Countrysångerska sökes

“Find the music that makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.” That was the sound advice a music teacher gave Gabriel Kelley when the Georgia folkie was just a teenager, still discovering the joys of music, developing his own particular tastes, and only beginning to realize that he could do more than just play along with his favorite songs. Those words have become Kelley’s life mission not only as an avid listener but also as a singer-songwriter who writes from the heart and strives to connect with his audiences on a deeply personal level. That mission has taken him around the world: from the family farm in rural Georgia to music school in Sweden, from a songwriting company in Nashville to street corners and clubs in every city in America. Along the way he played more shows than he can count, some on street corners and other in concert halls. With a voice defined by its plaintive grain and a lyrical style that is both evocative and straightforward, Kelley has recorded the critically acclaimed album It Don’t Come Easy, with another—Lighter Shades of Blue—on the way this fall. Most of all, he has matured into a homegrown artist with a grassroots following. “There wa