Kathy Barwick & Pete Siegfried, the hottest new acoustic duo in northern California, combine years of experience into a compelling, highly entertaining duet sound that ranges from the Monroe Brothers and other “brother duets” of the 1930s to such iconic modern partnerships as Buddy and Julie Miller and Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. Kathy and Pete, aka the Mountain Laurel Duet, blend bluegrass, old-time country, folk and even a bit of rock into an engaging Americana fusion. Kathy Barwick, a native of Sacramento and now a Grass Valley resident, has been widely hailed over the past 30 years as one of California’s most versatile acoustic musicians, known for her work in bluegrass, Americana and traditional Irish music. An award-winning multi-instrumentalist who’s adept on guitar, banjo, dobro, bass and mandolin, Barwick was a founding member of the All Girl Boys, a popular all-female bluegrass quintet, and has also worked with such bands as Nine-8ths Irish and the Mike Justis Band, as well as with Pete in the bluegrass band Mountain Laurel. Her first solo album, In My Life, was released in 2011 by FGM Music. Pete Siegfried, a Pennsylvania native who has lived in Grass Valley since the 1970s, founded the bluegrass band Mountain Laurel in 1989 and sang lead vocals and played mandolin in the popular quintet until it disbanded in 2011. Mountain Laurel performed widely throughout northern California and Nevada, playing most of the leading festivals in the region, earning Pete a reputation as a peerless singer with a soaring and expressive tenor voice. Mountain Laurel recorded three albums: Another Sunny Day in California, Trouble in the Mine and It’s About Time.