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Kat Parsons is a fearless performer who walks the line between innocence and exuberance. Equally funny and effortlessly sexy, her acute self-awareness allows her to be both excitable (she’s a “hugger”) and self-deprecating. With the release of the final installment of her three part EP series, each showcasing a distinct image and sound, Kat Parsons brings her multifaceted personality – and talent—to the forefront.

“Ever since the career test I took in high school said I would best be suited as a traffic cop, I’ve been rebelling against preconceived notions of people’s limitations,” she said.

Born in Vienna to opera singer Darrell Parsons and recording artist Julie Parsons, she grew up immersed in music, studying piano and later majoring in theatre at Northwestern University. And since the 2005 release of her fan funded (to the tune of $18,000) album No Will Power -- which was distributed nationally by Cleopatra/Navarre -- Parsons’ career has been on overdrive.

From the cover of Music Connection magazine, to winner of the Acoustic Live competition (beating out more than 600 musicians), Parsons’ talent and pure passion has helped make her sophomore album No Will Power runner-up for Album of the Year at the 2005 DIY Music Festival, nabbed her coverage in Billboard, Boston Globe, Washington Post ("a fiery spirit...confident, dynamic songs..."), The Onion, and more. The International Acoustic Music Awards just named her “Best Female Artist”. OurStage.com & Mike Flynn (Head of A&R at Epic Records) chose her out of 1,400 artists to produce an upcoming single.

The now Los Angeles based singer/songwriter has opened for or shared bills with heavy hitters like Billy Corgan, Jim White, Spin Doctors, and Sara Bareilles. And she’s performed across the U.S., Japan, Europe, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia.

In late 2010, Parsons created a highly successful Kickstarter campaign to fund the manufacturing, art and promotion of her next recordings. Her legions of dedicated fans contributed $19,560. Over the last year, Parsons will have released three EPs, each distinct bodies of work: Talk To Me, OH!, and It Matters to Me. “Sometimes I think of a song as a naked body, and there are so many ways you can dress it.,” she said. “I had a lot of curiosity about different approaches -- I wanted to try on different clothes.” So, she decided to try them all.

With a writing style and pop singer/songwriter sound akin to a modern Carole King, on April, 9 2013 Parsons will release It Matters to Me, a disc that her over 8,000 fans may herald as her best work yet. The most spare and tender of her body of work, this piano-based singer-songwriter has created an album lush with vulnerability.

Writing from Washington D.C. where she is temporarily staying in order to do work with prevention and treatment of human trafficking, it is no coincidence that she is releasing the final EP of the three part series, called It Matters to Me. “This EP was born out of conversations with friends and fans about wanting to lead a meaningful life– even about what a “meaningful life” really is…and out of that striving to get my youthful dreams of saving the world in line with my adult understanding of limitations – my own and others’.”

Kat channels Linda Ronstadt in Harder than it Is, with Ben Peeler on lap steel (Shelby Lynne, Jim White). With the help of Dave Eggar (Coldplay), she gives a simple rendition of I Won’t Ask, a song co-written with her mother and reminiscent of her previous recording of this song with T-Bone Burnett. One Day is a beautiful waltzing lullaby convincing us (and herself) that there are no mistakes in love.

With the release of It Matters to Me, Parsons’ music and beautiful voice remain an accurate reflection of her glowing and layered personality: it reveals her as tough, yet vulnerable; knowing yet naïve; expecting the best in people without being blind to their faults. Her raw authenticity and uncanny ability to connect with listeners has proven that she’ll never bend to fit other’s expectations of her.

Kat Parsons will release It Matters to Me on April 9th. Look for previous recent releases Talk to Me and Oh!.

Connect: www.katparsons.com / twitter.com/KatParsonsSings / facebook.com/KatParsonsMusic

UPCOMING SHOWS

FACT SHEET

Corporate Sponsorships/Partnerships:

• Yamaha Sponsorship - named an "Influential Artist" by Yamaha and signed endorsement deal

• Gibson - appears in corporate video/commercial for Baldwin Piano (owned by Gibson Guitars).

• "No Will Power" played and Kat interviewed on "Hear it First" on United/Ted Airlines

• First indie artist to be interviewed and sing on AT&T’s Blueroom site (among Coldplay & Madonna)

• Endorsed by Audix Microphones

• Endorsed by Parker Guitars

• ASCAP recommended

• One of 10 indie artists handpicked throughout the US for Ford Fusion's campaign

 

Notable Collaborations/ Performances:

• Recorded “Fall For It” with Warren Huart and Mike Flynn (Head of A&R at Epic)

• “Fall for It” (from Talk to Me) co-written with Travis Howard (co writer of #1 Billboard Hits)

• “Talk to Me” produced by Warren Huart (Aerosmith, The Fray, Howie Day) at the legendary Swinghouse Studios

• Recorded "I Won't Ask" with T-Bone Burnett, Dermot & Kieran Mulroney, and James Fearnley (Pogues)

• Appears on Grammy award winning producer's Cher Tribute Album with Lisa Loeb, Anita Pointer, Sheila E, and Tiffany (album contains performances by musicians who have recorded and toured with Sarah McLachlan, Liz Phair, John Mayer, Steve Vai and Junkie XL)

• Opened for or shared bills with: Billy Corgan, Jim White, Spin Doctors (standing O), Dave Mason, Lori McKenna, Shannon McNally, The Knack, Charlotte Martin, and Sara Bareilles, Jonatha Brooke

 

Licensing:

• "To Return to You" featured on VH1's Audrina

• "No Will Power" and “I know It’s Time” played on Style Network’s Giuliana & Bill

• Placement in the indie film Shooter

 

TV:

• Baldwin piano commercial “Girl Next Door”

• Performed her original music with Ryan Cabrera on MTV

• Taped episode of MTV's SCORE series

• Chosen to represent Los Angeles on the Food Network's FoodNation with Bobby Flay (Upscale Los Angeles episode) seen in 78 million households

• CBS 2 Palm Springs

• Performance on San Diego's Morning News (KUSI- Channel 9)

• Performance on Good Morning Arizona in Phoenix

• WGN Morning News, WLBT News (MS), QTV

• KESQ's TV Noon show

 

Print:

• LA Times

• Music Connection (cover story)

• Boston Globe - critic's pick

• Washington Post :“a fiery spirit...confident, dynamic songs..."

• Billboard

• Chicago Sun Times

• Campus Circle – feature interview

• The Onion – live review

• "Miss Me" featured in One Way Magazine's CD Sampler (distributed to over 30k ppl)

• The Star Democrat Weekend Front Page Feature about sold-out show

 

Radio:

• KCRW, WRNR, WBEZ, KLOS, WLUW

• AT&T Blueroom on CBS Radio

• KLOS -95.5 - Local Licks show

• TOP 3 "Most Played" spots on XM's Unsigned Radar Report

• Japan’s Love FM

• Indie Music Showcase on KHZ (hour long interview)

 

Web:

• First featured independent artist on The Grammy's/The Recording Academy's WhatsTheDownload.com.

• "No Will Power" on Yahoo's 100 Concerts in 100 Days

• "No Will Power" is CDBaby.com's Front page editor's pick

• Kat's 30 Days of Video Postcards from Australia were #3 Most Viewed and #3 Most Subscribed Musician's Channel during its run

• Chicago Tribune's Metromix

 

Competition:

• Won OurStage.com competition (over 1,400 entries); song produced by Mike Flynn, Head of A&R at Epic Records

• Honorable mention - International Songwriting Competition (over 15,000 entries) for "Go Find Her”

• Semi-finalist two years in a row for the Pantene Pro-Voice Contest

• Grand prize in Acoustic Live

• 1st Runner Up DIY Album of the Year

 

Venues:

• Residency at Hotel Café

• East Coast: The Birchmere, Ramshead, Iota Club and Cafe, Stacatto's, Metro Cafe, Acme Underground, Bitter End, Sidewalk Cafe, The Point, Kendall Cafe

• Chicago: Schuba's, Metro (30 Bands in 60 Minutes), Uncommon Ground, Abbey Pub, Gunther Murphy's, Beat Kitchen, Tower Records, Chicago Folk & Roots Festival, Old Town School of Folk Music, Morseland, Durty Nellie's, Excalibur (CCC)

• LA: The Mint, Genghis Cohen, Hotel Cafe, Highland Grounds, Kulaks Woodshed, Canter's Kibbitz, The Joint, Molly Malone's, Fais Do Do, Room 5

• Mid & Southwest: Mother Fools, Cellar Lounge, Sal's Music Emporium, Green Room, Java Joe's, Gibson's Guitar Cafe, Jack Legs

• West Coast: Paradise Lounge, Twiggs, Ojai, Sacred Grounds, Stanford, Boise Convention Center, Bazaar Cafe, Cafe du Nord

 

International:

• Toured in Europe, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea, Brunei, Australia, Singapore, Borneo (same as Brunei), Vietnam, Japan

• Performed live on air on LOVE-FM in Fukuoka, Japan

• Europe Venues: Melkweg, 12-Bar, Virgin Megastore, LOS Radio, 
 BRTO Radio, The Sounds, Cambrinus, DeHarmonie, Toogenblik, DeGloppe, Half-Moon Pub, Stamps Bar, Witchwood, The Barrels Alehouse, Rockingham Arms, Portland Arms, Greys Pub, The Bungalow Inn, The Boardwalk, The State Bar, The Errigle Inn, Tim's Bar, Sirius Arts Centre, DeBarra's, The Cobblestone