CONNECTCOMMENTEMAILMORE

“He has that drive that he’s always looking for the next opportunity musically, and that inspires me big time,” Kimberly Wolfe said, with a few tears welling up. 

Wolfe was getting emotional speaking about Todd Fulmer, the music partner with whom she’s been performing around Montgomery over the past few months. 

“We have a great connection,” she said. 

That connection stems from a chance summertime meeting this year at a music event in Cloverdale, which bloomed into an organically created Montgomery music duo. It blends Wolfe’s violin, Fulmer’s guitar and both their vocal talents. 

“A week later we were performing down at The Exchange together,” said Kimberly Wolfe, who many longtime local music fans will remember as the former executive director of the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra. “It was something that came kind of supernatural for us.”

“We had mutual friends and we kind of hung out together,” said Fulmer, who until recently was playing in the Mobile area. “The rest was history.” 

Their music has a unique blend with an almost odd-couple style. While Fulmer leans into a mix of soul and R&B, Wolfe’s music is in the bluegrass and folk realm. 

“On paper it shouldn’t work, but it kinda does,” Fulmer said. 

“We practice a lot and we play different music together,” Wolfe said. “We’re always singing together. It’s just been fun.” 

Wolfe said she returned to Montgomery after a stint at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony in Iowa. 

“Basically, I turned to music because I needed that outlet in my life,” Wolfe said. “I was going through a bunch of stuff.” 

Among her possessions is a hat that says “Music is Medicine,” and that’s a motto for her life as well. She’s putting her own musical stamp on it.

“I’ve always played fiddle around town in different little bands, and stuff like that,” Wolfe said. Among them, she’s played with the Irish band Distant Kin, the Lo-Fi Loungers (now known as Pre-Sputnik), and Sam Williams at 1048.

“I just determined once I got back here that I was going to do music for me, and start performing with my fiddle,” Wolfe said. “Now I’m singing more. I’m playing piano again.”

You can catch them soon at The Sanctuary in Montgomery on Nov. 17 during the singer/songwriter competition Sanctuary Showdown at 6 p.m.

“He’s got a lot of originals, and I’m writing originals right now,” Wolfe said. 

Along with their styles, their influences are different as well. 

“I love jazz. I love Norah Jones, Bonnie Raitt,” Wolfe said. “I love Jimi Hendrix and the Allman Brothers.”

Wolfe said the church was a big factor as well, since her mom was a music minister. 

The church was also in Fulmer’s early music life. 

“I could sing the books of the Bible all the way through,” said Fulmer, whose father was a pastor. Along with gospel, he was influenced by Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, James Brown and Michael Jackson. 

“I took a lot of artistry from those guys,” Fulmer said. 

Wolfe and Fulmer have been regulars at The Exchange and Sinclair’s East in recent months. Wolfe has also been getting recruited for studio work, including some gigs in Nashville. 

“We’re playing as much as we can, and we’re trying to get as much exposure as possible,” Wolfe said. “It seems like we’re getting a really good reception so far.” 

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel at sheupel@gannett.com.

CONNECTCOMMENTEMAILMORE

Read or Share this story: https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/entertainment/2019/10/23/perfect-blend-kimberly-wolfe-and-todd-fulmer-unique-music-duo/4068455002/