The Kennedys (band)

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The Kennedys
Also known as Pete and Maura Kennedy
Origin New York, United States
Genres Folk-pop
Instruments Harmonies/Guitars/electric sitar
Years active 1994–present
Labels The Kennedys, LLC, Appleseed Recording, Varèse Sarabande, Rounder Records, Jiffyjam Records
Associated acts Maura Kennedy, Nanci Griffith, The Strangelings
Website http://kennedysmusic.com
Members Pete Kennedy
Maura Kennedy

The Kennedys are an American folk-rock band, consisting of husband and wife Pete and Maura Kennedy. Their first album, River of Fallen Stars, was released under the name "Pete and Maura Kennedy"; they released all subsequent albums as "The Kennedys". They met in Austin, Texas in 1992, when Pete Kennedy was playing in Nanci Griffith's band, and for their first date, each drove 500 miles to meet at Buddy Holly's grave in Lubbock, Texas. Soon, Maura Boudreau joined Griffith's band as a harmony singer, and they began their career as a duo when they opened for her during her tour in Ireland. They are influenced by the Byrds and other 1960s rock and folk-rock artists. Their 1998 album Angel Fire featured many songs with literary references, such as "A Letter To Emily" and "Just Like Henry David".

When performing live Pete plays the acoustic guitar, electric sitar, bass and ukulele, while Maura plays acoustic and electric guitars and uke.

They have performed in clubs and theatres throughout the United States, a cruise, and at Bill Clinton's first and second inaugurations.

Pete is from the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. Maura grew up in Syracuse, New York. After many years living in the East Village in New York City in 2006 joined the many other folk musicians living in Northampton, Massachusetts. They then returned to the East Village in 2008.

In late 2006,[1] Pete and Maura joined with Chris and Meredith Thompson to form The Strangelings, a folk-rock band prominently featuring Pete's electric sitar. Their first performance was on January 12, 2007. The music includes songs by both the Kennedys and the Thompsons in addition to traditional songs and covers. The current full lineup of The Strangelings includes Pete, Maura, Chris Thompson, Eric Lee on fiddle, Cheryl Prashker on percussion, and Ken Anderson and Rebecca Hall, also known as Hungrytown.

Influences

  • Nanci Griffith - They not only toured with Nanci for many years and recorded on Nanci's Intersections" album, they recently released a Nanci tribute album entitled "Dance A Little Closer - the Kennedys Sing the Songs of Nanci Griffith" live in New York in April 2014
  • Richard Thompson - They have recorded covers of "Wall of Death" and "How Will I Ever Be Simple Again". "Anna and the Magic Gown" on Stand is written in the style of Thompson's old band, Fairport Convention
  • The Beatles - They include at least one Beatles song at most performances
  • Bob Dylan - They have recorded covers "Chimes of Freedom" and "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall". They perform at the Bob Dylan Tribute Festival at the Warwick Valley Winery every year.
  • The Byrds - When they started writing songs they aimed for a sound similar to The Byrd's "Eight Miles High". They cover it on Songs of the Open Road. They also covered "Here Without You" on Evolver.
  • Dave Carter - They often refer to him as the greatest songwriter of his generation. They cover "Happytown", "Gypsy Rose" and "When I Go"".

Discography

  • River of Fallen Stars (1995)
  • Life is Large (1996)
  • Angel Fire (1998)
  • Evolver (2000)
  • Positively Live! (2001)
  • Get It Right (2002)
  • Stand (2003)
  • Half a Million Miles (2005)
  • Songs of the Open Road (2006)
  • Better Dreams (2008)
  • Retrospective (2012)
  • Closer Than You Know (2012)
  • Dance A Little Closer: The Kennedys Sing The Songs Of Nanci Griffith (2014)
  • West (2015)

As The Stringbusters

  • Rhapsody in Uke (2007) - an album of Hawaiian/swing/jazz music played largely on ukulele.

As The Snacks

  • Meet the Snacks (2007) - An album of rock/pop for children

Pete Kennedy without Maura

  • Heart of Gotham (2015)
  • Tone, Twang, and Taste (2014)
  • Guitarslinger`` (2008) - Pete Kennedy Solo
  • Shearwater The art of the unplugged guitar (1992)- Pete Kennedy Solo
  • Channel 3 (1992) - Pete Kennedy Band
  • Fingers On Fire (1978) - Pete Kennedy and Tom Principato

Maura Kennedy without Pete

  • Parade of Echoes (2010)
  • Villanelle-Songs of Maura Kennedy and BD Love (2015)

As part of The Strangelings

  • The Nuah Suite (2007) DVD
  • Season of the Witch (2007)

References

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External links

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