A Mississippi native, Kelley recorded her debut album in Brooklyn with producer J.D. Foster (Calexico, Laura Cantrell, Richard Buckner). The album is a beautiful reflection of Kelley's live shows and features the honey-sweet harmonies of Sarah Fullen and Virginia Kull. The album also showcases the work of Joan Baez's longtime drummer George Javori.

Kelley studied acting at SMU in Texas where she took a guitar elective two years into her studies. Although she grew up singing in her small town church choir and sang with a jazz band in Nantucket in her teens, she hadn’t considered a career in music until she picked up the guitar and began writing songs.

“For me, finding songwriting was like falling in love or something like that...where you find what to you is home and where you're supposed to put your time and your passion.”

Kelley moved to New York City in the fall of 2003 and quickly made a name for herself in the city's live music scene. She blends Patsy Cline's soulful delivery and heart-wrenching sincerity with Lucinda Williams' southern literary prowess and damn-straight common grace insights. She has appeared on World Café singing with Mark Geary and appears on the “Loggerheads” soundtrack with Kim Carnes and Patty Griffin.