Kelli wants you to feel good; it's why she sings. In the way Marty Robbins told a story, the way Patsy Cline understood how you felt, the way you knew that Merle Haggard had really lived what he sang about and, of course, in the way that Elvis just made it feel great to be alive. Kelli is an American singer in the pursuit of happiness for her fans, her band and finally, herself.
Born into music, her birthright included a father who lived with the legends and Kelli sang along from an early age. On leaving the stage having delivered a show stopping performance, her grandmother confirmed what the 12-year-old Kelli had known all along; "You're going to be a singer". But Kelli's is no fairytale, it's hard to carry a torch song if you haven't lived in the dark, what followed would provide all the material this singer/songwriter would ever need.
After signing with Scotty Brothers, Kelli was involved in a car crash that put her in recovery for years, by the time she could walk again, the deal had gone. Undeterred, Kelli marshaled her resources and set out on her own. Two independent albums in Nashville taught her the realities of the industry and the discipline required to be a professional singer. Not satisfied with the end result, Kelli moved to California and began the process of breaking herself down to re-discover her own voice.
Kelli's sound owes as much to the raw passion of Janis Joplin as it does to the fiddle or steel guitar found on a Willie Nelson track. Songs like the bluesy rocker "Mamma", where her band gets to deliver a musical hurricane, are offset by the Johnny Cash influenced guitar hook of "The Preachers Daughter". A core band of four players actively contribute to the songwriting process and it shows in the tightness and power of the musical delivery.
Kelli knows that a good song needs great music, but a great song needs great lyrics too. In a world where "dysfunctional" and "family" seem to go together, many will recognize the characters in the heartbreaking "Empty Eyes" and the sheer bad luck of the outlaw song "Ride" as well as the humor and "ballsiness" of "Call Her" and the crowd favorite
"What Do You Want?"
That is the question that we leave you with. Kelli knows she can't answer that one for you, it's something we all have to work out for ourselves. But if you want to escape for a little while, if you want to go on a journey and maybe put a smile on your face if you believe in the American dream and would like a bit of happiness, sit back, have a listen and let Kelli make you feel good.
