A Carol Christmas

Carol Montag grew up in Ames, Iowa and learned to play guitar by ear while listening to the music of Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, and other folk music legends. She accompanies herself on six and twelve string acoustic guitars, pianos, and lap dulcimer. Fellow students at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa could often hear the music of Joan, Joni, and Judy floating down the halls from Carol’s dorm room. These three women were not only an inspiration to Carol, but also ignited her interest in songwriting.

Carol has recorded six albums: Songs for Carrie, White, Marigolds, Second Sermon, Silent Night, and Simple Gifts. Montag has performed at numerous music festivals, coffeehouses, colleges, and concert series. She has opened for or shared the stage with Arlo Guthrie, Three Dog Night, Michael Johnson, Tom Paxton, Jim Post, Greg Brown, Kenny Rankin, David Wilcox, John Gorka, John Stewart, and others. Carol was commissioned to write and perform music for Ballet Iowa and the LaCrosse Ballet. Carol has also performed at the World Food Prize Award Ceremony at the Iowa State Capitol. Past performers at The World Food Prize Award Ceremony include such notables as Ray Charles, John Denver, and Simon Estes. She recently was signed to Fervor Records. The label is home to a select roster of emerging indie bands, heritage artists, and an incredible array of cult hits, deep cuts, and rarities from the 1920s to current day. Recently, Carol has received multiple awards for her music video titled Strange Ballet which was written in the aftermath of a land hurricane that struck much of Eastern Iowa.