DK&theJoyMachine's new, eclectic album, SHY ONE ---ranging from Americana, alt-folk, to punk, has been described as "...intense, colorful and diverse ... a novel of sorts. Dark, light, humorous & humble. " Her "quirky and smart" songs celebrate all the crucial things in life: unrequited love, falling in love with feral cats, and treating yourself with kindness. Known for her sultry, soul-full voice, well crafted songs, and genre-blending, innovative work on mountain dulcimer---plucking, strumming, bowing and “rocking out” on this trad instrument, “DK”'s music is at turns evocative, moving, playful and fun. Her first studio recording, the EP, "Love Harder," released in January 25th, 2013, was described by VENTS magazine as "an album with heart, ...beauty, and passion. In every chord, note, or string you can feel poetry, sincerity, greatness... a record to closely pay attention to and be delighted by." Mid-East Mountain Dulcimer champion, “DK“ also won first place on “The Joy Machine” in the Great Trails Dulcimer contest in her 20s. After being on hiatus for 15 years, she came back to performing with a gusto in 2012, writing new, innovative material and further pushing the boundaries on this trad instrument, brining it out of the mountains and into the big city. As a teen, "DK" made her first dulcimer out of cardboard, from a kit, with fret wires out of bent nails. Once she got her hands on a real wood dulcimer, she gave up guitar to focus exclusively on the instrument that stole her heart. “The dulcimer is sweet, earthy and mournful, haunting and unique in the West (other than the hurdy-gurdy) as being the only stringed instrument with a drone (like a Western sitar or stringed bag pipe). So many songwriters play guitar---I was drawn to something different. I still am." Already an accomplished song writer and composer, for eight years, while living in Dublin, Ireland, she adopted Irish tunes for dulcimer, playing in trad sessions and traditional Americana on the stage, including with Hank Halfhead and the Rambling Turkeys. After returning to the US and winning first place in several dulcimer contests, she went on hiatus for nearly two decades. During this time she worked as a writer, union organizer, and activist. After being told by her cat (via a cat whisperer) that she should sing more and a statue of five Ganesha miraculously appeared in her home via an Indian holy man---each playing an instrument, DK took this (and other signs, such as breaking up with her girlfriend and seeing Amy Ray live in concert for the first time) as divine intervention and began singing and playing again, writing new material and performing out on dulcimer since April, 2012. Since then, she has been a featured performer at venues and festivals in NYC, Paris (France), Germany, Cambridge (MA), Washington, DC, and Atlanta, Asheville, and Athens, GA. In addition to creating her own music, DK is also an arts activist, curating THE SONGBIRD SERIES--a monthly show promoting the best in women artists.