Kim has also been named a 2023 Woody Guthrie Poet. Recently, she was invited to read her acclaimed poem, “You’ll Find Me There” (which appears in song form on her new album) during the prestigious 2023 Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, which celebrates the life and work of the late legendary singer/songwriter best known for his song, “This Land is Your Land.” This new poetry honor marks exactly ten years since Kim was named a second-place winner in the 2013 Woody Guthrie Folk Festival Songwriting Competition, making this summer’s trip to Woodyfest a sort of homecoming.
Kim’s new project, Herald, is built upon a lifelong foundation of faith and music. She grew up singing praises in church, taking up piano lessons at a mere four years old, and competing against adults in classical piano contests by the time she turned ten. Around that time, she learned accordion and saxophone as well.
Throughout the late 2000s and early 2010s, she performed with her brother Chad in the vertically focused folk-pop duo, Berteal. The group’s name (which was their grandmother’s maiden name) celebrated their long line of family faith in Jesus. Two of Kim’s great-grandmothers were preachers and evangelists, suggesting that the seeds of her eventual ministry were sown in preceding generations.