Kat Dillon- Violinist, Violist and Vocalist in the DMV
Kat Dillon has been a professional violinist, singer, and stage performer for over 25 years in a broad variety of musical arenas. From the early age of 3, she began singing and mimicking sounds and pitches that she heard. At the age of 9, she started her first band with her childhood best friend called The DayKatz. At 13, they recorded their first original song and sold it to producers, to later have it recorded by Britney Spears on her hit album, Britney, in 2001. She trained both vocally and as a stage performer under the direction of David Hodges, famous for his work with Taylor Swift, Evanescence, Lady A, Britney Spears and countless others.
She started learning violin in 6th grade and later studied classical violin under famed violinist Mischa Lefkowitz. She also studied extensively under Gayel Pitchford and Debby Hand, gaining skills and expertise on violin, viola, and cello in multiple genres, in particular Celtic and Bluegrass. Her first professional work was as a violinist in Tehachapi, CA Symphony Orchestra at the age of 16. Through high school, she performed simultaneously as a member of both Bakersfield College Symphony Orchestra and Antelope College Symphony Orchestra.
During her college career, she performed classical violin as a member of Washington State University Orchestra (go Cougars!) and later with West Chester University Orchestra in Pennsylvania.
After college, she turned to power-rock style music and joined the Trans-Siberian Orchestra-inspired group Wizards of Winter as lead violinist. She toured with the band for 3 seasons from Maine to Maryland playing the entire Trans-Siberian Orchestra catalogue as well as a variety of original material.
She transitioned her style in 2012 to Irish fiddle and joined the Trad-Celtic group Burning Bridget Cleary. Kat toured with the band across the entire north-eastern seaboard performing both traditional Celtic as well as bluegrass style fiddle. As both a violinist and vocalist, she is credited for her performance on the band’s popular studio album, ‘Pressed for Time.’
In 2013, Kat fronted her own namesake band, Kat and the Mad Dogz. The wildly popular Pennsylvania-based rock/country cover group performed over 100 shows per year and specialized in hits spanning the 1970’s to 2000’s. During this time, Kat perfected her signature “back bend” move, defying gravity while performing the fiddle solo to ‘Devil Went Down to Georgia.’
By 2016, Kat discovered her love of neon and became the lead singer of M80, one of the top 80’s rock bands in Pennsylvania. With M80, Kat sang and played electric violin in venues ranging from Musikfest to Atlantic City.
2 years later, Kat was selected as lead singer of The Reflex, the Washington D.C. area’s top 80’s cover band. The band has been voted DC’s best cover band by Washington City Paper and was the headlining act at the MGM Grand in National Harbor for New Year’s Eve in 2019. There, Kat performed a duet of the hit 80’s song ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ side by side with the song’s original artist, Tiffany.
In addition to her full-time work with The Reflex, Kat is a regular guest-performer on both electric violin and vocals with Tampa-based band No Filter. Her collaboration centers on her unique rock-violin style and vocals, performing a range of energetic popular hits at venues such as Sloppy Joe’s in Key West and the top venues in Tampa, Sarasota, and Orlando.
In the winter of 2020, Kat joined forces with The Devil's Brigade- Formerly The American Rogues, a Celtic Rock group based out of Maryland and Canada. They have recently performed for multiple Highland Games, including Central Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Fair Hills (Maryland), Ohio, and many others across the United States. They also have recently played at the Crieff Highland Games and Cowal Highland Games in Scotland, two of the oldest Games in the world. The band's claim to fame however is their love and support for the military and have played at countless military bases around the world, most recently Al Udeid in Qatar. Kat plays the violin, viola, and sings quite a few tunes as well!
In 2023, Kat along with some of the top musicians in the DMV scene joined forces and remade the band, Kat Atomic. Playing a wide range of country, pop, and even 80's rock music, Kat Atomic is a fun, professional side project that plays all over the Virginia area.