“ahhhh... organic and rich like good soil ... makes me want to listen
and hear it grow. the songs are honest and dimensional.
it’s music to my ears.”
- amy ray, the indigo girls
Michigan-based, Pleasantly Aggressive Folk Duo Nervous but Excited (Kate Peterson & Sarah Cleaver) is two songwriters, two singers, three guitars, a mandolin, a violin, a ukulele, a few harmonicas, dead-on harmony, some vaguely choreographed dancing, an impressive amount of laughter and a glockinspiel. Their original repertoire ranges in topic from smart, introspective narratives to the tactfully political… interspersed with songs of love and loss that will undoubtedly tug on your heart.
Road warriors to the core, their endless passion has landed them on stages with folks like Ani Difranco, Iron and Wine, Utah Phillips, Ben Gibbard, Catie Curtis and Cheryl Wheeler to name a few. Their live show will bounce you through a variety of emotions always keeping you guessing which is coming next. You might cry, you’ll definitely laugh, and they hope you’ll leave feeling that your heart has grown just a little bigger than it was before you arrived.
When Kate and Sarah take the stage (or living room), you won't be able to deny the power of their laughter, combined with their genuinely emotive lyrics and arrangments. They are not afraid to sing loud and sing hard. The sensitive tug of their voices will pull you through worlds of progressive politics, and their harmonies have been described as the kind that build so smoothly until suddenly they start to shake your insides.
The duo continues to navigate the endless road of music touring and are impressive in their search to find where their music lives within all of us. These are not two musicians that are just looking for audiences to play to. They are looking for audiences to sing to. To laugh with. To appreciate. To breathe in and to take home. Their humor has welcomed us all, their melody has held us, and their movement has energized us.
“Kate and Sarah deliver high-quality, intelligent tunes with the skill and passion of legendary folksingers in the making.” - Off Our Backs Feminist News Journal
NBE is currently on tour supporting their latest project, a 6 song EP entitled Just the Two of Us (Our Duo Doing Duos). This EP finds kate and sarah alone in the studio conquering the challenge of interpreting soul, r&b, indie pop-rock and 80's rock into their pleasanlty aggressive style. NBE chose 6 duos - The Righteous Brothers, Indigo Girls, K-Ci & Jojo, The Weepies, Tegan and Sara, and Roxette - to cover as a fun challenge for themselves and their voices and as a treat for nbe fans. The EP is accompanied by a series of 6 short and quirk-filled videos, shot and edited by kate and sarah, explaining in one rediculous way or another, why they chose each song.
In April 2009, NBE released Anchors, the first ever 100% carbon neutral CD release. Teamed up with their indie label Riot Grrrl Ink, NBE meticulously tracked all the energy used in the project, from the gas to get to the studio and the energy needed to power and heat it. All promotional paper items were produced using 100% post consumer materials. All energy that could not be avoided was offset through renewable energy credits. NBE and RGI are proud to call it “Anchors: {the green album}.”
Musically, Anchors is many steps beyond what NBE has done in the past. Kate and Sarah’s unique vocal harmonies are enhanced by many talented players including Girlyman, Lyndell Montgomery and Chris Bathgate among others who joined them to color in the lines of the songs with a sweet-tasting assortment of warming-your-feet-by-the-fire-in-the-wintertime kind of instrumentation.
Since 2004, NBE has toured consistently in support of 9 releases, Just the Two of Us (Our Duo Doing Duos) (2010 Covers EP), Anchors (2009 Studio), {home}spun (2008 Live), Bootleg from the Basement (2008 EP), Once More... With Feeling (2006 Studio), eight live songs (2005 Live), Torch Song Evolution (2004 EP). Previous independent albums include Kate Peterson's 2005 release of Undone and Sarah Cleaver's 2004 release From Where I Stand.
They have played many established rooms across the country and with artists such as Ani Difranco, Catie Curtis, Lucy Kaplansky, Utah Phillips, Melissa Ferrick, Cheryl Wheeler, Ferron, Toshi Reagon, The Butchies, Alix Olson, Bitch, Girlyman, Pamela Means, Chris Pureka and Ember Swift.
Nervous but Excited is represented by Riot Grrrl Ink and distributed nationwide by Goldenrod Music.