Kathryn Williams is a singer-songwriter whose work is characterised by delicate vocals and acoustic instruments. She has been compared in style to such artists as Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro and Joan Baez.In her youth, Williams studied an art foundation course in her native Liverpool, before moving to Newcastle upon Tyne to study for a degree in fine art.After a friend heard Williams' music, they booked a gig without her knowing it. Williams was intending it to be a one-off event, though she soon found herself being booked again and again by people.Her next step was recording some of her music onto CD. These quickly sold at her gigs, so Williams set up her own record label, Caw Records, to release her music. However, after her second album, Little Black Numbers, was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, the increased popularity of her music forced her to sign a licensing deal with Eastwest Records.She has a reputation as a powerful live performer, whose confident stage presence belies the fragile persona which characterises much of her recorded work.