Kathy Mar (; from Chinese ' by analogy with non-rhotic accents) is an American

filk Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-1970s. Etymology and defi ...

singer.

Career

Mar worked as a professional

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

singer and street performer in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

for many years before discovering

. Her first recordings were for Off Centaur Publications (''Songbird, On a Bright Wind, Bamboo Wind'') and she went on to record two albums with Thor Records (''Plus Ça Change, Plus C'est La Même Chose'') which have recently been re-released as a double CD. She also recorded an album for Dandelion Digital (''Made by Magic'') with British songwriter Zander Nyrond, one of the first filk CDs ever produced. Her album of filk and folk covers on Prometheus (''My Favorite Sings'') was her most successful release. She was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in its second year of existence.Filk Hall of Fame With Lindy Sears, she instigated the 'Dandelion Conspiracy' to promote filk to general science-fiction conventions. She was Filk Guest of Honor at Denvention 3, the

66th World Science Fiction Convention The 66th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Denvention 3, was held on 6–10 August 2008 at the Colorado Convention Center and the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel in Denver, Colorado, United States. The organizing committ ...

Personal life

Mar lives in a commune in San Leandro, California. She has had four children: Michael (1970–1982), Melanie (1972) and twins Nicolas and Cassandra (1985). She lives with her primary life partner Dean Dierschow, also her roadie, in what she refers to as 'a wonderful ongoing courtship'. She was involved in the antiwar movement in the 1960s, and sang in Kansas City for the first Moratorium.

Pegasus Awards

* 1989 — Best Filk Song - Arafel's Song (Tree of Swords & Jewels) (with Mercedes Lackey) * 1989 — Best Writer/Composer * 1991 — Best Love Song - Velveteen * 1993 — Best Writer/Composer * 1994 — Best Filk Song - Drink Up the River * 1996 — Best Filk Song - When Giants Walked * 2004 — Best Writer/Composer

Albums

* ''Songbird'' — Off Centaur (cassette OCP-24) 1982 * ''On a Bright Wind'' — Off Centaur (cassette OCP-36) 1984 * ''Bamboo Wind'' — Off Centaur (cassette OCP-54) 1985 * ''Plus Ca Change'' — Thor Records (cassette FK1003) 1988 * ''Plus C'est La Même Chose'' — Thor Records (cassette FK1006) 1990 * ''Made By Magic'' — with Zander Nyrond, Dandelion Digital CD DD-005CD, 1994 * ''My Favorite Sings'' — Prometheus Music CD PM-1000, 1999 * ''Plus Ca Change / Plus C'est La Même Chose'' — DragonsGate Music CD 2000 * ''Kathy Mar - Live'' — Love Song Productions CD/DVD LSP2004 2009

External links

Official site

last.fm page with Kathy's music available for free streaming

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mar, Kathy Filkers Living people 1951 births People from San Leandro, California Musicians from Denver American women guitarists American anti–Vietnam War activists American street performers 20th-century American women 21st-century American women