sixties folk, women’s music, 70’s rock, Tom Lehrer, Malvina Reynolds, Tupac, Charlie King, Holly Near, Broadway musicals, Bach, George Moustaki, Aref, Harry Belafonte
Sounds Like
Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Crystal Gayle, Juice Newton, Nana Mouskouri, Karla Bonoff, Dolly Parton
Kristin Lems is a versatile composer, songwriter, folksinger, performing artist, and keynote speaker with 20+ years of professional performing experience. Equally at home before vast crowds or in small living rooms, she has shared the stage with two First Ladies, Maya Angelou, Captain Jacques Cousteau, Gloria Steinem, Helen Caldicott, Arun Gandhi, Greg Palast, Dolores Huerta, and Alan Alda, and was even featured on Nightline. Musicians include Pete Seeger, the BoDeans, Malvina Reynolds, Gil Scott Heron, Holly Near, Dan Fogelberg, Laura Love, Koko Taylor, Peter Paul and Mary, Michele Shocked, and Simon Townshend, among others.
REVIEWS: New Yorker magazine called Kristin "a charmer in the most literal and least artificial sense of the word."
Gloria Steinem called Kristin "a one woman argument against the notion that the women’s movement doesn’t have a sense of humor."
The Illinois Times said, "Kristin not only has a beautiful voice, clear, crisp and forceful, but she is a very creative and thoughtful lyricist."
And of Kristin’s performances, The Evansville Courier said, "the performance was simple yet substantive, humorous, yet poignant, and always energetic and warm."
RECORDINGS: In addition to 6 full length CDs of original songs on her own Carolsdatter Productions label, Kristin has an album on Rounder Records and is part of the Grammy-nominated The Best of Broadside, on Smithsonian/Folkways. She is also featured in My Thoughts are Free with Dan Barker from Freedom from Religion Foundation, and appears in the award-winning video documentary Radical Harmonies, where she talks about founding the National Women’s Music Festival and sings original songs.
COVERS: Her songs have been recorded by Butch Hancock, Voices, The LA Women’s Community Choir, and others, and have been aired on TV and movie soundtracks, on Car Talk, and especially by Dr. Demento, who regularly spins her classic "Mammary Glands." Her tribute to American farm women, "Farmer," was written up in an Ann Landers column.
PUBLICATIONS: Kristin’s songs appear in Here’s to the Women, Rise up Singing, Sing Out! Songs for Earthlings, Broadside, Rounds Galore, the Wobblies’ Little Red Songbook, and Pulling our Own Strings, among other collections.
AWARDS: Awards include the "Woman of Illinois Repute" of the Illinois Women’s Agenda, the President’s Award of Illinois NOW, the Humanist Heroine Award of the American Humanist Association, the Freethought Heroine Award of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and the Founder’s Award of the Women in the Arts Foundation. She is also a former Fulbright Scholar.
Kristin sings in the Persian language and performs for Iranian and Afghan cultural events, as well as in French, Spanish and other languages. She performs in restaurants and rallies, school assemblies and scholarly conventions, but especially enjoys working with others to help make the world a better place.
Carolsdatter Productions/847-864-0737 kristinsong@yahoo.com, www.kristinlems.com
