Kevin Welch

Kevin Welch has a career spanning four decades as a recording artist, producer, and songwriter; one whose songs have been recorded by the likes of as well as writing songs for others such as Waylon Jennings, The Highwaymen, Solomon Burke, Linda Ronstadt, Patty Loveless, Roger Miller, even Garth Brooks. Most recently. Grammy-award-winning country superstar, Chris Stapleton, released a version of Welch’s song "Millionaire",which went to number #1 on iTunes in its first week of release and stayed in the Billboard Charts for almost a year.Working primarily as a songwriter throughout the '80s on a Nashville scene that included the likes of John Prine and Guy Clark, Welch, thanks to a recommendation by Steve Earle, had a brief stint as a major label country artist in the late 80s. He made his name as a pure, uncompromising singer-songwriter a few years later as a co-founder and recording artist for one of the first artist-owned labels, Dead Reckoning, in the mid-'90s.Dead Reckoning had a huge influence in the early days of the alt-country scene, and alongside his label partner Kieran Kane, Welch was a regular visitor to Australia in the late 90s and 00's. The pair performed at Bluesfest, Port Fairy Folk Festival and legendary venues like the Basement in Sydney and Melbourne's The Continental, where he and Kane recorded a much-loved live album on their first Australian tour.Kevin and Keiran were soon joined in their touring - and recording - ventures by multi-instrumentalist Fats Kaplin (who would subsequently join Jack White's band). Their love for Australia was such that, in 2009, Kevin wrote and recorded the song "Marysville" in dedication to the tiny Victorian town that was decimated in the Black Saturday fires.Kevin's vocals are soft-spoken with a Bob Dylan-esque storyteller's rasp. Sometimes, they have a bit of Randy Newman-ish larger-than-lifeness while still being restrained and subtle. He delivers them with a folk-country cadence that tells everyday tales and showcases extraordinary songwriting.He currently lives on the south coast of New South Wales with his beautiful wife, a houseful of kids and a pup, writing songs and pining for Tex-Mex food.Website:   https://kevinwelch.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevinwelchmusic/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinwelchmusic/