"[Kate Wolf was little known beyond the California folk-music circuit, but in that community she was royalty," roots-rocker Dave Alvin wrote in the liner notes to his 2006 album West of the West: Songs from California Songwriters, which included a gorgeous cover of Wolf's "Here in California."

"Her gentle, disarming music was as deceptive as this song. It sounds like a love song, but it actually warns a prospective suitor that the singer is like California itself."

That cautionary tale counsels: "There's no gold, I thought I'd warn you. And the hills turn brown in the summertime."

Kate Wolf, hailed as the Queen of the Marin Folk Scene, died of leukemia in 1986 at age 44. As Alvin has noted, her legacy lives on in songs that embody her California bloodline. Wolf moved to Forest Knolls in 1982 with her husband Terry Fowler. With the onset of her illness, Wolf's touring slowed. She made occasional performances in Fairfax and San Anselmo. She also became active in the West Marin community, serving on the board of the San Geronimo Valley Community Center and working as a production assistant at the Point Reyes Light.

At the same time, she gained attention through appearances on the PBS-TV series "Austin City Limits" and the National Public Radio program "A Prairie Home Companion."

Since her death, Wolf's music has continued to find new fans. Her songs have been covered by Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, Kathy Mattea and Greg Brown, among others.

Alvin returns to Wolf's oeuvre on his new CD Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women, which includes Wolf's song "These Times We're Livin' In," which he had recorded once before on the 1998 Red House label tribute CD Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf.

These days, close to the thoughts of those who admired her courage and her gift for song, thanks, in part, to the annual Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival to be held later this month in Laytonville. The event, which began a decade after her death as a one-day tribute, has grown to become one of Northern California's most prominent folk music gatherings.

The lineup this year includes Emmylou Harris, Richard Thompson, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Patty Griffin, Mavis Staples, Shawn Colvin, Blind Boys of Alabama, the Ruthie Foster Band, Po' Girl, Chris Smither and Poor Man's Whiskey.

Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women also will perform.

The Sherry Austin Band will perform a special tribute to Wolf.

Wolf's legend gets an additional boost on July 7 when the Collector's Choice label will reissue four out five of Wolf's out-of-print CDs: her 1976 debut Back Roads, 1977's Lines on Paper, Safe at Anchor, the 1983 double-live album Give Yourself to Love and the posthumous rarities compilation The Wind Blows Wild.

As Rose Maddox--a close friend of Wolf's and California's "grandmother of rockabilly"--wrote in the liner notes to Give Yourself to Love, "I'm sure you are going to enjoy her talents throughout the years as I have. She is a truly great artist!"

'Nuff said.

The 14th annual Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival runs June 26-29 at Black Oak Ranch in Laytonville in Mendocino County. Onsite camping is available. Ticket info is available at 256-8499.

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Spin o' the Week
Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women
Dave Alvin--the driving force behind the late-great Blasters--sheds his regular band the Guilty Men to get in touch with his feminine side. The album of folk, surf, rockabilly and bluegrass includes a Cajun-inflected cover of the Blasters signature anthem "Marie Marie" and an acoustic version of "Surfer Girl." The band features Sonoma County guitarist Nina Gerber, Berkeley fiddler Laurie Lewis and violist Amy Farris, and drummer Lisa Pankratz. Guests include piano player Marcia Ball, accordionist Suzy Thompson and lap steel player Cindy Cashdollar. Good times all around.

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