Kath Bloom

Katherine Bloom is an American folk songwriter based in Litchfield, Connecticut. The daughter of oboist Robert Bloom, Bloom grew up in New Haven, Connecticut, where she studied the cello as a child and started playing the guitar when she was a teenager. Bloom collaborated with Bruce Neumann in the early 1970s, and started to record music with avant-garde guitarist Loren MazzaCane Connors in 1976. Bloom and Connors recorded multiple albums of fragile, simple folk and blues melodies, the majority of which were written by Bloom. She cites Robert Johnson and Lightnin' Hopkins as inspiration in this period. Their collaboration ended in 1984 with the release of their final album Moonlight, of which only 300 copies were pressed. Bloom stopped recording new material soon after her collaboration with Connors ended, and a period of financial hardship followed. A single mother, Bloom focused on raising her children, rarely playing shows outside of New Haven. She began writing songs and recording again in the early 1990s. According to a 2016 interview, Bloom first started touring in 2009, and she enjoys performing now more than she did earlier in her career. Film director Richard Linklater was introduced to Bloom's music through his friend and fellow director Caveh Zahedi sometime in the early 1990s and featured her song "Come Here" in his 1995 film Before Sunrise. Encouraged by Linklater's interest in her music, Bloom started writing new songs and released her first album in over 10 years, titled Come Here: The Florida Years, in 1999. A tribute album titled Loving Takes This Course was released in 2009 and features artists such as Devendra Banhart, Bill Callahan, Mark Kozelek, The Dodos, and Scout Niblett. Presently Bloom trains donkeys and plays with her band Love at Work, which includes longtime collaborator Tom Hanford and husband Stan Bronski, offering musical programs for children and adults as well as playing solo shows in the Northeastern U.S. Bloom has been working with children since 1989. She lives in Litchfield, Connecticut. With Loren Mazzacane Gifts LP, Daggett Records, 1978 Fields LP, Daggett Records, 1978 Hanford, Bloom And Mazzacane LP (with Tom Hanford), Daggett Records, 1981 Listen to the Blues 7-inch EP (with Tom Hanford), Daggett Records, 1981 Pushin' Up Daisies 7-inch EP, Daggett Records, 1982 'Round His Shoulders Gonna Be A Rainbow LP, Daggett Records, 1982 Sing the Children Over LP, Ambiguous Records, 1982 Guitar Pieces cassette, Daggett Records, 1983 Sand in My Shoe LP, St. Joan Records, 1983 Restless Faithful Desperate LP, St. Joan Records, 1984 Moonlight LP, St. Joan Records, 1984 Solo Come Here: The Florida Years CD, self-released, 1999 Terror CD, Chapter Music, 2008 Thin Thin Line CD, Caldo Verde, 2010 It's Just a Dream CD, self-released reissue, 1996, 2011 Here I Am CD, Caldo Verde, 2012 Somewhere in California CD, Vow Records, 2014 Pass Through Here CD, Chapter Music, 2015 This Dream of Life CD, Caldo Verde, 2017 Bye Bye These Are The Days LP Dear Life Records, 2020 Compilations 1981-1984 CD, Megalon Records, 2000 Finally CD, Chapter Music, 2006 Sing the Children Over / Sand in My Shoe 2-CD, Chapter Music, 2008 Restless Faithful Desperate / Moonlight 2-CD, Chapter Music, 2009 Tribute albums Loving Takes This Course 2-CD, Chapter Music, 2009 "Kath Bloom Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More ..." AllMusic. Retrieved November 14, 2024. Gubala, Christina. "KATH BLOOM: LIKE WHITE LIGHTNING". Larecord.com. Osborn, Melissa (1 September 2008). "Kath Bloom Feels Lost and Found". Dazed. "Kath Bloom on Chapter Music". Chaptermusic.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2024. "Explore America: Celebrity Travel Spotlight with Singer-Songwriter Kath Bloom". HuffPost. 25 September 2012.