Cletus Kennelly is an 11-time WAMMIE-winning singer, songwriter, and recording studio engineer/producer.  Wammies (Washington Area Music Association Awards) include BEST NEW ARTIST, SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR, BEST CONTEMPORARY FOLK VOCALIST (five times), BEST CONTEMPORARY FOLK DUO/GROUP (three times) and BEST CONTRMPORARY FOLK RECORDING.  He’s earned 36 songwriting awards, including 32 WAMMIE nominations, and has had the honor of twice performing at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. In addition to his debut CD Thread, Cletus has released a 2-song benefit CD with the WAMMIE-nominated SONG OF THE YEAR Looking Up (Three Days in September), written on September 13th 2001, and Celestial Dance a lyrical, driving, percussive serenity prayer.  Cletus joined singer/songwriter Lori Kelley to form the duo Cletus & Lori.  They have released two CDs, Lotus and The Very Same Sky.  Cletus is also a highly sought vocalist for harmonies at several recording studios, and is regularly booked as a song contest judge.

"Cletus Kennelly wields a mean 12-string acoustic and writes a moving tune…the earnest and true kind." (Eric Brace, Washington Post) "What makes Cletus great is Cletus. He has a way of connecting to the audience directly, and the rich quality of his voice is so effective, he doesn’t need a band behind him." (Ray Ruskin, Kensington Coffee House Concert Series) "Cletus Kennelly is able to pan for nuggets of lyrical gold." (Chris Slattery, Gazette Newspapers)