Meet the band
With seven female members, a raft of rousing self-penned songs and a knack for bringing fresh harmonic inspiration to traditional pieces, Kana is a band worth keeping your eye on.
With summer ‘23 having been packed with festival appearances (Tunes in the Dunes, Great Estate), support slots (Fisherman’s Friends, Angeline Morrison), and guest spots at folk clubs and local live-music events, it’s safe to say they’re very much on the up.
Make sure you catch them on the festival circuit next year, listen out for BBC radio appearances and head on over to Bandcamp and buy their debut EP, ‘Up’.
Want to check Kana out for yourself? Head over to our gigs page to see what’s coming in the near future, listen to our Soundcloud and follow us on Instagram to stay updated on future performances.
But before you do that, read on to find out a bit more about each member of the band.
Silvia Lowe
Our chief arranger, Silvia has wanted to start a female harmony group for years. During lockdown, the project started to take shape in her head and now, thanks to her drive and commitment, here we are! Silvia’s musical dance card is pretty full already, with her series of sleep-music albums appearing on all major streaming platforms and her duo with Laura, Dune, going from strength to strength – their favourite gig to date was supporting local world-music heroes, 3 Daft Monkeys. But it’s not all about music – Silvia’s also busy being a mother, new dog owner, business director and sea swimmer among other things (though she’s usually still arranging songs in her head).
Laura Wright
Laura grew up in Perranporth, Cornwall. Music has always been in her blood, from Sunday mornings spent listening to her parents’ records to absorbing her dad’s love of and passion for music, having been in a band himself. Laura always had a flare for performing and attended theatre school at the age of 16 with fellow band member Molly. More recently, she’s been spending time singing in a harmony duo with Kana band creator, Silvia. Laura sings constantly. Her husband and two boys might argue ‘relentlessly’.
Donna Boggia-Poole
The first member of the band to come up with a song of her own (check out Never a Fella), Donna is one of our songwriting superstars. She’s been penning her own stuff since she was 14 so has built up quite the back catalogue. Her stuff is raw, honest and just the right amount of cheeky. Donna moved to Cornwall from her native Norfolk more than 20 years ago. She’s mum to two boys and loves gardening, walking, travel, good food, drinking real ale in old pubs and indulging in the odd spot of cold-water dipping.
Molly Banks
Cornish through and through, Molly has moved from Ventongimps to Tresco to Penzance and ended up in beautiful Zennor. She’s a tried-and-true performing artist who has toured with many local companies including Rogue Theatre, Bish Bash Bosh and Cousin Jack’s. These days she juggles motherhood with running an artisan gift shop in her local community. Her most recent musical foray saw her back a personal hero, Carleen Anderson, in an artform-blending opera that’s set in a fantasy underwater world. A natural born performer, Molly brings so much energy to Kana performances with her theatre training, contagious grins and love of bringing songs to life.
Celia Anderson
Born and raised in Cambridge, Celia moved to Cornwall in 2017. She’s always loved music (one of her earliest memories is waking up backstage in a pram at one of her parents’ New Year’s Eve ceilidh gigs) but was never one for solo performance. Being part of Kana affords her the opportunity to take to the stage while sharing the spotlight rather than hogging it. When she’s not singing with the band, she’s hanging out with her husband, daughters and dog, making an unholy mess in the kitchen, and running a fashion copywriting agency with her sister and bandmate, Silvia.
Jessie Leigh
Kernow born and bred to hippie parents who moved here in the seventies, Jessie learnt a love of all things musical from her parents – whether that was straining to hear the raucous main bar singing from her local pub’s family room, or enjoying the freedom of roaming free range at Cornwall’s local trad music festivals. Jessie believes making music is about creating connection and community, so singing with firm friends is a real joy. When she’s not enjoying local sessions, Jessie is mainly to be found exploring the cliffs around St Agnes with her two children and their dog, Cassie.
