Carlos Salcedo/Arizona Republic

Kara Kahnke plays the harmonica and lives in Tempe.

KJZZ is partnering with the Arizona Republic to bring you the Arizona Storytellers series. We record the live events and share them with you on the radio. In Phoenix, the storytellers share stories about our community or the life events that have shaped them. Megan Finnerty is the creator of the series.

Kara Kahnke comes from a musical family.

Her father and her uncle made their own record as teenagers. And family reunions usually ended with the entire family playing instruments together.

But Kahnke has a disability that makes it difficult to use her hands or play an instrument. She even tried learning the piano but wasn’t very good at it. And because of this Kahnke didn’t feel like part of the family.

One day her friend John, who plays the guitar, suggested she play the harmonica. At Christmas, her dad gave her a harmonica. She immediately started practicing.

Kara Kahnke still plays the harmonica and lives in Tempe.

The next storytelling event is June 28, 2017, at the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix.

→ Hear More Arizona Storytellers