Kristen Ward & Gary Westlake

Saturday, September 26th — Wine Walk & Shop — 3 PM

With her 1968 Gibson guitar under arm, Kristen Ward, a Seattle-based singer songwriter, delivers honest, rootsy, rock-and-roll with a lonely western twist.  
 
Though she considers the Northwest her home, Kristen was actually born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. At the age of 2, she and her family moved to the West Coast where she would spend the next 24 years of her life. As a child, Kristen received a first hand education in songwriting and recording from her mother, a bluegrass/country singer who also pursued a career as a recording artist.  
 
At age 14, Ward picked up some basic guitar chords and learned to play old Linda Rondstadt and John Denver songs. It was around this time that Kristen began writing her own songs. Growing up to the sounds of Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Johnny Cash, and Tracy Chapman, she developed a deep love for both folk music and rock and roll.
 
With close personal influences such as Lucinda Williams and Neil Young, Kristen has crafted a collection of songs that overflow with memorable hooks, a direct style and an honest delivery that is all her own.
 
Her latest album, released in April of 2008, “Drive Away”, is the follow-up to Ward’s 2006 debut titled “Roll Me On”.
 
For this record, Kristen and her regular backing band, Gary Westlake (Jim Carroll, Peter Frampton, Pearl Jam) and Kevin Suggs (Evangeline, The Shins, Brandi Carlise) joined forces with some of Seattle’s finest musicians including Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Andy Stoller (Tracy Chapman), and many more. Backing vocals were courtesy of Kristen’s mother Julie Neuffer. The record was paid for through CD pre-sales alone, which Kirsten solicited from fans online.
 
“Drive Away” is a album of love, journey and heartbroken resignation. From the opening track “Baby” to the driving and
hypnotic grooves of “Shoot Me Down” and “With You Again”, the record channels a certain West Coast romanticism, which Kristen pairs with visceral, lyrical imagery. The title track, “Drive Away”, with its lush and ethereal sounds and the intimate and moving “Let Me Go” serve as the album’s breathtaking centerpieces.

Gary Westlake, pictured with Kristen Ward