Carol Montag Music: A Carol Christmas
Enjoy an evening of Christmas delight! Celebrate the season with traditional Christmas carols, original songs by Carol and extra peppy tunes to get the band hummin' and your toes tappin'! Carol Montag is a performing singer, songwriter, recording artist, and educator. She began singing and performing at an early age in her home church in Ames, Iowa. She studied piano and flute while growing up and later taught herself to play guitar by ear. She drew inspiration from folk legends such as Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, John Denver, Carole King, and many others. These early influences helped shape her distinctive voice as a singer/songwriter rooted in folk and Americana traditions. She earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from Iowa State University and worked several years as a graphic designer at Rockwell International, but her passion for music has always remained at the heart of her journey. Following the birth of her first son, she stepped away from her graphic design role to become a stay-at-home mom and to focus more fully on her music. Before long, she was performing at coffeehouses, conferences, colleges, churches, and music festivals across the Midwest and into Canada. PERFORMANCES Carol has opened for or shared the stage with Arlo Guthrie, Tom Paxton, Jim Post, Michael Johnson, John Stewart, Three Dog Night, David Wilcox, Greg Brown, John Gorka, Cliff Eberhardt, Larry Groce, Kenny Rankin, and others. Notable appearances include The Bluebird Cafe, Nashville, TN, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Great Traditional Music Festival, Bix Beiderbeck Festival, Shawano Folk Festival, the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, Iowa Public Television, The Flea Market with host Jim Post - WBEZ-fm, KCRG and KGAN Television, Live From Studio One - KUNI fm, 19th Street Coffeehouse, Madison, WI, Bluewhale Coffeehouse, Green Bay, WI, Front Porch Music, Valparaiso, IN, No Exit Cafe, Chicago, IL. Carol accompanies herself on both guitar and piano. Her concerts typically feature a blend of original songs, traditional and contemporary folk, and timeless selections from the Great American Songbook, woven together with rich storytelling. She also presents an annual holiday favorite titled, A Carol Christmas, and performs a special Tribute to Joni Mitchell concert. In addition to her performances, Carol also conducts songwriting workshops. DISCOGRAPHY Carol’s discography includes seven albums: Song for Carrie, White, Marigolds, and Strange Ballet feature original music. Second Sermon is a collection of her favorite sacred songs, while Silent Night and Simple Gifts are Christmas recordings made while Carol performed as part of the trio known as Tribute. TOM PAXTON Early in her performance career, Montag was described by folk music legend Tom Paxton as “A genuine discovery! The best thing to come out of Iowa since Bonnie Koloc.” Upon receiving her album Marigolds, he praised the recording as “excellent in songwriting style, performance, and production.” COMMISSIONED WORK Kennet Oberly, former artistic director of Ballet Iowa, recognized Carol’s songwriting talent and commissioned her to compose music for the ballet titled Swallows Return in the Spring. The commissioned work, which depicted the human tragedy of the farm crisis, was well received by critics. Montag performed live with the company on Iowa Public Television and during a Midwestern tour. Carol also collaborated with the LaCrosse Ballet to present The Poems Rachel Wrote a coming-of-age ballet comprised of a collection of Carol's original songs. WORLD FOOD PRIZE PERFORMANCE Carol appeared in the Washington, DC area to perform at a gathering of former Iowans who now call Washington home. At this event, known as Iowa Day, Carol was approached by the president of The World Food Prize (and former U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia), Ken Quinn, who invited her to perform at the 2010 World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony at the Iowa State Capitol. The ceremony was broadcast live by Iowa Public Television. Past performers at The World Food Prize Award Ceremony include such notables as Ray Charles, John Denver, and Simon Estes. AWARDS 2017 SongDoor International Songwriting Competition, Two Honorable Mentions 2015 IMMERSE Artist/Writer Competition GMA (Gospel Music Assoc.), 2nd Place for Best Original Song 2015 & 2011 Walnut Valley Festival New Song Songwriting Competition Winner MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS Carol has won the following film festival awards for her original music video titled Strange Ballet: Best Shorts Competition: Award of Recognition; Nature Without Borders International Film Festival: Outstanding Excellence; The IndieFEST Film Awards: Award of Recognition; Iowa Independent Film Festival: Official Selection; Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival: Silver Eddy. QUOTES “Carol Montag is a genuine discovery and the best to come out of Iowa since Bonnie Koloc.” Upon receiving the album Marigolds he described the recording as “…excellent in songwriting style, performance, and production.” - Tom Paxton, folk music legend “Upon hearing her music I was stunned and couldn’t wait to write about her. Once I even rented a bus and took a bunch of Register reporters and editors on a trip across Iowa to hear Carol sing at Stone City. Carol has a true gift and is a true Iowa treasure. Her music is powerful, beautiful, harmonic, soulful, and real... I’d match her voice and ability to engage an audience with any female vocalist anywhere.” - - Julie Gammack, former Des Moines Register reporter “Carol has the voice of an angel. Her songs are timeless, transporting, lovely, and evocative. Lyrically wise and uplifting.” - Robert Lindsey-Nassif, Broadway composer, lyricist, and playwright “Carol writes and sings from the heart about places in all our hearts. She charmed us, humbled us, and we all made a friend.” - Clay Riness, The Earfood Entertainer “A singer of new songs written by her for her. Carol is not folk or blues or modern, she cannot be categorized, she must be heard.” - Lloyd Moffitt, The Burlington Hawk Eye “Carol has a touch of homespun about her, but she takes the stage like a pro.” - Chuck Mitchell, songwriter and actor “What I love about Carol Montag’s songs is that they all tell a story.” - Lila Bubin, The Coe College Cosmos