KAYE

As of June 16, 2021, New York State has lifted all COVID-19 related restrictions that apply to a venue of Rockwood’s size. In accordance with these revised guidelines, vaccination records will no longer be checked and entry will be permitted for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Social distancing and masks will not be required, although masks will remain recommended for non-vaccinated individuals.

Charlene Kaye spent her childhood all over the globe—having lived in Hawaii, Singapore, Hong Kong, Arizona and Michigan all before she turned 18. Absorbing both the old soul records of her parents and the 90s grunge on the radio, she quickly became a full-fledged music obsessive, beginning with piano but soon abandoning it to teach herself punk songs on her mother’s nylon guitar.


After college, Kaye moved to New York to pursue music. She played bass and guitar in several Brooklyn bands (including shredding as Slash in an all-girl Guns N’ Roses cover band called ‘Guns N’ Hoses’). In 2014, a mutual friend connected her with San Fermin’s Ellis Ludwig-Leone. Impressed with her voice, Ludwig-Leone asked her to be San Fermin’s new lead vocalist. This led to five years of collaboration and touring with San Fermin, with Kaye’s blistering frontwoman energy propelling their albums Jackrabbit and Belong (Downtown) to international audiences and festivals worldwide.


She released Conscious Control, her first full-length record in four years, in November 2020.


“There are a lot of narratives in music about women expressing their longing for commitment and relationships, but I had a specific experience where that wasn’t the case. I think women especially are sold this idea that if they’re not giving constantly, they’re innately bad—giving to others, giving to a partner, giving to a family. This record is about a time when I didn’t want to give to anybody except myself.”