Nashville Chart-Topping Singer Songwriter Irene Kelley Comes to the Arts Barn March 29
By Cindy Majane
Irene Kelley’s songs enjoy worldwide acclaim, having been licensed for film and TV, and recorded in many genres of music, including Country, Pop, Bluegrass, Children’s Music and others. Famous artists, including Ricky Skaggs, Trisha Yearwood, Loretta Lynn, Alan Jackson, Rhonda Vincent, Little Big Town, Pat Green, Pure Prairie League and others, have covered her songs. As a country artist, she recorded for MCA Nashville and Relentless/Nashville. More recently, she’s recorded six number one songs on the Bluegrass Today Singles Chart. Music Row Magazine said, “As a vocalist, Irene Kelley glows with beauty and expressiveness. As a songwriter, she shines with a luster that few of her peers can match.”
Irene grew up in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, home of Arnie Palmer, Rolling Rock beer, and Mr. Rogers. Originally playing rock in high school, she soon turned to traditional music and country. There were a lot of places to perform in the area and a lot of support for country music, from the VFW to the Wheeling Jamboree only a couple hours away.
Irene was a great grassroots promoter. She made up postcards and mailed them to all the elected officials in the state, in a campaign to get her song, “Pennsylvania Is My Home” to be the state song. While it didn’t quite make it, the tune was included in a documentary series on PBS. When on a trip through Nashville, she pulled the addresses of local record labels from a hotel phone book and mailed her 45 record to them. Gordon Payne from CBS Records (now Sony) reached out, wanting to represent her as a talented songwriter/publisher. “I ended up moving [to Nashville] and wrote for other folks for a while… One thing led to another. Songwriting kind of snuck up on me.”
On her website, Irene says that bluegrass is the last frontier of country music. She explains, “Mainstream country right now has gone into almost unrecognizable territory from what it was. You come to count on a genre, so if you’re going to release a traditional song – a lot of artists right now are trying to release traditional country records (like from the 80s), they’re kind of going into bluegrass and Americana.”
We’re excited about the afternoon songwriting workshop Irene will hold at the Arts Barn! She’ll give a short description of how she got into songwriting, her approach, and tips from her professional experiences… How to prepare your song to present it to someone who might record it; how to keep your creative process moving forward; and how to get out of feeling like you’re stuck. “I’ll take a really good song and talk about metaphors, show them examples, make them think about things you instinctively know; but when you put a name on them, it really helps you set a goal. Little tips that I had to learn the hard way, so they don’t have to.”
In concert, Irene will perform original songs from her illustrious songwriting and recording career; the audience is sure to recognize many! “I want to give them a night that they can just enjoy the music, take them out of their everyday lives. They don’t have to turn the news on, they can just come and forget about everything for a while. I sing a lot of songs about home and love, they can say, ‘Oh yeah, I know what that feels like.’ That’s always gratifying for me as a performer and songwriter.”
Singer Songwriter Series: Irene Kelley
Arts Barn, March 29th
Workshop 3pm, concert 7:30pm
Tickets: https://ci.ovationtix.com/36017/performance/11510009
