Photographed by Melissa Madison Fuller
The first Robert Kelly song I heard was his Christmas single last year. It was one of the many songs I shared during last years Merry Music Monday series, and I promised to share more of Robert’s music again. So here I am, doing so, finally.
What was I waiting for? I’d already listened to his album We Are Poetry about a dozen times. I knew what song I wanted to share. But with talk of the two of us grabbing beers in Nashville, I decided to wait to meet Robert in person. At the end of September, I found out that to share a table with Robert is to be in the presence of joy, a contagious personality, and of course; talent. He radiates the catchy energy of songs like “We Are Poetry,” and you leave knowing you’ve met the genuine man that comes out in my favorite tune from his album, “Running Faster.”
Stream: “We Are Poetry”
Stream: “Running Faster”
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Raised in:
Allen, Texas. It’s a suburb of Dallas where football reigns supreme and everyone drives a big truck (I played football and drove a big truck, go figure). I have two wonderful parents who did the raising, and a sister who I terrorized during the raising, and we’re really close now!
Lives in:
Nashville, Tennessee
Favorite thing about We Are Poetry:
The opportunity to make it. I had just graduated from college and thought “what I need to do to be a singer/songwriter is make an album…and what I really need to make an album is some money.” So I worked at a fancy cocktail bar in Nashville for a while, saved up, and got to have a blast making an album with extremely talented new friends that really represents me, and it’s been a huge adventure ever since, wandering around playing lots of shows.
How the South influences your sound:
The South influences my songwriting in a huge way because when I began taking music seriously in seventh grade, I wanted to be a country singer. I wore boots, jeans, a hat, and even had the half black/half white shirt like Garth Brooks. That’s definitely changed, but even more than that, the South, to me, means long, hot summers, driving with the windows down blasting The Rocket Summer, fun., or John Mayer. I like to think I bring that with me everywhere I go.
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Download We Are Poetry on iTunes!