Kate Hurley Bio

To my friends and the friends I have not yet met....

Thank you for visiting my website! I hope that you are a here because I have touched your life somehow...either by my music or with my friendship. I am honored that you are taking the time to be here. Let me tell you a little more about the journey I am on...

I grew up in a mountain town in Colorado, surrounded by beauty. I was very shy. I laughed sometimes. I cried even more. I had to grow up very fast. 

When I think of what gave me solace in that time, the three things that come to mind are the old rickety upright piano in our living room that I would play for hours and hours, the big wheel I would ride around our deck with my brother Will, and the very old picture of Jesus that my great grandfather brought over from Ireland. Those three things are now the things still bring me joy...writing and playing music that I hope declares beauty to my community and to other communities, the friends and family around the world that make my life meaningful,  and the faith that has been my lifeline, my hope, my everything. 

In 2002, I began touring as full time musician. What mixed emotions come with the touring lifestyle!  Seeing the incredible passion and commonality of communities around the world.   The complexity and frustration of feeling like your community is composed of 26 different families, all who live in different states. The experience of knowing the kindness of strangers on a daily basis. To get to see how many people are trying to make the world a better place. Feeling like it takes a lot of work to know any one person really really well when you are barely ever in one place for very long. Getting to see the world, all the pain and all the beauty that is there. Getting to understand my own heart, all the pain and all the beauty that is there. And hearing God whisper His love through all of it. 

During that season I had the joy of getting to be a guest artist on Enter the Worship Circle: Third Circle. The Enter the Worship Circle CDs had long been my favorite worship albums. The music changed my life, as I know is true of many people. So it was a very special honor to get to work on this album, and to work with the people who make them for a few years, being mentored and learning a lot.  I also made my album "Sleeping When You Woke Me."

This last year, I had to take off about 9 months because I was very sick with a disease called Lyme disease. It was in my body for 7 years. After a lot of misdiagnosis, 2 years of barely sleeping, arthritis pain all through my body, and total exhaustion, I was determined to figure out a way to get rid of it.  I went through a season of detox in which I had every symptom about ten times worse than normal. But it worked. The disease is out of my body. I have no pain any more. I sleep sometimes. And I am very very happy to have my life back.  (Now you know why there are so many insomnia references in my new album.)

A while ago, I went to a seminar on Biblical Justice. The teacher asked us to take about ten minutes to look through the Bible without a concordance, keeping our eyes open for verses about taking care of the poor and the marginalized and the abandoned. I could not believe what I saw. There were passages on almost every page I looked at. How could I have missed this for so long? I found out that references like this occurred about 2,000 times, more than almost any topic in the Bible. If the God that I love is this passionate about taking care of people that no one cares about it, I must be passionate about it also. 

And then, about a year ago, I felt like God said to me "Kate if for the rest of your life, all you did with your music was write songs for your neighbor who is going through a divorce or a death, a time that they need to understand God's love for them, would that be enough for you?" And I thought for a while and said "Yes it would be enough. " And I felt like He said "Good because it's enough for Me." 

So I am exploring my desire to live among the poor to let them teach me and know God through them. I am finishing an internship with an organization called innerCHANGE (innerchange. org), working with street kids in San Francisco. I have served the poor in ways for a long time through money and servant capacities. But now I have sat across a table from them. I have laughed until I cried. I have wept with them. I have recorded their beautiful songs. I have seen them give us our first spare change when we stayed in the park for a few days. Becoming friends with them has changed me. 

I am now praying through my next steps….how to bring together my love for being a good neighbor in poor communities, my music, my deep desire to encourage people, and my need for some rest. Pray with me!

I am almost done with my new album "Weak and Strong at the Same Time." I think you will love it. I will have new downloads for it soon.

My mission statement for my life is "To paint an accurate picture of a passionate God." 

I hope that my life and my music will help paint this picture for you. 

KATE