Cathy Speer

Portland Celtic singer Cathy Speer loves Scotland. “I love everything about it,” she says. “Ever since I started listening to Fiona Ritchie on her radio show ‘The Thistle & Shamrock’ some 24 years ago, it became clear to me that this was the kind of music I should be singing.”

The genre suits Cathy well. With her soft, lilting voice, she is adept at communicating the lyric and feeling of a given song to the listener. She also writes her own songs. Cathy’s repertoire is about two-thirds traditional and one-third original material. Influenced at a young age by her grandmother’s bluegrass background and Scottish roots, Cathy grew up listening to her harmonies and country fiddle playing. “I love vocal harmonies,” she says. “I didn’t have much opportunity to emphasize that on my cd ‘Celtic Tradition‘, but wish to add more of that on future recordings.”

Cathy Speer was born in Utah and raised in the Northwest. She picked up her first guitar at age 13 and has been playing & writing songs ever since. Her gentle guitar picking style suits her voice and the songs she enjoys singing and writing.

Cathy will be performing this year at the Portland Scottish Highland Games in Gresham on Saturday, July 21st. Be sure to catch her there!
Learn more about Cathy at her website www.cathyspeer.com