Keith & Joan Pitzer embody the experience of Appalachian life set in modern surroundings. Their music is a blend of old and new, where traditional and contemporary styles meet with honest down-to-earth lyrics. It is this combination, the tasty mix of original with traditional Appalachian and Celtic, that captures the heart and soul of their music. A poet as much as a lyricist, Keith’s lyrics convey both the irony and introspective nature of his worldview while Joan’s harmonies and counter intuitive bass parts fill out their unique view of their Appalachian home.

Listening to a live performance, their musicianship and rich vocal harmonies may well evoke a 1960’s coffeehouse performance of Ian & Sylvia, a 70’s performance of Gordon Lightfoot, or perhaps another place and time entirely. With their tight well-blended harmonies, Keith’s unique guitar style, harmonica and occasional mandolin and Joan’s solid foundation on bass and occasional penny whistle, their music takes you on a spellbinding journey through an emotional landscape celebrating a deep connection with nature and the places, people and times they have known.

Sharing music and marriage for over thirty years, they have performed at numerous fairs and festivals, coffeehouses and listening rooms across the mid-Atlantic states. They have opened for such notables as Tony Rice, Norman and Nancy Blake, Garnet Rogers, Tom Paxton, Robin and Linda Williams, and Chris Hillman, and shared stages with contemporaries like Eliza Gilkyson, johnsmith, Pierce Pettis and Jack Williams. Their resume includes performances at the John F. Kennedy Center, Mountain Stage NewSong Festival, the Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival (PA), the Fiddle & Bow Society (NC), and West Virginia’s Tamarack Center.

In addition to their duo tour schedule and recordings, they were part of the tour group Voices of West Virginia with respected Mountain State songwriters John Lilly, Kate Long and Todd Burge. Their music can be heard on the video, "A Vision for a Wild Mon," produced by the West Virginia Wilderness Coalition and narrated by Larry Groce, Artistic Director and host of the nationally syndicated radio show Mountain Stage. Their song "Underneath a Blackened Moon" is included in the audio drama, “When Miners March,” written about the definitive history of the coal miners of West Virginia in the early 1950’s by William Blizzard and produced by Ross Ballard II.

In addition to writing and singing about the beauty of West Virginia's mountains and rivers, Keith is the Executive Director of Friends of the Cheat, an environmental advocacy organization working to stop acid mine drainage into the wild and scenic Cheat River.

"Keith & Joan Pitzer, alone and especially together, are fine singers... his vocals will remind listeners - just a tad - of Gordon Lightfoot.... great guitar work, solid vocals... with fine originals like Keith's 'Living Out There' "
- Sing Out!

"From the moment they start to sing and the first note rings from Keith's guitar... Harmony and delight emanate...in their smiles...in the way they look at each other...in their music. And it's contagious! You won't want to miss a lick of Keith's dazzling guitar work, Joan's artistically superb bass playing, and their heavenly harmonies. What a powerful duo!"
- River House Concerts, Shepherdstown WV

"At the conclusion of their first song (Shady Grove), there was complete silence. What was wrong? The awestruck audience gathered itself, then broke into wild applause...Just when the audience didn't think it could get any better, the Pitzers blew the house away with 'Underneath a Blackened Moon' - a great ballad about... mountaintop removal "
- WV Life & Recreation

It is a rare disc that draws the listener into a convergance of truth and tradition, lament and joy. Gathering Stones speaks of, and to, the cycles of life. This is a work of passion, whose songs chronicle a reverence and lust for life delivered with a palpably strong sense of place. "Farmers and Fishermen" marks the passing of two essential lifestyles, already lost to most of us. “Jenny” tells of traveling the Blue Ridge Parkway soon after it was built, along the way finding bootleg whiskey, a lovely young waitress, and reason to sing about the journey. “Home Ranger” speaks of the simple ideals of home and righteousness through the reminiscences of childhood cowboy games. Keith and Joan touch other bases as well: the loneliness of separation, bittersweet lessons learned from looking back at life, and finding satisfaction when times are hard. Also of note is their a capellarendition of the haunting Richard Farina song, “The Falcon”, as appropriate today as it was in the war-torn strife of the sixties. Subdued harmonies, brilliant musicianship and pensive lyrics make for a rich and sometimes surprising palette of colors, from which Keith and Joan gracefully paint this sublime collection of stories.

West Virginia Serenade is a warm, intimate look into the Pitzer's world tucked into the folds of the Mountain State's hills. Keith's incisive songwriting covers a wide swath of emotional landscape, celebrating a deep connection with nature and the places, people and times he and Joan have known. The 15 tracks include 3 traditional tunes, 3 fine instrumentals, and "Do Still Waters Still Run Deep", their award-winning tune in the 2002 Mountain Stage NewSong Festival performing songwriter contest. The rich vocal blends, fine flatpicking and elegantly understated adornments of whistles, mandolin and bass frame a spellbinding lyrical and musical meditation on Appalachian beauty: an audio tour through a special place for solace and reverie.

After 4 children and 2 decades of playing together, the duo released their debut recording The Long Journey, a collection of original and traditional songs grown from many years of writing and playing music. The CD features 9 originals and 3 traditional tunes ("Silver Dagger", "Wagoner's Lad" and "Star of the County Down").