About KALO

Israeli guitarist, singer and songwriter Bat-Or Kalo fronts her eponymous band and also travels and tours the U.S. and Israel solo (wearing only her last name and her vintage Gibson electric guitar). Fiery, unbridled and electrifying, KALO’s guitar chops and contralto voice are a force like none other.

KALO is a tour-de-force that is a staple act across the Midwest, packing venues in Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Arkansas and Kansas, with frequent tour stops in the Northeast and South. From NYC's famed Bitter End music club to Beale Street in Memphis, Austin's 6th Street, Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Knucklehead's Saloon in Kansas City and beyond, the dynamic act has played alongside the raucous rockers Andy Frasco & the U.N. but has deftly channeled their roots opening for famous blues guitarist John Mayall. They've also shared festival stages with acts like George Thoroughgood, Robert Randolph & The Family Band and many more.

Defying Convention and Making Waves

KALO defies convention, channeling power trios like The Police, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Rush or Cream. Much in the vein of Led Zeppelin, the band fuses blues-influenced songs with rock and roll anthems and electric shows. 

• In 2019, KALO was featured as part of the groundbreaking docuseries Play it Loud and as part of the nationally syndicated podcast and concert series, Live from the Divide. 

• In 2018, KALO was nominated for Best Album in the Indie/Alternative Rock category of the Independent Music Awards for their 2017 album, “Wild Change”. The funky, guitar- and rhythm-laced studio album was fresh on the heels of KALO’s live album,  “Live in NYC”, recorded at the renowned The Bitter End music club in New York City and released in late 2016. 
  

Roots that Run Deep

Based in the Heartland as she zigzags the country, KALO’s roots run deep and trace back to her home an ocean away in Israel. A cassette tape of Jimi Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced” set KALO on a musical path when she was 16 years old. In 2009, that path stretched across the Atlantic when KALO left Israel to soak herself in American music, the sounds of Hendrix, Jim Morrison, John Lee Hooker, Nina Simone and Elvis calling. 

After completing her classical and jazz guitar studies in Oklahoma, she briefly returned home to record her jazz-imbued “Flesh & Bones” in Tel-Aviv. Afterward, KALO moved to New York to hone her skills as a live performer, frequenting stages like The Bitter End, Arlene’s Grocery, Rockwood Music Hall and others.

In 2012, KALO left The Big Apple to strum her guitar and write in the heart of Dixie. Her sophomore album took root in the Mississippi Delta and other southern states, where the blues tinge of “Dear John” began to grow. Released in 2013, the album received much critical acclaim from media around the world, including a Roots Music Report top blues rock album of 2018.

Over the next several years, KALO developed a loyal following with fevered stage shows and raw energy. Brandishing a unique and genre-bending interpretation of the blues and rock ‘n’ roll, everything about KALO is unexpected … and infectious. As Skope Magazine put it, “There’s a truth, pure and simple ... that leaves you wanting more.” Read more KALO reviews here.

Born in Haifa, Israel, Bat-Or Kalo previously lived in New York City, playing as a guitarist in funk and fusion bands in NYC, including with the Dave Kolker Band and others. Her preferred guitar is her vintage 1950s Gibson Deluxe , but she's also known to pick up a Joel Edison resonator. While she's exclusively been a musician while living in the United States, she's also done stints in the Israeli army, in a sushi restaurant and bakery in Tel Aviv and various other jobs she didn't like nearly as much as playing her guitar. She is a graduate of Oklahoma City University's music program, and has even been seen strutting as the guitar player in the ensemble of Matthew Sweet’s Girlfriend.