CLETUS KENNELLY & LORI KELLEY "Two great sounds that sound great together"
Award-winning singer-songwriters on their own, Cletus Kennelly & Lori Kelley combined their artistries, developing a style and a sense for each other's voices that is magical. "I haven't heard harmonies this tight since Simon & Garfunkel" (Gene Dawson, Dawson Concerts) Their work has earned them 40 WAMMIE nominations and 12 WAMMIE awards (Washington Area Music Awards) between them, including the WAMMIE award for BEST CONTEMPORARY FOLK GROUP (three times). Both approach their writing from a lyrical, melodic place with songs that speak to the heart. The wit and depth each adds to the other's songs makes for an engaging show. "Cletus and Lori are two standout solo performers whose voices blend beautifully." (Scott Moore, Moore House Concerts) As solo artists, and again as a duo, both Cletus & Lori were selected to perform at D.C.'s Kennedy Center.
Cletus & Lori are Twenty-first Century Troubadours. Their stellar vocals, captivating harmonies, and beautiful guitar work will land their story-songs at the doorstep to your heart and leave you longing for more." (Rick LaRocca, Columbia Lakefront Festival)
Cletus describes Lori as "a gift that just landed in my lap. I was a solo performer when we met, and wasn't really looking for a duo partner, but Lori really thought we should sing together, and she was right. I'm eternally grateful for her tenacity. Singing with her has been a gift to me."
"What's better than a good singer-songwriter? Two singer-songwriters whose meshed voices seem built for close harmony. That's the case for Lori Kelley and Cletus Kennelly, two independent artists who began collaborating five years ago after meeting at a Mid-Atlantic Song Contest awards ceremony and exchanging CDs. Kelley showed up at Kennelly's next gig having learned all the songs on his debut album, Thread, and they immediately started weaving a new vocal tapestry. Kelley, blessed with a four-octave range, leans toward pop, while Kennelly is a 12-string guitarist in a more contemporary folk/pop mode, but they fit well together and obviously savor harmony singing. Kelley and Kennelly have each won multiple Wammies, including this year as Best Contemporary Folk Group, and they'll soon make their longtime partnership official with their first recording as a duo." (Richard Harrington, The Washington Post)
"In addition to sharing close harmonies on their new CD, Lotus, Cletus Kennelly and Lori Kelley alternately contribute tunes that tend to fall gracefully between folk and pop. In fact, so consistent is the song quality that it's sometimes hard to tell who wrote what. Among Kennelly's best efforts are The Gate, an inspirational love song concerning a soldier blinded on the battlefield, and Looking Up, a 9/11 ballad that's likely to outlast most. As for Kelley's lyrics, none is more poetic or evocative than Snow Is Falling, a contemporary spiritual dedicated to Pfc. Lori Piestewa, one of a handful of Native American women in the U.S. military and the first woman to die in the Iraq war." (Mike Joyce, The Washington Post)
Award-winning singer-songwriters on their own, Cletus Kennelly & Lori Kelley combined their artistries, developing a style and a sense for each other's voices that is magical. "I haven't heard harmonies this tight since Simon & Garfunkel" (Gene Dawson, Dawson Concerts) Their work has earned them 40 WAMMIE nominations and 12 WAMMIE awards (Washington Area Music Awards) between them, including the WAMMIE award for BEST CONTEMPORARY FOLK GROUP (three times). Both approach their writing from a lyrical, melodic place with songs that speak to the heart. The wit and depth each adds to the other's songs makes for an engaging show. "Cletus and Lori are two standout solo performers whose voices blend beautifully." (Scott Moore, Moore House Concerts) As solo artists, and again as a duo, both Cletus & Lori were selected to perform at D.C.'s Kennedy Center.
Cletus & Lori are Twenty-first Century Troubadours. Their stellar vocals, captivating harmonies, and beautiful guitar work will land their story-songs at the doorstep to your heart and leave you longing for more." (Rick LaRocca, Columbia Lakefront Festival)
Cletus describes Lori as "a gift that just landed in my lap. I was a solo performer when we met, and wasn't really looking for a duo partner, but Lori really thought we should sing together, and she was right. I'm eternally grateful for her tenacity. Singing with her has been a gift to me."
"What's better than a good singer-songwriter? Two singer-songwriters whose meshed voices seem built for close harmony. That's the case for Lori Kelley and Cletus Kennelly, two independent artists who began collaborating five years ago after meeting at a Mid-Atlantic Song Contest awards ceremony and exchanging CDs. Kelley showed up at Kennelly's next gig having learned all the songs on his debut album, Thread, and they immediately started weaving a new vocal tapestry. Kelley, blessed with a four-octave range, leans toward pop, while Kennelly is a 12-string guitarist in a more contemporary folk/pop mode, but they fit well together and obviously savor harmony singing. Kelley and Kennelly have each won multiple Wammies, including this year as Best Contemporary Folk Group, and they'll soon make their longtime partnership official with their first recording as a duo." (Richard Harrington, The Washington Post)
"In addition to sharing close harmonies on their new CD, Lotus, Cletus Kennelly and Lori Kelley alternately contribute tunes that tend to fall gracefully between folk and pop. In fact, so consistent is the song quality that it's sometimes hard to tell who wrote what. Among Kennelly's best efforts are The Gate, an inspirational love song concerning a soldier blinded on the battlefield, and Looking Up, a 9/11 ballad that's likely to outlast most. As for Kelley's lyrics, none is more poetic or evocative than Snow Is Falling, a contemporary spiritual dedicated to Pfc. Lori Piestewa, one of a handful of Native American women in the U.S. military and the first woman to die in the Iraq war." (Mike Joyce, The Washington Post)
