Kelley Swindall

A real live wire performer straddling country, folk and blues. Kelley Swindall was born and raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where she grew up listening to the music of Kris Kristofferson, Patsy Cline, and Johnny Cash on the way to church every Sunday morning, cuz that?s what her Daddy listened to. She escaped small town Georgia, after high school, for New York City, to study acting, but got sidetracked from the theatre, after having her heart broken by a musician, which inspired her to pick up a guitar and start writing her own songs. She figured she was gonna need something besides her sparkling personality and southern charm, to compete with the New York City girls for the affections of whatever man struck her fancy next. Turns out she actually had a knack for songwriting. Also turns out, the more she wrote, the less she cared about landing the men;) Party Patsy and part Dolly, with original songs in the story-telling tradition of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan, Kelley is equally at home in a biker bar or under a proscenium arch. Taking the stage with with just her moxie and an acoustic guitar, she sings about the stuff classic country and folk music is made of: heartache, heartbreak, redemption, and revenge (among other things), filtered through a sassily southern perspective. Drawing from her Southern roots, her style is a blend of soulful & bluesy folk coupled with a witty and gritty, classic country sensibility. Inspired by the outlaw tradition, and deeply rooted in story songs and talking blues, Kelley?s songs are driven by strong female characters who tell it like it is. Her debut studio album ?You Can Call Me Darlin? If You Want? is out now via New York City based label Velvet Elk Records.