Kris Colt

     Kris Colt is an American Celtic folk vocal artist, who brings with her the historical tradition of the bardic storyteller. Her focus is on the peoples of the British Isles after they arrived in America, one of the most important movements in our nation's past.

    She believes that an understanding of what has gone before gives us the strength and creativity to conquer the future. Classically trained, her voice is strong and clear, with a lilting lyrical style, well adapted to both the traditional and original shamanic tales she weaves. In concert, she often sings, for a little bit of seasoning, not only in English but in Irish Gaelic, Scotts Gaelic and in Welsh.

Kris is an accomplished songwriter--both lyricist and composer--whose debut CD entitled
The Voyage, A Mystical Journey is distributed by New York's Dara Records.

     Along with her co-writer, Brenda Thomas, original songs like Black Rose (the story of a young black Irish immigrant street teen and her infant's struggle to survive), and Has Anybody Seen Mary?, (the tale of lost children as they enter the port of New Orleans), are typical of her work. "Mary" was chosen to be performed in conjunction with an appearance of the San Francisco Irish Consul General.

     In Celtic tradition, she explores the passions of the "other world" with mystical songs like Spirit of the Woodland and the title track from her CD, the rockin' sea shanty, The Voyage, inspired by family tales of her Welsh sea captain ancestor, Nathan Gaythan Thomas. Fevered Welsh gypsy style pieces in her live show celebrate another line of the lead singer's Celtic roots.

     Selections from The Voyage have received national airplay across the United States and Canada on 130 stations and reached #26 on the NAV national music chart.

     She is currently in the studio working to complete her upcoming second CD. She also appears on a Celtic compilation called Ceiltis, produced by An Claidheamn Soluis.

     Kris Colt and The Black Rose Band have played with a number of national Irish and Scottish folk acts, with one of her favorites being a Saturday night concert appearance, opening for the nationally known Fenians, at the world-famous Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip!

     Kris brought her lyrical folk singing style to the main stage with a concert appearance at the very trendy Knitting Factory on Hollywood Blvd., next to Mann's Chinese Theatre, with her red mini kilt coming out for this Valentine's show.

     She also had a pretty exciting evening as a part of the Girls With Guitars Show at the Whiskey A Go Go also on the Sunset Strip.

     Taking it on the road, performing for such music festivals as the Sam Hinton Folk Festival in La Jolla, she also gave an Irish folk song workshop she affectionately named "Love To Lament" and she was sponsored for a concert for the San Diego Folk Heritage music series. It was here that she recently had the privilege of performing with the legendary Kingston Trio, for a very special day of music sponsored by the Christian League.

     Once again, Kris and her band made their stand for two days of traditional Irish fun and frolic alongside The Young Dubliners, The Fenians, Sligo Rag and theWhooligans, for Southern California's premiere, Great American Irish Fair.

     Black Rose had the thrill of being one of the five featured bands at the San Diego Highland Games, and were also chosen to perform in concert at the San Diego Moonlight Amphitheater.

You might have seen Kris Colt and her band weave their mystical spell at one of the group's favorite haunts, such as Hollywood's Molly Malone's, Brennan's Irish Pub or the swanky Lunaria, where they have opened for a number of celebrity guests.

In addition, they had a solo appearance at the glamorous Palace Theatre at Hollywood and Vine and several times performed on the ever popular, now legendary, Ronnie Mack's Barn Dance Show.

     Kris and Black Rose have also been known to appear at folk pow-wows like The Newport Folk Festival, where they opened the event on the fair stage at the historic Greek Theatre in Griffith Park.

     On three different occasions Kris performed bluegrass at the Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest, and while in Nashville TN, Kris was a featured guest at the songwriter's mecca, The Bluebird Cafe.

     The Black Rose Band has been sponsored in concert by Music Connection magazine and has been the sole musical act for the Irish-American Bar Association's Saint Patrick's Day Banquet for six years in a row at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, entertaining some of the city's most prestigious judges, attorneys and political figures. Kris also sang for the annual O'Connell Dinner in November, where, once again, she had the honor to perform for the Irish Consul General.

This year in March 2007, Kris performed her classical Irish repertoire as the guest soloist for the UCLA Choir "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" benefit concert.

     For the Celtic New Year's celebration of Samhain, Kris Colt appears annually at An Claidheamh Soluis (The Celtic Arts Center), where she was formerly a member of the performing Gaelic Choir, as seen on PBS under the direction of Ken O'Malley. The group has, among its many other appearances, opened for Solas at the Anson Ford Amphitheater.

     The Robert Burns, Bard of Scotland birthday dinners are another annual performance celebration Kris and the band love to participate in.

     They were also special guests for: the new St. Patrick's Irish Fair at the Fairplex in Pomona; the first South Coast Celtic Festival at the Brother's of St. Patrick in Orange County; the Universal NOHO Arts Festival ; the first Southern California Fringe Arts Festival and for the Weekend Celtic Concert series, sponsored by ACS.

     The band played pub concerts at the beautiful Muldoon's Irish Restaurant, and Kris and her Celtic harp player, Ed Lindgron, were the daily repeated Christmas entertainment at Muldoon's for the past two years. In association with these appearances, the two gave a full hour radio concert and interview on the UC Irvine radio station.

     Kris also sings with a trio called An Chroi Cealteache, who perform for such events as the star-packed annual Tyrone Power Memorial Service at Hollywood Forever.

     Kris is also working her wiles with a performance group named A Wild Band of Gypsies.

     Kris has been featured acting, dancing and singing in such Equity theatres as L.A.'s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, working with the great Gower Champion, the Shubert Theatre in Century City, as well as both the famous Curan and Orpheum theatres in San Francisco, for the Legends Company in Las Vegas and with the San Bernardino Civic Light Opera. She has also appeared as a singer and dancer for television and film.

     Kris Colt's unusual style and mystical persona is on the cutting edge of her musical genre. She is extremely proud to work with her extraordinary band mates, Phil Ernst, on guitar, Steve Ayvazian, on vocals and percussion, and Ed Lindgron on the classic Irish harp, while Kris herself, as writer and lead vocalist, also plays the guitar and ancient Irish bodhron drum. Together they spark the stage with flames of musical fire!