MUSIC

McGonigel's Mucky Duck presents Kat Edmonson.

Kat Edmonson’s sophomore album Way Down Low is out now. Self-released on Kat's label Spinnerette Records, the album debuted #1 onBillboard’s Heatseekers Chart and has sold over 10k albums in its first two months. Today, Nylon.com premiered her new video for lead single "I Don't Know" which was also directed by Edmonson. Following sold-out shows at New York's Joe's Pub and Boston's Scullers Jazz Club, Edmonson has added new dates including taped performances on Austin City Limits, NPR’s World Café and WoodSongs.

On Way Down Low, the native Texan makes not only her songwriting debut but also co-produces the album with Danton Boller. She performs with Lyle Lovett on the title track “Long Way Home” which Entertainment Weekly calls “an airy country duet.” The album was recorded at the historic Avatar Studio and Capitol Studios with Grammy-winning producer/engineer Al Schmitt (Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Sam Cooke) and includes input from producer Phil Ramone (Paul Simon, Billy Joel).

The Texas native grew up in Houston with a mother who introduced her to the Great American Songbook. Determined to be a singer, she auditioned for American Idol during its second season, but soon returned from Hollywood to Austin. Back in Texas, Kat became a regular at the Elephant Room, a premier Austin club, building a following and making musical connections that energized her career. Her self- released 2009 debut album Take To the Sky hit the top 20 on Billboard’s jazz charts, adding enough juice that she found herself playing gigs with Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett.

A musical kinship with Lyle led to a high-profile duet on the Christmas classic “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” which the pair performed together on tour as well as on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. On her tour with Lovett, Kat opened nightly, performing songs on which she’d begun writing and working. This set the stage for Way Down Low, her second record and first to include her original material.