with her “gringa grooves from the heart” band, Dos XX. Pete
Seeger says of her "Joe Hill would be proud. Great singer and organizer at the same time."
