Biography

The New Karp-Foley CD Release
to Benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

The Karp-Foley Band is excited to announce the release of a double live CD to benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (www.OCRF.org). The double CD set, Live for Hope, features live performances by acclaimed blues/Americana musicians, Peter Karp and Sue Foley. The September, 2015 release date coincides with Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
The first CD in the set, Peter Karp’s The Arson’s Match, was originally broadcast live on Sirius Satellite Radio during a 2004 performance at the historic Bottom Line in New York City to a sold out audience. Backed by a glowing ensemble of consummate talent, Karp, a masterful slide guitarist and exhilarating vocalist, teams up with guitarist Mick Taylor of the legendary Rolling Stones. Together, Karp and his Roadshow Band put forth an inspired performance of some of Karp’s finest original songs.

The second CD, Change by Sue Foley, is an award-winning, live acoustic blues CD recorded in 2004 at Toronto’s preeminent listening room and live music venue, Hugh’s Room. Change is a notable departure from Foley’s distinguishable high energy, soulful blues-rock sound and reveals her softer and more playful side. This CD earned Foley three Maple Blues Awards including Recording of the Year.
All proceeds from the sale and download of the CD set will benefit the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund in loving memory of Peter Karp’s late wife, Mary Lou Karp, who died from the disease in 2009.

“Mary Lou Bonney Karp was a remarkable writer, a poet, a daughter, a mother and my wife of 25 years. In June of 2009 she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She died 9 months later on Feb, 17 2009. While she had vague and disconnected symptoms for years, no one saw it coming. She was misdiagnosed (which happens often) with a back problem. This CD is to honor her memory. Before Mary Lou became sick, we knew nothing about ovarian cancer. Now I know that it is a vicious, silent killer of woman and that the only way to stop it is to spread the word about early detection.” — Peter Karp

"We are really happy to be able to donate our two live CD's to raise money and awareness for ovarian cancer research. Knowing the loss that Peter and his family suffered through brought the pain and destruction of this devastating disease to light. This is the beginning of our pursuit to give back through donating our music and organizing concerts and fundraisers, with the ultimate goal of stamping out ovarian cancer for good."
— Sue Foley


BIOGRAPHIES

Peter Karp
Considered one of the finest contemporary Americana and blues artists around, singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist Peter Karp has carved out his own unique niche. At once funny, poignant, irreverent, romantic and always true to life, Karp’s compositions reflect his own intriguing backstory. Raised both in the swamps of New Jersey and rural trailer parks in Southern Alabama, Karp masterfully crafts music fueled with a Yankee-Rebel juxtaposition by infusing genuine emotion, humor and candor in a setting of exquisitely performed rhythms and compelling vocalization. As a songwriter Karp first garnered national attention and critical acclaim through his collaboration with guitarist Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones who recorded and toured with Karp on his first label release, The Turning Point. His next national release, Shadows and Cracks, has Karp sharing the main stage with venerable Delbert McClinton, New Orleans-based roots rock band, The Subdudes, and Grammy winning, blues great, Keb Mo. Karp’s unmistakable lyrical style, consummate handling of the slide guitar and his propensity for dynamic performances have made him a remarkably rare talent in American roots music.

Sue Foley
Sue Foley is one of the one of the finest blues and roots artists working today. Foley spent her early childhood in Canada, mesmerized by her father’s guitar and started her professional career at sixteen. By twenty-one, Foley was living in Austin, TX and recording for Antone’s — the esteemed blues label and historic nightclub that helped launch the career of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Her first release, Young Girl Blues, quickly rooted her unique talents as a proficient blues guitarist, inspired songwriter and captivating vocalist. Foley has toured steadily with her band, toting her signature pink paisley Fender Telecaster—working and sharing the stage with greats such as BB King, Buddy Guy, Lucinda Williams and Tom Petty. In 2001, She won the prestigious Juno Award (Canadian equivalent of the Grammy) for her CD, Love Coming Down. Foley also holds the record for the most Maple Blues Awards (seventeen) and has earned three Trophees de Blues de France.


PRESS QUOTES

"The chemistry between the two is palpable. Delaney & Bonnie? Conway & Loretta? More like Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. The whole point is that, while onstage, they're the equal, in their chosen Americana genre, of anybody. It's magic." — Goldmine Magazine

"Guys like Peter Karp, James Taylor and Bob Dylan embody Americana Blues and U.S. English guys are inspired by it. It was a great night of music.” —Mick Taylor - The Rolling Stones

“Foley has a killer voice, an impossibly alluring blend of sex and innocence to go with those blazing guitar chops.” — Philadelphia Enquirer

"Peter Karp should be a lot better known than he is. It's tempting to say he combinesJohn Prine's wordplay, Joe Ely's rocking instincts, Billy Joe Shaver's fatalistic outlook,Tim McGraw's good looks, and an expressive tenor that combines the fire of a youngSteve Earle and the lazy drawl of Mose Allison, but that wouldn't be right. Peter Karp is his own man, an artist who blends roots music styles into something that combines and transcends blues, country, rock, honky tonk, R& B, swamp, swing, and jazz.” — All Music Guide

“Unplugged, but electrifying nonetheless, Canada-based blues woman Sue …delivers her most inspired and undoubtedly most intimate album to date. Foley digs into personal blues favorites, dusty obscurities,new songs, and even a George Harrison cover. Delta blues, Piedmont-style finger-picking…mesh in a set that easily shifts from shyly sensitive to sadly ruminative...as she sings with loose-limbed confidence, helping to create an uninhibited
feel that jumps out of the grooves.” — Blues Revue

“Ottawa’s Sue Foley and Nashville bluesman Peter Karp shuffle over homemade grit…inhabiting the middle ground between her Fender backbone and his compositional acumen.” — Austin Chronicle