Julie McKee is a London-based singer-songwriter-pianist. If you’ve not heard her music, think Randy Newman played with a Tori Amos feel, a slap of Ben Folds irreverence and a voice reminiscent of Annie Lennox and Eddi Reader. Her songs take a quirky and sometimes exasperated look at friendships, relationships and our society. Her most recent album, What A Woman Shouldn’t Do, has received critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. The title track was inspired by the story of Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner. As Julie puts it, “She was divorced by her husband in the 1970s, for supposedly being 'too educated, too strong, too successful, too stubborn and too hard to control'. This song pokes fun at the outrageous and ridiculous attitudes some people held then – and to a certain extent, still do – about what a woman should and shouldn’t do.” A classically trained pianist who studied voice at London’s prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Julie interpreted other peoples’ songs before turning her hand to composing. She hasn’t looked back: “I like my songs to tell stories and to avoid the cliches of angst-ridden love.” Her music has taken her to a number of prestigious venues, including London’s National Theatre, LSO St Luke’s, 606 Club, The Vortex, National Portrait Gallery, the Troubadour, Darbucka, the Drill Hall and the Bedford. Stateside, she has performed at New York’s The Cutting Room, Chicago's Davenport's and Hot House. Across the UK, Julie has also played shows in the Edinburgh Festival (one with renowned solo bassist Steve Lawson), Greenbelt Festival, Brighton Festival, City of London Festival, Milton Keynes Stables and Birmingham’s Kitchen Garden Cafe, to name but a few.             © Copyright 2012 Julie McKee