Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelley Smith.
Hi Kelley, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m a forest person, a wallflower, and more recently a songwriter of sorts. Despite my musical roots, I was 35 when I really attached to my guitar. I needed it. My family had been through a difficult and confusing season, and I’d become very reclusive. I would tuck my 4 kids into bed each night, and then obsessively play guitar until the early hours of the morning. I’d grown up on all kinds of music, but discovering old-time players in mid-life like Doc Watson, is what inspired me to learn to pick and eventually write. I released my first batch of songs as an EP called “Moon Child” in 2022, just after I turned 40. Mostly out of curiosity…but if I’m honest – a long-suppressed desire to do such a thing. Some very generous and encouraging people gave me lots of helpful little nudges.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I started playing shows, and it was a bit of an adjustment. I was a little bit precious in the beginning. I kept finding myself in situations that someone with shyness and anxiety would not typically place themselves in. I was in the habit of saying yes to things, and then letting the novelty and the nerves visit me later on. Sometimes that worked out okay, and sometimes it felt like a disaster. I once told a more seasoned performer that I loved playing music for people, but I didn’t like being looked at…to which they responded, “honey, you’re in the wrong business.” Maybe. I still mull that one around, hah. But I’ve been working things out as I go, as we all do. I’m learning to use my voice, and to tell the truth. As someone who has historically been a socially anxious, tongue-tied people-pleaser, this has been life changing for me. In 2024, I bought a 1974 Martin 00-21 that didn’t have a guitar strap button. And with no strap, I was quickly converted into a sitting performer. I feel like I was able to hunch over my guitar and go deeper into my songs, forgetting my nerves a bit. For better or worse, I suppose.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve written more songs. Though, I have a tendency to do things out of order, and have been performing them live before releasing them in recorded form. I’m working on an album slowly. By slowly, I mean indecisively. I’ve changed so much in a short period of time, that my desires for what the album might include are hard to keep up with. Some might call this overthinking. They would be correct, but it’s a little more complicated than that. Also, these gigging years have coincided with some of my darkest years as a woman and a mother. Even when there is spare time, there’s not always spare energy. I’ve really had to work on that “I’m doing the best I can” mentality, and accept that my journey will be different. I don’t know many other mothers of 4 who are doing this kind of thing. But it’s a gigantic part of who I am, so I continue to try. I’m probably 80% music, and 20% potato (I’m addicted to chips). And…maybe some mothers would appreciate hearing from a fellow one. Maybe we’re a bit under-represented in musical art.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Telling the truth matters, which includes being yourself. Even if yourself embarrasses you from time to time. It’s a true honor to facilitate spaces out-of-time for respite, for feelings, for togetherness – in a world obsessed with digital socialization, and desensitization to one another’s struggles. What matters, is longing. That feeling we can only get close to finding the words for. Other than, when you feel it, you know.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelleysmithmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kelleysmithofthenorth/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KelleySmithMusic
- Other: https://kelleysmith.bandcamp.com/
