On June 30th Katie Ann released her new album Driven and had a rocking party to celebrate. We've got Katie Ann here in the studio to talk about the experience.
"Since I didn't have a record release party for my first album, The Ride, I was determined to make up for that loss with my new album. It's an incredible feeling to watch my dreams unfold in front of me and perform through those adrenaline filled motions and good vibes."
With a packed house and the comedian Paula Poundstone performing right before her the pressure was on to raise the bar and show people what she's made of. The record release party was a three-act performance.
The first act consisted of just 4 of Katie's many students performing solo pop tunes and duets together. The crowd loved the tenderness of children singing and connected with Katie's musical mission.
"I'm motivated to teach people how to play music and keep the tradition of playing piano and reading notation alive. It's a beautiful thing to work with families and watch them come together over the joy of music. Through the good notes and the bad. No one learns over night, it's a long process that shows kids to patiently persist on, practicing until triumphing, one song at a time."
The second act got the walls rumbling with a 4-piece band consisting of tremendous talent from Buffalo. Katie Ann on keys and vocals, Grace Lougen on guitar, Declan Miers on bass and Steve Rao on drums.
"This was the highlight of my night. For the first time ever I got to perform my original music with a band and people loved the enhanced performance. Performing with a band is something I plan on doing a lot more of from now on. I was truly blessed to play with such talented and professional players for this event and on the album."
Check out this video from the record release party of the band performing the new song Mighty King featuring guest harmonica player Bobby Angel.
The finals set was a hip-hop duo with Katie Ann and MC ZiLL. The crowd was moving and getting wild with their infectious feel-good vibes, carelessly dancing the night away.
"My comfort level significantly drops when I perform with my husband by my side. The energy we share on stage is a special connection that's alluring. We're very happy and the crowd picks up on that. I've been with my husband for 5 years now and he's never missed a single show. He's my rock."
Preach Freedom joined the couple on stage for a few songs. He's featured in the song Sweet Memories produced by Katie Ann and free-styled a few songs with MC ZiLL. It was an unexpected twist that intrigued the crowd and made them not want to stop. An encore ended the night with the first song Katie and ZiLL wrote together called Strong Am I and concluded with Free Reign, a mellow radio friendly song from the new album.
Preview the new album Driven here.
Check out the full photo gallery from the record release party here!
For press inquiries and album reviews email musicbykatieann@gmail.com