Down to Earth

Kate, Paul and Charlie
Originally uploaded by paynehollow

The video link above is to a slide show I created using photos of my 2003 trip to Nicaragua (many of the photos from my friend, Sascha, who went to Nicaragua along with me) along with a snippet from a song, I Cannot Sleep.

I Cannot Sleep is a song available on a new CD by my friends Paul and Kate. Paul and Kate are the folk duo, Down to Earth and this song is from their debut album, Fiercer Love. I highly encourage anyone who likes this snippet - or folk music in general - to check out their website, fiercerlove.com.

Paul and Kate are a husband/wife team - Louisville musicians who've been singing together for ~15 years (and who we enjoy hearing from regularly at our church). They are a folk group playing the best of music, accompanying themselves on guitar, hammered dulcimer, congas, harmonica and an occasional bowed psaltery and maybe even a nose whistle?!

The album, Fiercer Love features several of Paul and Kate's own beautiful songs - from Kate's ethereal version of Mary's Magnificat to Paul's compelling page of family history retold in Old Reliable, among others.

The album also features songs by Bruce Springsteen (a haunting version of The Ghost of Tom Joad) and Garnet Rogers, among others. Each of the songs on the album speaks in one way or another about social justice, of good news for the poor, liberation for the captive and does so with perfect harmonies and fantastic instrumentation.

In addition to Paul and Kate's music-smithing, the album features some extra musical work from well-known local musicians Tim Krekel (who formerly played with Jimmy Buffett) and Brigid Kaelin, an up and coming singer-songwriter herself (and my daughter's piano teacher!).

I highly recommend the album - if you like acoustic music with a conscience, you should check them out at fiercerlove.com.