Kelly’s Lot celebrates thirty years with a new release, The Blues Remind Me, on Friday, July 12. While this is only the band’s third Blues collection, they have included Blues tracks on all previous sixteen albums and have played that genre since the first night they hit the stage at The Roxy in Hollywood, Calif.
Paced by the strong rhythm section of Mike Sauer on drums and Matt McFadden on bass, The Blues Remind Me has a solid foundation to present this all original selection of songs. Past Grammy nominee, keyboard player Mo Beeks adds his magical touch, playing on the majority of the tracks and singing a duet with Kelly’s Lot front-person, vocalist Kelly Z. Longtime band member and sax player Bill Johnston arranged the horns, as he did for 2014’s Don’t Give My Blues Away. Paulie Cerra on saxophone and Tomislav Goluban on harp, bring their “Special Guest” best while Didier Reyes, Chip Tingle and Aviva Maloney, who also plays flute, round out the recording’s horn section with Bill and Paulie. Band-mates Rob Zucca, Gary Bivona, and Frank Hinojosa added guitar, flugel horn and harp to complete the recording of songs written by both Zirbes and Perry Robertson, the latter who joined Kelly’s Lot in 1996 as guitarist and soundman, started writing songs with Kelly, and has recorded and produced all the band’s music since. Adding mixer to his credits for the first time with their 2021 live album Where And When, Robertson stayed at the mixing board for The Blues Remind Me.
Kelly’s Lot…Bio
Kelly’s Lot was formed in 1994 by Kelly Zirbes, a folk singer/songwriter with a heart for the blues. With sixteen CDs and lots of touring in the USA and Europe, the band celebrates thirty years since the first night the band hit the stage at the Roxy in Hollywood. Kelly Z met Texas guitar player and sound-man, Perry Robertson in 1996, who soon after produced Kelly’s Lot – Live at the Troubadour. Within a year he joined the band, started writing songs with Kelly Z and added the Southern rock and Texas Blues influences that have helped shape the Kelly’s Lot sound.
In the last ten years Kelly’s Lot have played some of the larger festivals like BeachLife Ranch, Waterfront Blues Festival, Happy Face Music Festival, Simi Valley Cajun and Blues Festival, Nuits de Sologne and Lavaudieu Music Festival. Their songs have been heard in both movies and television, and were covered by other artists. Perry has recorded and produced most of the band’s music including their 2019 release Can’t Take My Soul which brought the duo back to it’s Americana roots. They recorded two more albums during the Covid pandemic: Another Sky, which features a variety of genres including the folk song ‘Foolish Try,’ which was placed in the new Ghostbusters movie Afterlife; plus Where And When, which took the duo back to the blues in a live and acoustic fashion.
During 2023/24, Kelly and Perry brought their music to music lovers in California, Texas, Missouri, Croatia and France. They’ll return to Europe in July and August of 2024, with stops in Ireland to perform at Howth Roots and Blues Festival, and a return to Croatia for the Jerry Ricks Blues Festival. They’ll also perform this year at The Tall City Blues Festival in Midland, TX. Kelly’s Lot seventeenth album, The Blues Remind Me will be released July 12, 2024 to celebrate the group’s love of the Blues and in conjunction with the thirtieth anniversary of Kelly’s Lot. Stay tuned, they are just getting started!
Source: dougdeutschPR