Read this story to see pictures of Kath Bloom's cute pets. by Audrey Vann Kath Bloom is as open and honest as her intimate folk songs. Inviting me to call her on a Wednesday afternoon at her home in Connecticut, Bloom picked up the phone with the warmth of a faraway relative, asking me just as many questions about myself as I asked about her. While my goal was to talk about her upcoming Pacific Northwest tour, and nosily ask about her artistic process, the reality was a fluid conversation with a true artist—someone who doesn’t see their art as something to promote, sell, or explain, but an internal monologue that’s constantly flowing through her. “Writing is going through me all the time,” she explained. “It pretty much takes over my being.”  While Bloom did not technically invent the concept of emotionally heavy acoustic music, she does it unlike anyone else. You can put on any one of her songs, and hear her voice quiver on the edge of tears or ecstasy (see: “How It Rains,” “What If I Found Out,” and “Love Makes It All Worthwhile”). She imbues every song with radical intimacy, sexuality, and tenderness. If you’re a fan of contemporary singer-songwriters like Adrienne Lenker, Angel Olsen, or Phoebe Bridgers, I encourage you to spend some time with Bloom's music and absorb the art of a woman who has always been ahead of her time.  Kath Bloom grew up in a musical household (her father is renowned oboist Robert Bloom) playing guitar and cello, but it was her collaborations with avant-garde guitarist Loren Mazzacane Connors in the mid-1970s that brought on opportunities to record and release full-length albums. Bloom and Connors released seven albums between 1978 and 1984, consisting of timeless folk music that showcases Bloom’s soprano vocal range and personal lyricism as well as the duo’s ability to telepathically communicate through their guitars. When I asked Bloom if they were still in touch, she explained: “I have no idea what Loren is up to anymore. His wife did not allow our relationship—it wasn’t a sexual relationship. Maybe you can tell, but when I play with someone, I go kind of deep. That's what music is to me. It's not good unless you do so. But it's not because I wanted him. I’ve known Loren for years and years. We met when I was 26. I just know him. I know his playing. But then that all came between. I got married. He got married.” Several years after their musical collaboration ended, Bloom was raising her sons among the scenic orange groves of remote Florida when she got a call from director Richard Linklater asking to use her song “Come Here” in his 1995 romantic drama Before Sunrise (starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy). Reinvigorated by the interest in her music, Bloom self-released a few solo albums, including Love Explosion the Florida Years (a compilation of songs from two of her early solo albums, Love Explosion (1993) and Come Here: The Florida Years (1999), followed by numerous albums on Mark Kozelek’s (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon) label Caldo Verde, and long-running Australian indie label Chapter Music. Chapter Music also released a tribute album of Bloom’s music including covers from contemporary admirers Bill Callahan, Devendra Banhart, Scout Nibblet, and Josephine Foster.  When I asked Bloom if she’d be focusing on newer or older music on her upcoming tour, she sharply replied: “Are you talking about ‘Come Here?’ I'm not gonna sing ‘Come Here.’ But, I might play ‘Fall Again,’ and that’s basically the same song.” We both laughed.  Bloom shared with me some of the songs she’s most proud of penning, including “Blinded,” “At Last,” and “Finally.” She added, “One of my favorite songs that I do at almost every gig is ‘Just Can’t Handle It,’” she explained, “I like doing that one because I always feel that way.” Given her ties to experimental and underground folk scenes, you might be surprised to learn Bloom’s love of pop music. “I like pop stars,” she offered. “I like Lady Gaga—she’s brave and she’s brazen and she’s really a great singer.” She also described a popular country artist but struggled to remember the name. Later in our conversation she said, “And the guy I was thinking of—the songwriter—his name is Shaboozey.” Adding, “His music is kind of addictive.” One thing that became very clear as I pried for music, literature, and art recommendations was that she finds more inspiration in animals and nature than anything else. Bloom, who has spent much of her life amongst the pastoral hills and fields of rural Connecticut training unbroken and unwanted horses, detailed: “As I age, I need people and company, but I really need sky and the trees. It's not all people. It's not all humans on this earth. I also love animals. I am literally brought to tears when I pet my cat. I don't know why, but I’m doing it now. I just feel a lot of emotion over animals. I’m tearing up right now. Animals are so grounding.” Now in her seventies, Bloom no longer trains wild horses but resides in her longtime Connecticut home surrounded by family with her dog Shuggie and her cat Lazarus. She also teaches weekly music lessons at a local preschool: “I love working with children between two and four—it’s sort of my specialty. They don't compare themselves to each other. It's such a refreshing break, to get away from everyone's worries about what everyone thinks about them all the time, or being better than somebody else. That isn’t where art comes from.” Nowadays, Bloom primarily tours alongside New Haven-based guitarist David Shapiro. The duo will embark on their Pacific Northwest tour at the end of the month, swinging through Portland, Olympia, Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham, and San Juan Island, as well as a few dates in Canada. Don’t miss her performance at Belltown Yacht Club on Saturday, March 29, at 8 pm with support from Abbey Blackwell and Rob Joynes. Before I hung up, Kath promised to send over some photos of her pets and requested that I do the same.  Kath Bloom and her pets. COURTESY OF KATH BLOOM Kath Bloom plays Belltown Yacht Club Saturday, March 29, 8 pm, $25, 21+. ...read more read less