The Kennedys are an American folk-rock band, consisting of husband and wife Pete and Maura Kennedy. They are recognized for their harmonies and instrumental prowess, blending elements of country music, bluegrass, Western swing and janglepop.

Biography

Pete and Maura Kennedy met in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

in 1992, when Pete was playing in Nanci Griffith's band. For their first date, they each drove 500 miles to meet at

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

's grave in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

. In June of 1993, Maura Kennedy (née Boudreau) joined Griffith's band as a harmony singer, and Maura and Pete began their career as a duo when they opened for Griffith during her UK and Ireland tour. Pete is from the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.; Maura grew up in Syracuse, New York. They lived for many years in the East Village in New York City, and in 2006 they joined other folk musicians living in Northampton, Massachusetts. They then returned to the East Village in 2008. {They currently reside in Tarrytown, NY. In the midst of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, and after losing concert engagements in 2020, the Kennedys started a weekly, all-request livestreaming show, beginning on Sunday, March 15, 2020, and running every Sunday. After the first several shows, they began including specialty shows, paying tribute to some of their favorite musical influences such as Bob Dylan, Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, John Lennon, Nanci Griffith, Patsy Cline, The Byrds, and a four-part Beatles mini-series. In addition, they have presented hours dedicated to specific genres, including the Summer of Love, a Beach Party, California Country Rock, British Invasion, and a Motown special.

Recordings

Their first album, ''River of Fallen Stars'', was released under the name "Pete and Maura Kennedy"; they released all subsequent albums as "The Kennedys". Their 1998 album ''Angel Fire'' featured many songs with literary references, such as "A Letter To Emily" and "Just Like Henry David".

Performing and touring

When performing live, Pete plays the acoustic and electric guitar, electric sitar, bass, mandolin, and ukulele, while Maura plays acoustic and electric guitars and ukulele. They have performed in clubs and theatres throughout the United States, on a cruise, and at

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

's first and second inaugurations. The Kennedys were awarded the Kate Wolf Memorial Award by the

World Folk Music Association The World Folk Music Association is a non-profit organization formed in 1983 by folk singer/songwriter Tom Paxton and Dick Cerri, a radio host from Washington D. C. The first chairman of the board was Paxton and Cerri served as president. Paxton a ...

in 2001.

Other projects

In late 2006, Pete and Maura joined with Chris and Meredith Thompson to form

The Strangelings The Strangelings resulted from the union of The Kennedys (band), The Kennedys and Chris and Meredith Thompson, Chris & Meredith Thompson. They perform a mixture of Kennedys and Thompsons songs along with traditional music and covers. All the s ...

, a folk-rock band prominently featuring Pete's electric sitar. Their first performance was on January 12, 2007. The music includes songs by both the Kennedys and the Thompsons in addition to traditional songs and covers. The full lineup of The Strangelings includes Pete, Maura, Chris Thompson, Eric Lee on

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

, Cheryl Prashker on percussion, and Ken Anderson and Rebecca Hall, also known as Hungrytown.

Influences

Some of the Kennedys's influences include Nanci Griffith, Richard Thompson,

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Dave Carter Dave Carter (August 13, 1952 July 19, 2002) was an American folk music singer-songwriter who described his style as "post-modern mythic American folk music". He was one half of the duo Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, who were heralded as the new ...

, and Buddy Holly. They have toured with Griffith several times, and covered songs by Thompson, Dylan, and Carter.

Discography

As the Kennedys

* 1995: ''River of Fallen Stars'' ( Green Linnet) * 1996: ''Life is Large'' (Green Linnet) * 1998: ''Angel Fire'' (

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's deplo ...

) * 2000: ''Evolver'' (

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

) * 2001: ''Positively Live!'' (JiffyJam) * 2002: ''Get It Right'' (JiffyJam) * 2003: ''Stand'' ( Koch) * 2005: ''Half a Million Miles'' ( Appleseed) * 2006: ''Songs of the Open Road'' (Appleseed) * 2008: ''Better Dreams'' (Appleseed) * 2012: ''Retrospective'' (The Kennedys, L.L.C.) * 2012: ''Closer Than You Know'' (The Kennedys, L.L.C.) * 2014: ''Dance A Little Closer: The Kennedys Sing The Songs Of Nanci Griffith'' (The Kennedys, L.L.C.) * 2015: ''West'' (The Kennedys, L.L.C.) * 2018: ''Safe Until Tomorrow'' (The Kennedys, L.L.C.) * 2022: ''Soul & Inspiration: Nuggets From The Livestream Archive, Volume One'' (The Kennedys, L.L.C.)

As The Stringbusters

* 2007: ''Rhapsody in Uke'' (self-released) - an album of Hawaiian/swing/jazz music played largely on

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

As The Snacks

* 2007: ''Meet the Snacks'' - An album of rock/pop for children

Pete Kennedy solo recordings

* 1985: ''Bound for Glory'' (Rosewood Records) * 1991: ''Highway 10'' (Third Floor) * 1992: ''Channel 3'' (Third Floor) * 1992: ''Shearwater: The Art of the Unplugged Guitar'' (Third Floor) * 1994: ''Shearwater: The Art of the Unplugged Guitar'' (Guitar Recordings) * 2002: ''Fingers On Fire'' (Powerhouse) - Pete Kennedy and with

Tom Principato Tom Principato (born 1952) is an American electric blues and blues rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Principato has recorded more than twenty albums over the years. One of his most recent releases, ''Robert Johnson Told Me So'' (2013), fe ...

recorded live in 1978 * 2008: ''Guitarslinger'' (The Kennedys LLC) * 2014: ''Tone, Twang, and Taste'' (The Kennedys, L.L.C.) * 2015: ''Heart of Gotham'' (The Kennedys LLC) * 2017: ''Solo Guitar: Pete Kennedy Performs Top Hits of 1964'' (Solo Sounds) * 2017: ''Solo Ukulele: Pete Kennedy Performs Top Christmas Favorites'' (Solo Sounds) * 2019: ''Solo Ukulele: Pete Kennedy Performs The Band's the Band'' (Solo Sounds) * 2020: ''Solo Guitar: Pete Kennedy Performs John Legend's Get Lifted'' (Solo Sounds) * 2020: ''Electric Sitar Meditations'' (The Kennedys LLC)

Maura Kennedy solo albums

* 2009: ''Parade of Echoes'' (Planned Effervescence) * 2015: ''Villanelle-Songs of Maura Kennedy and BD Love'' ( Varèse Sarabande)

With
The Strangelings The Strangelings resulted from the union of The Kennedys (band), The Kennedys and Chris and Meredith Thompson, Chris & Meredith Thompson. They perform a mixture of Kennedys and Thompsons songs along with traditional music and covers. All the s ...

* 2007: ''The Nuah Suite'' DVD (self-released) * 2007: ''Season of the Witch'' (self-released via

CD Baby CD Baby, Inc. is an online distributor of independent music. The company was described as an "anti-label" by its parent company's Chief Operating Officer Tracy Maddux. The CD Baby music store was shut down in March 2020 with a statement that "C ...

)

As producers

* 2005: Bedsit Poets - ''The Summer That Changed'' (Bongo Beat) * 2012: Nanci Griffith - ''Trouble in the Fields: An Artists' Tribute to Nanci Griffith'' (Paradiddle Records) * 2012: Nanci Griffith - ''Intersection'' (Proper Records)

As primary artist/song contributor

* 1997: various artists - ''A Holiday Feast, Vol. 2'' (

Hungry For Music Hungry for Music is a charitable organization, charitable nonprofit organization located in Washington, D.C., that works to support music education and cultural enrichment, and acquires and provides musical instruments to underprivileged childrenS ...

) - track 6, "Nothing But a Child" * 1999: various artists - ''Main Stage Live: The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Album'' (

Signature Sounds Signature Sounds Recordings is an independent record label specializing in Americana and modern folk music. Jim Olsen and Mark Thayer founded the label in 1995 to promote acoustic musicians who were playing in Northampton, Massachusetts. Signatu ...

) - track 2, "River of Fallen Stars" * 2000: various artists - ''Full Circle: a Tribute to

Gene Clark Harold Eugene Clark (November 17, 1944 – May 24, 1991) was an American singer-songwriter and founding member of the folk rock band the Byrds. He was the Byrds' principal songwriter between 1964 and early 1966, writing most of the band's best ...

'' ( Not Lame) - track 5, "Here Without You" * 2001: various artists - ''Americana Motel'' (Bay Gumbo) - track 13, "Tell Me How" * 2003: various artists - ''We Are Each Other's Angels'' (Hungry For Music) - track 1–18, "Angels Cry" * 2005: various artists - ''Remembering Rachel: Songs of

Rachel Bissex Rachel Bissex (December 27, 1956 – February 20, 2005) was an American folk singer-songwriter. Her works included "Dancing With My Mother" and "Drive All Night". Death Bissex died in 2005, aged 48, in Burlington, Vermont from breast cancer ...

'' (Rachel Bissex via

CD Baby) The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in October ...

) - track 13, "Hey Marianne" * 2006: various artists - ''Five Way Street: A Tribute to

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", relea ...

'' ( Not Lame) - track 17, "Pretty Girl Why" * 2006: various artists - ''A Case for Case: A Tribute to the Songs of Peter Case'' (Hungry For Music) - track 3–2, "Great Big World" * 2007: various artists - ''Timeless Flyte, a Tribute to

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

: The Byrds Dylan Connection'' (REO) - track 7, " You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" * 2012: various artists - ''Trouble in the Fields: An Artists Tribute to Nanci Griffith'' (Paradiddle) - track 3, "I'm Not Driving These Wheels" * 2017: ''Solo Instrumentals: Top Hits of the Beatles (Pete Kennedy, one track'' (Solo Sounds) * 2017: ''Solo Guitar: Post-Hipster Meditation Hits of the 20th Century (Pete Kennedy, two tracks)'' (Solo Sounds)

References

External links

*
Maura Kennedy's solo page

Pete Kennedy's solo page
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedys, The American folk rock groups American folk musical groups Male–female musical duos Married couples Zoë Records artists The Blue Moon Orchestra members