When Vyktoria Pratt Keating clears her conscience, be prepared for some soul searching you won't soon forget. Garnering comparisons to artists as diverse as Kate Bush, XTC, and "Nanci Griffith meets Lost in Space" ("My future goal," Vyktoria freely admits, "is to be a lounge singer on a UFO.") on her first two releases, Blue Apples and This Guardian At Noon, you won't soon forget her music either. Why is this remarkably talented lady is so hard to categorize? Because Vyktoria Pratt Keating is so solidly planted in a musical garden all her own.

Born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, Vyktoria's humble musical beginnings as a child harmonizing with her siblings around campfires on warm summer nights quickly evolved to include the complex pop stylings of The Beatles and later, the progressive rock movement of the late 60s and early 70s. "I've always gravitated towards the more progressive art rock," she reveals. "The group Yes has been a big influence; the way they write and that they're so high consciousness. The group Rush has some of the most powerful lyrics and it's in this great melodic, pop setting. Jethro Tull. I like anything that has a quirkiness to it."

Vyktoria Pratt Keating is the honored recipient of three Wammies (Washington, D.C. Area Music Awards) and now splits her time between the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and Sedona, Arizona, the latter of which she calls "the land of my soul." Other accolades include nominations for both a NAIRD Indie Award for "Adult Contemporary Album of the Year" and a NACA Award for "Coffeehouse Performer of the Year" in 1996.

She has performed in 43 states over the past ten years, sharing the bill with artists such as Dave Matthews, Richard Thompson, John Hiatt, Laura Nyro, Roger McGuinn, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Pierre Bensusan, and Jethro Tull. Every year, she averages 200 concerts and logs 70,000 miles in her travels from coast-to-coast, playing venues such as The Birchmere, Passim, Iron Horse, Bluebird Cafe, Tarrytown, Freight & Salvage, and Eddie's Attic.

Discuss this topic