During the dark days of the pandemic, The Kennedys began offering their fans a weekly livestream show featuring 90 minutes or more of songs for all manner of themes and occasions. As of October 20, 2024 there have been 153 livestreams posted on YouTube, the last of which celebrated not only Maura Kennedy’s birthday but also her and Pete’s 30th wedding anniversary. Thus, Maura got to name those tunes, adding to the list of 1,086 songs they have played so far over the course of the series. The list of all the songs can be found on one of the pages of their website while the full livestreams are archived on their YouTube channel.
Besides the dozen or so songs played during each episode, listeners will hear the dialogue between them, sometimes witty, always knowledgeable and personable. This latest entry in the exclusive AUK series of mini-gigs is akin to a snapshot of a Kennedys’ livestream. You’ll hear them play four of their own compositions, recorded at their private studio in Tarrytown New York, on the Hudson River.
Pete and Maura Kennedy took the long and winding road to upstate New York. Maura is originally from Syracuse (New York), and Pete hails from Arlington, Virginia. They met in Austin, Texas in 1992, but didn’t officially come together as an act until Maura joined Pete in the UK when he was playing in Nanci Griffith’s band. They began opening shows for Griffith and the rest of their story you can read all about in this in-depth interview, posted in the July 19, 2024 AUK.
In this mini-gig, you’ll see Pete and Maura in their element, offering their brand of multi-genre songs handpicked for AUK viewers. The beautiful instruments they play on all selections are Gibson acoustic guitars – Maura’s a J200, Pete’s a J185. Both guitars were designed by Ren Ferguson at the Gibson Montana workshop and feature the classic Gibson cherry finish.
The Kennedys are congenial, well-informed storytellers, but you clicked here to listen to their music and, in order, this is what you will hear (notes by Maura and Pete).
1) ‘Life is Large’ (Co-written, started by Maura)
Hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, looking down from the peak of Stony Man, reflecting on the vast expanse of nature in comparison with the smaller things that we humans get hung up about.
2) ‘Late September Breeze’ (Written by Maura)
Hiking in early Autumn 2021, thinking about our recently departed mentor Nanci Griffith, with whom we shared a long history of travel, friendship and creative work. A song about change…
3) ‘The Woods and the Wild’ (written by Pete)
Using an old-school gospel music style to celebrate nature.
4) ‘Midnight Ghost’ (Co-written, started by Pete)
Based on a passage from Jack Kerouac’s 1958 semi-autobiographical novel “The Dharma Bums,” in which he rides a freight train up the California coast from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
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Pete and Maura are offering all of their remaining stock of CD releases dating back almost three decades for just $10 each with the notable full-price exception being the latest, “Headwinds.” Order on line at: Kennedys CD sale.
