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Who I am and what's here

"Pettersen's faith in human qualities rings extremely clear and true, loud enough to realize that peace might be just beyond chaos."

-Mikael Elsila, pianist and editor of the New York Musicians' Union newspaper, NY, NY


Hi! Thank you for visiting my site. I am a folk singer on a bicycle living in Madison, Wisconsin. My birth name is Kristine Pettersen but I like to be called "Thistle."  I live on a collective farm that grows its own corn, beans and squash that we eat throughout the year. Drumlin Community Garden is part of a growing urban agricultural movement that plants seeds of food sovereignty, cooperation and cultural harmony in cities across the world.  Our dream is to grow all of the food we eat with  friends, family and comrades so that we become linked again to our source of life.  I try to live outside of the capitalist economic system as much as possible and have spent months traveling by bicycle, depending on the kindess of strangers, and doing good works in exchange for food and shelter. A return to simpler ways of relating and existing as a creature on the earth is a high priority of mine. You can read more about some of the bicycling adventures I have had in the "thoughts" section of this web site. There is also a group mission statement for the Cycles of Uprising Tour I did the Fall of 2006 and information about bike riding and organizing in northern California in the section labeled "redwood ride" above. Recently, I  helped  organize a group bike ride to St.Paul with the Neverwood collective for last Summer's Republican National Convention. You can download any of the songs up on the music page for free and  find my schedule of performances on the "shows" page. 
My musical story

Current news: Most Mondays I will be at the Mercury Lounge hosting the open-mic, 117 E. Mifflin, 7-9 PM. The mic is also hosted by Jim Schwall and Cactus Joe.

July 10th and 11th I will ride my bike in a village of wonder and delight to Cactus Joe's in Cambridge, Wisconsin and then back to Madison. Join us for a party in Cambridge and camping in Joe's yard.

Check out this live performance from the GrassRoutes Caravan, bicycle village of resistance!  Last Summer I rode with 40 other people from all over the country to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul just in time to do an opening ceremony with Starhawk and to participate in the protests.

Here are two other links to my  performance and the puppet show, "Peter Pan for President."The puppet show was created and performed by riders from the Caravan. I play the part of Wendy.

performance
puppet show

I learned how to sing harmony from my Dad when I was growing up. I sang in choirs and musicals in high school and was in my college choir that toured Europe, California and Colorado.  I left Madison, Wisconsin in September of 2003 on my bicycle and rode south to New Orleans with my partner Douglas. We lived outside of a car for five months on our bicycles that Fall and Winter, re-wilding ourselves and getting in touch with nature. Since then, I have biked and played down both coasts and from St. louis to New Orleans on the Cycles of Uprising tour.. Biking influences the sound of my music. The steady rhythm of the wheels beneath me as I ride clears my mind of anxiety and the songs just come (except for when a car or truck gets too close for comfort). I have a new studio-recorded album with awesome art by Kat Beyer. Several Madison musicians contribute to the album and it will sound amazing due to the engineering and production talents of Matthew Sanborn. Click on this box to buy Animal Dreams!
album cover

thank you for visiting... come back soon!

contact thistle at thistle@riseup.net