You never know where you’ll find an artist who rocks your world. Last summer, a trip to the upper Midwest included the Mile of Music Fest in Appleton, Wis., where I saw several sets by Nashville singer-songwriter Claire Kelly and her red-hot backing band, which blew me away. Their new album leads off this women-dominated roundup, which closes with a couple of intriguing compilations.
Claire Kelly — Be Careful Who You Kiss In Nashville
For all its big-time mainstream country machinery, Nashville is constantly bubbling under with deserving talent working the fringes and trying to break through. Until I saw Claire Kelly and her band in Wisconsin, I’d not been aware of her. And man, I was missing something special.
Kelly played almost all of her new album at her sets that weekend, and by the end of the festival I felt like I was already well-acquainted with its impressive songs. The recorded version is even better, with pristine production from Grammy-winning engineer Brandon Bell (Brandi Carlile, The Highwomen, Sarah Jarosz) and note-perfect support from her core backing crew of guitarist Michael Murphy, bassist Luke Sands, drummer Bobby Frank, and backing vocalist Kayla Lunden, among others.
Recording primarily live in the studio, they hit wonderfully melodic country-folk-pop grooves on “Holy Cowboy,” “Just Add Wine” and “Longer Without You.” The best moments may be two more soulful mid-album numbers, “Cash Only” and “Get Over It,” the latter carrying a simple but inspirational message: “Build yourself a bridge and get over it.” The rich vocal harmonies between Kelly and Lunden are a key part of the album’s identity, from the first notes of the exquisite opener “All On You.” But really, every single song here is a winner. There’s still a few months to go, but I’m having a hard time imagining a different record atop my year-end list.
Kelly strips it all down to just her own guitar and voice for the gentle, beautiful closing tunes “Paris” and “Sleep Tight Cowgirl.” Clearly she could succeed as this kind of solo acoustic performer if she wished — but her band is so good, and so fun, that I hope she keeps them aboard for a good long while.
