Kristen Ward can’t help but smile when mentioning her co-production effort alongside Seattle producer, Brad Zeffren to make her most recent album, “Charles”. The album was recorded entirely in a 70’s era Seattle apartment and was Ward’s first serious recording experience outside of the big studio. “We wanted to do something really different”, she says, “And that’s what we got, a much more intimate record”.

With the exception of a haunting trumpet solo by Billy Joe Huels (The Dusty 45’s), the record was performed entirely by Kristen Ward and Gary Westlake, her right-hand man and beloved guitarist whose credits include work with Peter Frampton, Maurice and the Clichés, Pearl Jam, and Jim Carroll. “The album is a product of my life and could be properly expressed through the very close musical connection I share with Gary”, Ward says. “Gary and I worked on some of those songs for months. Some for years”.

In 2009, Kristen and her band were moving full-steam ahead through the pre-production of “Last Night on Division”, Ward’s much anticipated rock record. The record was to be her third, but things took a sudden turn. Ward shrugs, “ I suppose there were some things I needed to get out. Some things I had to say before I could do a rock record, and I’m glad for it”.

“Charles”, the dreamy and evocative follow-up to Ward’s 2008 sophomore release, “Drive Away”, makes you feel as if you have stepped into a different world altogether. The record channels a certain nostalgia through shimmering acoustic guitars, mandolin and low-twang electric tones. The album’s sparkling centerpiece is undoubtedly Kristen Ward’s voice with all of its power, aching emotion and beauty. The sound is utterly mesmerizing in it’s elegant simplicity. “Charles” is a major artistic step forward for Ward. Powerful themes of love and longing wind together with Ward’s natural and deeply visceral song writing style to create what is the most relevant and important piece to her already powerful musical repertoire.

* * *

Though she considers the Northwest her home, Seattle-based singer-songwriter Kristen Ward was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. At a young age, she and her family moved to the West Coast where she would spend the next 25 years of her life.

As a child, Kristen received a first hand education in songwriting and recording from her mother, a bluegrass/country singer who also pursued a career as a recording artist. Growing up to the sounds of Neil Young, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Johnny Cash, and Linda Rondstadt, she developed a deep love for both folk music and rock and roll.

Her latest album, “Charles”, released in April of 2010, will be Ward’s third release in four short years. During the recording of her 2008 release, “Drive Away”, she won the attention of Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready who made a guest appearance on the album’s third track “With You Again”. “Drive Away” was a turning point in Ward’s career. It was her first record paid for through CD pre-sales alone, which she solicited from fans online, a strategy Kristen has continued to use. In 2006 Kristen put out her debut album “Roll Me On”. “We’ve come a long way since then”, she smiles. And there is no denying that.

Since 2006, Kristen Ward has sung her way straight into the hearts of her ever-growing audience and has shared stages with acts like, Leon Russell, Country Legend Ian Tyson, Mat Kearney, Gillian Welch, and Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek. Ward has performed live and/or recorded with multiple Northwest heavy hitters including, Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Duff McKagan(Guns n’ Roses, Loaded), Andy Stoller ( Tracy Chapman), Gary Westlake (Jim Carroll, Peter Frampton), Kevin Suggs (The Shins, Brandi Carlile, Evangeline) and more. She looks forward to the launch of her boutique, and in her own words “mysterious”, music label MUTT MOAN RECORDS, which Ward says should be up and running sometime in 2010.

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