Wishing Chair, the folk-and-roll partnership of Kiya Heartwood and Miriam Davidson, is known for its haunting harmonies and award winning songs. Whether it's about politics, true love, or Calamity Jane, Wishing Chair has a passion about the truth, about being emotionally available to tell it.
They have been called, a songwriting, string dancing, accordion playing, harmony singing, storytelling, hand drumming, banjo strumming, soul stirring, two woman tour-de-force.
This 2005 release is a culmination of the ten years multi-instrumentalist Davidson and primary songwriter Heartwood have spent finding the balance between their roots and pop sensibilities. Their commitment to the grassroots, to community and finding their own path is reflected in HeartwoodÂ’s songs and the strength of their collaboration.
The songs are a mix of folk, pop and roots and range from
Adagio, which honors the Sarajevo cellist Verdran Smailovic, ballads of Kentucky Civil War guerilla Sue Mundy and Western heroine Calamity Jane to politically charged anthems
Bully Circus and
Outlaw Wedding, and much more.
Mark Hallman of Congress House Studios in Austin, Texas, produced this disc. Hallman is known for his work with Ani DiFranco and Carole King. He recently produced Grammy nominee Eliza Gilkyson. Guest musicians include Eamon McLoughlin and Kym Warner (The Greencards), Cisco Ryder (Eliza Gilkyson), Robert McEntee (Navaro), and Brian Standefer (Patty Griffith).
In the ten years that Wishing Chair has been performing, they have recorded six CDs that include over seventy songs and played over one thousand shows, all as independent, full-time musicians.
Wishing Chair performs all over the United States and Canada at colleges, clubs and festivals including The Bluebird Cafe, The National Women's Music Festival, The Kerrville Folk Festival and the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Their honors include numerous songwriting and performing awards including two out of three songwriting awards at the 2003 South Florida Folk Festival.
The band makes it's home in Stamping Ground, KY.
