“The passionate sweat-drenched, funk fueled groove could bring a priest to his knees…we had to have a cigarette when the set was ended.â€
— Lee Gardner, Chief Editor, Baltimore City Paper
Named “Best Band in the Mid-Atlantic Region†for the past 11 years in a row (blues category); their deeply rooted style is capable of stepping across several musical genres from one moment to the next.
“The Kelly Bell Band are among the most genre-expanding acts on today’s blues scene. Who else can combine elements of hip-hop, funk, and blues-electrified here, Delta there, horn driven elsewhere- and still manage to sound sincere? A forward view of the way blues is transitioning in today’s scene…Bell’s an honest poet and an outstanding singer with lots to say. â€
— Blues Revue Magazine
Selling over 100,000 units and gaining rabid fans for over a decade now, the KBB has shared the stage with some of the industry’s best: James Brown, The Black Crowes, Ziggy Marley, Buddy Guy, Bobby “Blue†Bland, Matchbox 20, Robert Cray, G. Love & Special Sauce, Better than Ezra, Cheap Trick, Bo Diddley, and many more. Their live show is a musical marathon second to none.
“You see him writhe and rock like a man possessed, sweat flying off the ends of his dreads as he throws his head to and fro, and you hear his deep baritone envelope the room with timeless universal sorrow and hurt or wistfulness, or calling out to everyone to get funky like there’s no tomorrow and to the men to shout to the women to put their booty on the floor! At the end of the night, the crowd chants Kel-ly! Kel-ly! Were they having a good time? Hell, yeah! Do they want to go home? Hell no!â€
— Mary Ishimoto Morris, Music Monthly
In addition to acting as one of the premier front men in the music business today, this jack of all entertainment trades is a regular on several radio programs as an on-air comic personality (i.e., 98 Rock WIYY, WHFS,
WRNR, WTMD, etc.), a professional wrestler (holding both the Maryland Championship Wrestling — MCW Television and Tag Team Championships), and has written, recorded, acted and performed in many commercials (Red, Hot & Blue spokesperson, Downtown Partnership), television appearances (“Homicide— Life On The Streetsâ€), movies (both supplying the music and acting). Recently the National Institute of Health (NIH) produced an educational film in which Kelly was one of the stars. Its focus was autobiographical entitled “The Euphoria Project.†As it may sound somewhat cliché, the Kelly Bell Band is one of those rare acts that comes along and defies tradition by refusing to be categorized or pigeon held.
“As timeless as the blues may be, Kelly Bell’s success stems from his ability to take such a classic form of music and add his own touch to it, combining rock, funk, and a head full of dreadlocks, with old fashioned
Muddy Waters’ blues.â€
— Chris Terry, The Towerlight
Phat Blues Music!
