National Blues-Based Rocker Coming To Rex's Rendezvous
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Staff Report-
National recording blues artist Kelly Richey and her band are coming to Warsaw. The Kelly Richey Band will perform live Feb. 20 at 9 p.m. at Rex’s Rendezvous, 204 S. Buffalo St., Warsaw. The female-fronted power trio plays gritty, hard-driving, riff-driven, original blues-based rock, according to provided press material. Her official website states, “Based in Cincinnati, Kelly Richey is one of the hardest-working independent musicians out there; to date logging an extraordinary 900,000 miles touring, and at one point in her 28-year professional career, gigging a grueling 275 days out of the year. Richey started playing guitar at the age of 15. Today, a staggering 3,900 gigs later, she more than earns the title of master guitarist.” Richey has been described as “Stevie Ray Vaughan trapped in a woman’s body with Janis Joplin screaming to get out,” it also states. She “matches her gifted technique with a passion for music that borders on being possessed. Her powerful guitar chops capture audiences with blisteringly precise guitar leads.” Richey has shared the stage with such musicians as Albert King, Lonnie Mack, Julie Wolf and Sara Lee (from the B-52’s). She has opened for Robben Ford, Joe Cocker, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Walter Trout, Little Feat, Foghat, REO Speedwagon, George Thorogood, Average White Band, Warren Zevon and James Brown. “Kelly has perfected her unique style over years of touring and on 15 albums. She fronts her power trio, The Kelly Richey Band, with a gutsy authority. The heady combination of Kelly’s stadium-worthy alto and the intensity of her playing has made her an award-winning musician’s musician–and one of the best blues guitarists making music today,” the press material states. Although starting out on electric guitar, Richey also mastered the acoustic guitar, and for many years played in folk/rock duos, co-writing and singing with other musicians, according to her biography. She is a seasoned songsmith as well, weaving together “gritty blues-based rock and Americana-ish roots-based music that’s filled with introspection and cutting emotion. The brilliant song crafting very evident, in particular, on Richey’s last four studio releases which contain all original material.” Richey and her band were named Best Rock Band (1999 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards), Best Blues/R&B Band (2002 CAMMY Awards), City Beat’s (Best of Cincinnati) Best Local musician in 2000, and she was honored to be the winner of the Arts Award for the 2011 Hot Mommas Project. Born in 1962, Richey was adopted as an infant, and raised in Lexington, Ky. A rebellious, troubled teenager who suffered greatly in school because of undiagnosed dyslexia and ADHD, she began playing guitar (after learning piano and then learning to play the drums) to release frustration, acquire an identity for herself, and gain social acceptance, according to her website. She instantly took to the instrument, and practiced non-stop, literally bringing it with her wherever she went. She became proficient very quickly. Richey auditioned for her first band after four months, and formed her first band after 18 months. She began touring right out of high school. Shortly after joining Stealin’ Horses in 1986, the band was signed to Arista records. She toured on and off with Stealin’ Horses between 1986 and 1990, but came to realize that it wasn’t her destiny to be a sideman. In 1994, feeling that it was time to branch out on her own, she took a cue from independent artist Ani De Franco and founded her own independent record label, Sweet Lucy Records. Richey ultimately released a total of 15 CDs and one DVD over the next 20 years, and gained national distribution with her third CD, “Live At Tommy’s On Main.” For more information on Richey, visit her official website at www.kellyrichey.com; her Facebook page at facebook.com/kellyricheyguitarist; or follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/KellyRichey
