When I listened to Katie Matzell on YouTube, I was struck by her soulful, sultry, bluesy singing voice … reminiscent of Diana Krall and Linda Rondstadt (and her three torch songs/ballads recordings with Nelson Riddle). Check out the live clip of “Do It Again.” You’ll hear what I mean.

She’s a singer/songwriter with something to say and people are listening: in 2018 she was nominated by the New England Music Awards for Female Performer of the Year. Katie is backed by a top notch band with a jazz background: Adam Frederick (Katie’s husband of five years) – bass, Max Cantlin – guitar, Emmett Harrity – keys and Chris Sweet – drums.

Katie and the band released the first EP (extended play) – “Katie Matzell” - early in 2018. They have been performing at venues in Portland northward last year opening for Rusty Overtones, playing the Hallowell-based Maine Luthier's Exhibition & Showcase, Port City Music Hall, All Roads Music Festival, headlining with Jason Spooner at the Camden Opera House last November, with stops in Boston/Cambridge, New Hampshire  and even New York City in December. The list goes on ...

This spring, Katie returns to the All Roads Music Festival in Belfast performing on the second day of the festival, May 18. Other bands include the Ballroom Thieves, Rustic Overtones and Sugarbush, to name a few.

Katie will also be one of five artists invited to participate in the Maine Songwriters Circle by sharing their creative process and performing ... not too shabby for someone who’d been intimidated by songwriting until around 2012 or 2013 when Katie decided to let her creative juices find expression with words. And she’s never stopped.

“That’s the piece coming from my theater background where the words are so important; you have to understand what you’re saying and how it’s being said,” shared Katie. “Theater training gave me an interesting angle to songwriting!”

Born and raised in Wiscasset, Katie attended Wiscasset High School, “dabbling” (as she put it) in plays until her senior year when she auditioned for WHS’ production of “Les Miserables.” The musical was directed by theater arts and English teacher Griff Braley who cast the 18-year-old as Fantine. Katie said farewell to the soccer field for the footlights until graduation in 2004.

She went on to work with Braley and the Heartwood Regional Theater Company in “Man of La Mancha” and the “House of Bernada Alba.”

Katie says that working with Griff really pulled it (love of singing) out of her ... but in the beginning Katie would only share that love when she was portraying a fictional character – or in her bedroom, for years. She had been dating her husband for a year before he found out she could sing!

At Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, Katie was in the theater program. But after the first year, she decided she didn’t really want to be an actor and enrolled at University of Southern Maine to pursue a degree in English. She graduated in 2008.

The band has been playing the six songs on the EP. Five are original and one is a Beatles cover of George Harrison’s “I Need You.” The band is currently working on five or six new original tunes.

The process – lyrics and music - usually begins with her. “I feel very strongly about what the finished product is when I bring it to Adam. I write the lyrics and compose the melodies and have a rough idea of what the instruments and harmonies are doing. Adam weighs in on composition and form and helps to arrange and chart the music. Then, when we bring it to the band. Everyone’s strengths are brought to the table creating our own distinct flavor.”

Another upcoming gig is in Camden where, on June 15, Katie and the band make their debut at the Camden Jazz Festival, held at the Snow Bowl, a high profile opportunity for this jazz-influenced group.

The band has a gig coming up at Blue in Portland  and points southwest of home base. “We’re focusing on breaking out into Boston and New York City,” said Katie.

And as she wrote in the song “Brick Sidewalks” ... “The city’s calling our names, what’s the worst that could happen, We go back for a second, and start again ...”

Yet, somehow, you just can’t help thinking Katie and the band’s original sound - mixed with covers of songs from Judy Garland to Little Feat - is about to catch fire.

“I know where I want to go. I can see the end goal,” said Katie. “I can feel it. I just have to figure out how to get there.” 

For more about Katie and the band, visit www.katiematzell.com, Spotify, YouTube and Instagram.