Bonnie Koloc

Undoubtedly still the first lady of folk singing in Chicago, Bonnie Koloc has soothed the souls of audiences in five different decades with her imaginative jazz tinted performances.

The enduring and versatile voice of Bonnie Koloc has been heard in Chicago since 1968. For a decade, Bonnie was a pivotal act at the Earl of Old Town, drawing crowds that stood in lines around the block, hoping, at least, for a place to stand to catch the hottest act in town. In time her folk-oriented style merged with jazz and blues, and her versatility took her to Mr. Kelly's, a long-time Chicago landmark. While continuing to play at the Earl, Orphans and Holstein's, she began appearing at festivals.

Along the way she received a Governor's Award in 1973 for Best Singer, recorded ten albums, two of them with Epic. In 1984 her career took another turn when she starred in the Public Theater's production of The Human Comedy, first earning her the theatre World Bronze Award for Outstanding New Talent on Broadway and a Drama Critics Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.

In 1987, Bonnie returned to college to finish a B.A. in Art Education from the University of Northern Iowa. Since high school, Bonnie has shown a gift not only for acting but also for fine art, and since 1987 she has been an active print maker, painter and ceramist. In the last eleven years she has had one-woman shows in the South and Midwest, including Chicago and Nashville. In 1999 she was distinguished by her inclusion in the National Exhibition of the Los Angeles Printmaking Society.

For the last decade Bonnie has also been an active book illustrator, creating covers and decorations for Free River Press. Her two most recent commissions have been for An American Mosaic: Prose and Poetry by Everyday Folk and Jump Start: How to Write from Everyday Life, both published by Oxford University Press.