Photo credit: Shelby Hare

KATIE POWDERLY

Americana • Appalachian Songwriter • Award-Winning Performer

  • Featured live on PBS & NPR

  • Toured NY → CO • TX → TN

  • Shared bills with Tony Rice, Del McCoury Band, Lake Street Dive

  • Frontwoman, The Unconditional Lovers

  • 2027 full-length release forthcoming

  • Emmylou Harris

  • Gillian Welch

  • Aoife O’Donovan

  • Gram Parsons

Katie blends Appalachian balladry with modern Americana edge. Equally compelling solo or fronting a full electric band, her sets move from intimate storytelling to driving, harmony-rich anthems.

For Fans of:

LIVE SHOW OPTIONS - AVAILABLE FORMATS

  • Solo Acoustic (Listening Room / Folk Stage)

    Photo credit: Ashli Jaden Photography

  • Duo / Trio (Harmony-Forward)

    Photo credit: Erin Ruff

  • Full Electric Band — Katie Powderly & The Unconditional Lovers

    Photo Credit: Lisa Sheirer

  • Festival Bluegrass Set (where Katie plays guitar and/or upright bass)

    Photo credit: Erin Ruff

  • "...inhabiting the same musical geography as Gillian Welch and Aoife O’Donovan."

    —Americana UK

  • "Powderly possesses a singing style similar to Gillian Welch, Natalie Merchant, and Emmylou Harris in its soft, sensual delivery."

    —The Alternate Root Magazine

Katie Powderly is an award-winning musician and songwriter whose live performances have been featured on PBS and NPR stations.

She has toured from New York to Colorado, Texas to Tennessee, and has shared bills with Tony Rice, Del McCoury Band, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Steel Wheels, The Black Lillies, Lake Street Dive, Langhorne Slim, and The David Mayfield Parade.

Her harmonies have drawn comparisons to Emmylou Harris (The Alternate Root Magazine), Gillian Welch (Isthmus), Aoife O’Donovan (Americana UK), and Gram Parsons (City Paper).

She was voted “Best Country/Bluegrass Performer” in Madison, Wisconsin, in the Madison Area Music Awards.

Her sophomore album, Live by the Song, Die by the Song (Red-Winged Blackbird Records), is a stripped-down collection of acoustic Appalachian ballads written along the Shenandoah River, capturing a season of falling in and out of love.

The album contrasts with her debut, Slips of the Tongue, a fully produced Americana record featuring Josh Oliver (Watchhouse/Mandolin Orange), Bryn Davies (Tony Rice, Guy Clark, Jack White), Tom Pryor (The Black Lillies), and Jill Andrews (the everybodyfields). The record was captured by Mike Zirkel at Butch Vig’s famed Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin, with significant help from Scott Minor (Sparklehorse).

When not touring solo, Katie fronts her electric Americana band, The Unconditional Lovers, whose debut album is slated for release in 2026.

She recently stepped away from bluegrass bass and vocal duties with the Pennsylvania band Dead Horse Revival, with whom she released the 7-song EP All Hat No Saddle and won “Best Bluegrass Band” in the Central Pennsylvania Music Hall of Fame Awards.

Katie has also performed as a bluegrass bass sideman for Woody Pines and The David Mayfield Parade.

Bio

Photo credit: Sean Reel Photography

Recordings Highlight

  • Live by the Song, Die by the Song

    LATEST RELEASE

    Stripped-down Appalachian ballads written along the Shenandoah River.

  • Slips of the Tongue

    DEBUT RELEASE

    Recorded at Smart Studios (Butch Vig) with nationally recognized collaborators.

  • Coming Soon

    TBA

Informal Live Videos

Bluegrass Band Edition