About the band

Four musicians posing with instruments and smiles.

Kiti Gartner & the Drifting Valentines is a band out of Washington DC who play western swing, rockabilly, old country and a pinch of jump blues. Their influences include music from the 1940s and on, including music that came out of Sun Records in Memphis, The Quonset Hut and RCA Studio B in Nashville.

Woman singing and playing guitar on stage.

Kiti Gartner (vocals, rhythm guitar)

Kiti lives in Washington DC. She was raised on traditional country, rockabilly and soul music. She played her first show at the Quarry House Tavern in Silver Spring, Maryland in 2013 and has been leading the band ever since. Some of her favorite musical influences are Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Hank Penny, Lefty Frizzell, Ruth Brown, Brenda Lee, Etta James, Merle Haggard and many more.

Musician playing electric guitar on stage.

Zachary Sweeney (lead guitar)

Lead guitarist Zachary is from Beltsville, Maryland (between Baltimore and DC). The group became the Drifting Valentines when Zachary joined in 2016 after settling down from world tours with Wayne "The Train" Hancock. He has also played with Lucky Tubb, Danny Kay, The Garnet Hearts and many more. Zachary also played with Steve in Mark Wenner's Blues Warriors and now in the Nighthawks. Some of his favorite guitar players and influences are Hank Garland, Roy Clark, Chick Hall Jr, Grady Martin, Scotty Moore and many, many more.

Man smiling while holding a chain handbag.

Brian Alpert (drums)

Drummer Brian lives in Fairfax, Virginia. Brian played with Steve in the Tom Principato Band, toured extensively with Cowboy Jazz and also toured with Danny Gatton. He authored the must-read website "rhumba.com" which captures his experience touring with Gatton and presents other stories which describe the unpredictable existence of a musician’s life on the road. Brian once played a special Valentine’s Day show with Tiny Tim, who introduced him to the crowd as “a fabulous drummer”!

Man playing upright bass wearing a cowboy hat.

Steve Wolf (bass)

Steve lives in Accokeek, Maryland. In addition to being one of the best bass players around, he is a yogi master, fifth-degree black belt in Aikido, and a founding member of Danny Gatton’s Redneck Jazz Explosion. In addition to playing with his own Swing Speak and Redneck Jazz Explosion, he's played with The Nighthawks, The Assassins, Deanna Bogart, Tom Principato, Catfish Hodge, Big Joe Maher, Linwood Taylor, Ron Holloway, Billy Hancock, Cathy Ponton-King, JesseYawn. He's also performed with national artists ranging from Chuck Berry, The Coasters and Bo Diddly to Doctor John, Brian Auger, The Marvelletts and Springsteen sax man Clarence Clemons. His well-respected work in the blues arena has led him to back Chicago blues legends Sunnyland Slim, Pine Top Perkins, Bob Margolin, Charlie Musselwhite, Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, Jimmy Thackery and many others. Steve has also garnered an impressive list of recording credits as both a performer and producer.