Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Farmer.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Kate. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Well I’ve been singing since before I could talk, and it came so naturally to me, but I’ve struggled with myself to accept this path. I was raised in the tiny mountain town of Jamestown, CO. Music is woven into the fabric of the community there, and most people played, if only just for fun. My parents are both talented musicians, and there were many late-night jams in our garage when I was young. So I had an amazing community and a lot of positive musical influences in my young life. That feeling of a supportive musical community is something that I still cherish on a deep level, and influences pretty much everything I do. I started performing around age 9, and I was just sure that was it for me.
But as I got older, I received a lot of messages that discouraged me (see next question). So I went HARD in the other direction and became an accountant. I went to college and did the “safest” thing I could think of. After college, I became a CPA, and I was barely playing music at all.
During that time I was severely depressed, even though on paper it looked like I was doing amazing. I had a really hard time admitting to myself that I didn’t enjoy my carefully planned, “safe” life. I started writing the occasional song during this time because all that pain needed somewhere to go.
It took a while, but eventually, I quit my job, moved back home and started playing guitar. My sister, Sara Jane, and I had been performing as The Farmer Sisters sort of casually, but we started getting more serious about it. I also joined a collective of songwriters who performed at the Laughing Goat once a month and met a lot of Boulder/Longmont area singer-songwriters. My life was filled with harmony (literally), and I started to get this homey feeling of being embraced and supported by a loving community again. That’s what I had been missing.
So now I’m based out of Boulder and performing as a solo artist, and I’m getting a band together behind me for the first time. We’re debuting at the Gold Hill Inn on November 3rd. I also sing backup harmonies for several local acts, including Foxfeather, Antonio Lopez Band and Kyle Donovan. The community element is what keeps me coming back to music, and I wouldn’t want to do it without that. I leave so many shows with my cheeks hurting from laughing so much with my friends. The love and friendship are palpable in so many of these rooms. And it makes me feel like I’m home, finally.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh, hell no! I would say my biggest struggle is my own self-doubt/fear/internal critic. It stopped me from pursuing music during my teens and early twenties, years that I’ll never get back.
Is it crazy to say that I’m afraid of failure AND success? I received two competing messages growing up. One, that music isn’t a real career. It’s too competitive, and you won’t make it. You’ll wind up homeless (the actual words of a teacher). Two, I heard a lot of “nobody likes a show-off.” I absorbed that message at a critical time, and it created in me a sense of shame for thinking I might be good enough to have a career in music. I only realized in the last year or so, that some little voice inside of me believes that I won’t be loved if I pursue music seriously.
I’m working on all of this. I go the therapy and I am not ashamed! And I’ve finally entered a place in my life where I’m afraid, and I do it anyway.
Please tell us more about your music, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I think my distinctive voice is probably the thing that sets me apart at first listen. According to my good friend Liz Berube, it’s “illegal in 28 states.” I feel most like myself when I’m singing, and I think the emotions that I feel very deeply come through. I’ve been known to make barefoot hippies cry, and I’m proud of that.
But I’m most proud when someone connects with my songwriting. I tend to write songs that are geared towards expressing difficult emotions. Talking about things that are hard to talk about. I connect with fiercely vulnerable people, and I’m trying to do that with my music, and life in general. My most recent song is about depression, and I was really afraid to write it. But the feedback I’ve gotten from people who relate, and even some who don’t, makes me feel like I’m doing something worthwhile. I’m so glad that our society is becoming more accepting when it comes to talking about mental illness. As someone who has struggled with depression and anxiety since I was a teenager, I believe it helps to hear others talk about their experiences with it. We’re not alone, and just knowing that gives me the strength to keep fighting. So I hope I can give that gift to someone else, through my music.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
So I define “success” as having a loving community around me, being able to express myself, and making a living with my music (but that comes last for a reason).
And I guess that means my answer would be authenticity and vulnerability. I don’t know if being 100% myself will make me famous or rich or any of the things that people might think of as “success”. Probably not. But my ultimate goal is to feel satisfied with my life. So if I just focus on being my authentic self, and sharing that with others, that will attract the kind of people I want around me. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters in my book.
Pricing:
- $10 at the door
Contact Info:
- Email: katefarmermusic@outlook.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katefarmermusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katefarmermusic/
- Other: https://soundcloud.com/katefarmermusic
Image Credit:
Sal DeVincenzo Photography
Alan Damkoehler Photography
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