Karyn Oliver & Kate Gaffney Co-Bill – Americana Roots Songwriters Bringing Powerful Voices and Authentic Stories

On Saturday, September 13 at 7:30PM, Godfrey Daniels welcomes a co-bill featuring Karyn Oliver and Kate Gaffney. Oliver, winner of the 2020 South Florida Folk Festival Songwriters’ Competition, brings a voice that bridges blues, country, and folk traditions. Her albums, including A List of Names and Cherchez La Femme, have earned national recognition on Folk and Americana radio.

Joining her is Philadelphia-born Kate Gaffney, whose career has taken her from California’s festival stages back to her Pennsylvania roots. With four albums to her name and performances alongside artists like Richie Havens, Todd Snider, and Chris Smither, Gaffney’s songwriting blends authenticity with a natural connection to her audience.

Together, these two accomplished artists promise an evening of storytelling, rich vocals, and the kind of close-knit musical experience that defines Godfrey Daniels as a premier Live Music Listening Room.

KARYN OLIVER
karynoliver.com

2020 South Florida Folk Festival Songwriters' Competition winner Karyn Oliver is part Joan Osborne, a touch of Janis Joplin and a bit of Emmylou Harris – effortlessly oscillating from bluesy to country and back. Her musical inspirations come primarily from the eclectic mix of music to which she was exposed while growing up in the musically diverse culture of Washington, D.C. 

In 2009, Karyn moved to a town called Boring, MD with a broken heart and a cheap guitar. It was from this place that she created her first solo album, Red Dress, that earned her Kerrville New Folk Finalist and Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist in 2011, as well as 2010 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest winner. In 2011, Oliver moved to New York City, with a renewed heart and a better guitar. It is from this place that she created her latest solo album, Magdalene, and became a Kerrville New Folk Finalist for a second time in 2016. 

2017 brought Oliver to North Carolina, where she is steeped herself in the great writers of the South, and recorded a new album, “A List Of Names”, which charted on both Folk and Americana radio in 2019.

In 2020, Oliver moved to Texas in the middle of a pandemic, and waded into the great Texas songwriting tradition. The fruits of that move are “Cherchez La Femme” a new collection of songs to be released in September 2023. The first single, “Cry Hallelujah” has already gotten critical acclaim and song awards.

KATE GAFFNEY
kategaffney.com

Singer-songwriter Kate Gaffney honed her skills in her native Philadelphia, jumped from coast to coast and toured everywhere in between. She laid musical roots in Northern California, building a loyal following in Sacramento and within the San Francisco Bay Area music community. Pennsylvania has since called her back home.

The exploration of coastal living, in all of its glory, splendor, isolation, and mystery, inspired Kate to produce a concept album. Here by the Ocean is a studio collaboration with long-time Philadelphia friends, producer 

Andrew Lipke and multi-instrumentalist Chris Kasper. Recorded before the world shut down, it is now available on streaming platforms and Kate will honor the music by catching and releasing it in physical form (Vinyl and CD) on October 4, 2025.

Gaffney’s festival nods include Philadelphia Folk Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass & Hangtown Music Festival. She has opened for a variety of touring acts, including Richie Havens, Todd Snider, Xavier Rudd, Chris Smither, Carolyn Wonderland, Jackie Greene, Karl Denson, Kaki King, Elephant Revival, and Dead Winter Carpenters. Kate Gaffney has released four albums: Highways, The New Then, The Coachman (including contributions from Lehigh Valley's own Steve Kimock and John Morgan Kimock), and the aforementioned Here by the Ocean.

“There’s something about Kate…something a little 80’s, a little 90’s, with a touch of the modern day, all steeped in the Summer of Love. You get a feeling, when you listen to Kate, that she understands the 

blues, but serves as a muse to keep the blues away. She’s a songwriter who songwriters write songs about. Watching her perform is somehow comforting and her honest vulnerability lends a welcome tone to her concerts. She has found a nice rapport with her audience and is one of the few performers with whom I welcome the banter. Kate is both disarming and razor sharp at the same time.”  - Aaron Redner, musician/writer