Kateri Farrell shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Kateri, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
Recently, I did my first solo gig where I’m incorporating flute and vocals but also adding in percussion, keys/synth, guitar and alto flute. I am proud of doing a 3 hour set where I made all loops live and crafted the songs on the spot. I just focused on having fun and learning from the experience; it ended up being an amazing experience and I am looking forward to doing more gigs like this!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Kateri Farrell and I am a vocalist, flute player, songwriter, pianist and educator. I am a fairly unique musician in that my main instrument is flute and, though I am classically trained and do play this genre, my main work consists of playing in funk, soul, r&b, rock and reggae bands. At the start of 2023, I joined Stephen Marley’s acoustic band as his flute player and backup vocalist and tour internationally with this group. This has been an incredible experience for me and has greatly influenced my career and my songwriting.
I love playing and singing for other artists and sessions but my new focus has been on songwriting and becoming an artist myself. I have led my own jazz and funk/soul band for several years as a lead singer/flute player and am now shifting from playing only covers/standards to originals which has been very exciting and very rewarding for me. My first single as an artist was released in late 2023 and can be found anywhere you stream music under my artist name Kateri Farrell. It is titled “I Choose You” and is a soulful 90’s r&b vibe love song that is a message of empowerment through the power of choosing love in any form.
My newest project is an album I have been working on with a highly respected producer/musician from the reggae/dancehall scene and we are crafting some soulful reggae songs that I am very excited to share. We are thrilled to be releasing our first single from this project very soon-so stay tuned!
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
Growing up, I used to do Irish step dancing and this involved a lot of performances and competitions where I danced in front of a lot of people. Though I had been performing in front of others since I was very young, I would still occasionally get nervous. There was this one performance where I completely brain farted and forgot my steps. I got so embarrassed that I ran out of the configuration and hugged my mom who was in the crowd. She encouraged me to go back which did help me, however I remember this moment very vividly because I was so embarrassed and was TERRIFIED of going back out there. Instead of staying with my mom, I took a deep breath, held my head up high and ran back out there to finish the dance with my peers. It may seem trivial, but this was such a big moment for me who grew up such a shy, quiet girl afraid to speak her voice much of the time. I was very proud that I swallowed my pride and proved that I can make mistakes and learn from them instead of shying away. This was an invaluable lesson that I’m grateful to have learned and continue to keep learning and applying to my life now.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes. Back in 2021 to 2022, I was having a lot of serious health issues which made it nearly impossible for me to pursue music. I could barely sing or play flute and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to continue being a musician or be able to provide for myself. I spent so much time and money trying to heal and came so close to giving up, but some flame inside me, though very small, still burned strong and I am so grateful I was able to persevere and not give up. Eventually, I was able to start finding solutions to feeling better and now I am very passionate about spreading the knowledge I learned through this process with other people who may be struggling with similar conditions.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
I try to keep my public image as honest as possible. I’m not trying to pretend to be someone else and, though I don’t share tons of personal things on my social media at the moment, I intend to keep my image honest and real. I have always admired artists who are vulnerable enough to do this, even when it is tempting to change to conform to what someone else may think or look like. But I firmly believe in keeping my image the real me.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What will you regret not doing?
I would definitely regret if I did not pursue my career as an artist seriously. I have plans and goals to share more of my original music with the world and to tour and perform globally. Writing and releasing music has felt so right for me and I am excited to continue on this journey of spreading love, good vibes and hopefully inspiring many along the way as I pursue my purpose!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.katerimusic.com
- Instagram: @Katericanary
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Katerifarrellmusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@katerifarrell
Image Credits
Photographers:
Tizzy Tokyo
Seji Itaru Inouye
Tommy Mattox
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
