Ripon College Days

Media Credit: Photo courtesy katemorrissey.com A Homecoming 2003 graduate and singer/songwriter Kate Morrissey, shown here on her album cover, returns to perform her original material. [Click to enlarge]

Kate Morrissey, singer/songwriter and 2003 Ripon graduate, will perform in the Terrace Nov. 30 beginning at 8 p.m. This is her first performance at Ripon since graduating.

"I'm excited to play at Ripon College; I enjoyed my time there," Morrissey says. "I still have friends working and attending school there, and I look forward to sharing my new work with them."

One of her final Ripon shows was held in the library, where senior Aaron Park, then a first year, also played.

"I think she's been gone just long enough to make it cool that she's coming back to play at her college," says Park.

Now finished with graduate school, Morrissey says she has more time to book longer tours. "I thought that coming through Ripon would be a good opportunity."

Morrissey's tour brings her not only to Ripon but to other locations throughout the Midwest including Oshkosh, Chicago and a few stops in Minnesota.

"I love touring. It's an adventure," she says. "I have made a lot of friends around the country, which is a delight."

Morrissey started to work on her craft at a very young age. "I remember writing awful songs just for vocals in first grade."

She recorded her first album in high school, buying studio time with pooled birthday money from her twin sister and herself.

"By college I was playing shows with some regularity on the weekends, and that has continued," she says.

Recently she has released more albums including her 2001 demo "An Open I" and her 2004 album "A Girl in Winter."

"My songs are deceptively calm on the surface, but the words often are surprising and sometimes funny. It is an exploration of the human condition," she says.

"I think she's pretty creative in the way she bounces her vocals off of her piano," Park says. "Her work is interesting."

Morrissey's style has been compared to the likes of Tori Amos, Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLachlan and Alanis Morissette. To listen to song bites, check out her tour dates, photos and other links, visit Morrissey's website at www.katemorrissey.com.

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