Kelley and The Cowboys

Artist Information

Biography

Kelley and The Cowboys are a Honky Tonk band from NC, led by by an amazing female vocalist performing early country standards as well as original music, western swing, and blues. This band excites the crowd with their high energy and amazing musicianship no matter what the musical tastes of the listener may be. How do they do it? With mind blowing vocals from a spirited young red-head, thrilling upright bass solos, the swinging tag team of guitar and fiddle music, and the rock and roll sound of the electric 4-string mandolin with the archtop guitar dueling for the greatest break and, to top it all off, it's paired with a great dance beat, for those who are out to hit the floor.

You can read more about Kelley and The Cowboys at www.kelleyandthecowboys.com !!!

Instrumentation

Kelley Breiding~Vocals
Ray Wood~ Guitar
Joel Savoy~Fiddle
Matt Sircely~Mandolin
Nick McMillian~Upright Bass
Glenn Fields~Drums

Discography

"What This Old World Needs" released in 2010
Next Album in the works!!

Kelley Breiding also appears on albums with:
Back-Step - "Rise and Bloom Again"
The Red Hots - " Music for Squares"
Rafe and Clelia Stefanini - " Never Seen the Like"


Past venues where Kelley and The Cowboys have performed:

Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion - Bristol, TN&VA
Bele Chere Festival - Asheville, NC
Festival of American Fiddle Tunes - Port Townsend, WA
Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance - Trumansburg, NY
The Great Blue Heron Festival - Sherman, NY
Heavy Rebel Weekender - Winston Salem, NC
The Corning Museum of Glass - Corning, NY
Shakori Hills Festival of Music and Dance - Silk Hope, NC
Warehouse Blues Series - Durham, NC
Little John's Music Festival - Snow Camp, NC
The Lincoln Theater - Raleigh, NC
Ziggy's Tavern - Winston Salem, NC
The Canal Club - Richmond, VA
Blue Moon Saloon - Lafayette, LA

Official Website

http://www.kelleyandthecowboys.com

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace

Audio

• What This Old World Needs
  Listen  
• Ooo-Wah-Ooo
  Listen  
• Tomorrow Night
  Listen  

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Grassroots Festival 2008 [+ Show ]
  

  "With a voice like Patsy Cline and a pair of cowboy boots to match, Miss Kelley heads up a hot licki..."With a voice like Patsy Cline and a pair of cowboy boots to match, Miss Kelley heads up a hot lickin' group of gents who play some of the best classic country we've heard in a long, long time. "

• Charlotte Creative Loafing 2007 [+ Show ]
  

  "Mt. Airy country quartet, fronted by the "can't possibly sound anymore country" crooner Kelley Brei..."Mt. Airy country quartet, fronted by the "can't possibly sound anymore country" crooner Kelley Breiding, play that old-time American music-- the Patsy Cline, Hank Sr. kind-- at honkytonks and break-up parties. Their originals are intermingled with obscure and classic country covers, gathering western swing, blues and rockabilly along the way, and making even the tin rafters of honky-tonks sing-a-long. "

• Creative Loafing June 2007 [+ Show ]
  

  "This Mount Airy Quartet finds inspiration in timeless country artists such as Patsy Cline, Hank Wil..."This Mount Airy Quartet finds inspiration in timeless country artists such as Patsy Cline, Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Cash, and Loretta Lynn. The Band has moments of classic country mixed in with more kicked-up rockabilly stylings. They even find moments to sing the blues. The deep and sultry vocals of singer Kelley Breiding add a unique touch to a genre that doesn't often find female singers."

• Asheville-Citizen Times 2007 [+ Show ]
  

  Kelley and the Cowboys lasso rockabilly sounds Kelley and the Cowboys come to town for a Saturday...Kelley and the Cowboys lasso rockabilly sounds
  
  Kelley and the Cowboys come to town for a Saturday show at Westville Pub. With a solid authenticity, the Mount Airy quartet is a tribute to some of the greatest icons in country and rock ’n’ roll history. Kelley Breiding, vocalist, is joined onstage by Jeremy Odom on electric guitar, Nick McMillan on upright bass and Cory Reynolds on drums. The band’s show delivers Breiding’s sassy, soulful vocals, usually tackling themes like lying, cheating and leaving lovers. Take5 caught up with Breiding recently.
  
  Advertisement
  Question: How did you and the Cowboys get started?
  
  Answer: The bass player and
  I already played together in an old-time band called Backstep. I play clawhammer-style banjo in that band, but don’t sing very much ... I just started singing and playing guitar around the house ... (and then) it was just sort of an easy transition from old-time to country.
  
  Q: What made you choose early country music?
  
  A: The whole band loves the emotion, the humanity of early country music, but at the same time we appreciate the spirit of rockabilly that emerged from it. We love the Grand Ole Opry, and the powerful figures that emerged from that, (people like) Ernest Tubb, Patsy Cline, Elvis. I just don’t think there are a lot of performers who give people that kind of raw emotion anymore.
  
  Q: Your Web site says your influences include anyone who makes ‘real’ country music. How would you classify that?
  
  A: I think real country is mainly about genuineness. Even though the people who made that music became iconic and famous — Loretta Lynn for example — that music was already inside her. She came by it honest. She wasn’t trying to shoot out and be in the right place at the right time just to become famous. Modern country’s about that. It doesn’t seem to matter if you sing out of key, or don’t know music or the history of the people behind the music, (because) there you are on TV.
  
  Q: What’s the No. 1 reason that people should come to a Kelley and the Cowboys show?
  
  A: We’re all gonna give them 100 percent of what we have. Everything you hear is gonna be something you remember. I can guarantee that — it’s gonna stick out to you. People like to reminisce in our music. Whether they’re young or old, it just means something to people.
  
  Q: Do you have any recordings available?
  
  A: We’ve got a live CD that we did at the Pour House Music Hall in Raleigh and at Ziggy’s in Winston-Salem. We’ll have some to sell at the show.
  
  Q: What are the band’s goals/hopes for the future?
  
  A: Well, we really enjoy making music so much. We’d really like to make music all the time. We want to have enough work as a band to make a living.
  
  
  

• Raleigh Independent Weekly 2006 [+ Show ]
  

  "Mount Airy's Patsy-voiced Kelley Breiding, her vintage-twanging Cowboys, and their just the facts t..."Mount Airy's Patsy-voiced Kelley Breiding, her vintage-twanging Cowboys, and their just the facts take on real country all got a collective real big thumbs up from that tough crowd after the band's inaugural trip to Hideaway BBQ. ("No showboating or corny shtick, just honest presentations" went one learned assessment.) I'm sold."

• Mount Airy News 2006 [+ Show ]
  

  "From the first Kelley and the Cowboys show, the audiences have been in a whirl over the band's honk..."From the first Kelley and the Cowboys show, the audiences have been in a whirl over the band's honky-tonk attitude and homage to pure country from the past. . . Playing across North Carolina in Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Asheville, and Mount Airy, the group has gained respect and a unique niche. It is hard to ignore the simple fact that Breiding's voice is a doppelganger for Patsy Cline's."

• Shakori Hills Festival 2005 [+ Show ]
  

  "The Music of Kelley and The Cowboys returns to the early country roots of Patsy Cline and Hank Will..."The Music of Kelley and The Cowboys returns to the early country roots of Patsy Cline and Hank Williams.With the powerful voice of Kelley Breiding and the rich melodies of the Cowboys, it's a soulful trip through Honky-Tonk days gone by."

Setlist

We play classic and obscure country and hillbilly roots music and write our own material as well. Here is a sampling of some of the songs we might play:
Come on In (The Stewart Family)
Tryin to Get to You (Elvis Presley)
Walking the Dog (Cliff & Tex Grimsley)
Stop, Look, and Listen (Patsy Cline)
For Rent (Sonny James Loden, Jack Morrow)
Rose of San Anton (Bob Wills)
Ooo-Wah-Ooo ( Kelley Breiding)
Beneath a Neon Star in a Honky Tonk (Tommy Duncan)
It's your Red Wagon (Bob Wills)
Bill Bailey won't you please come home (Standard)
Tommorrow Night (Lonnie Johnson)
Bright Side (Johanna Divine)
Turn the Cards Slowly (Sammy Masters)
Burn That Candle (Charlene Arthur)
Lovesick Blues (Bob Wills)
Sticks and Stones (Wanda Jackson)
What This Old World Needs (Jimmy Dean)
Blue Moon of Kentucky (Bill Monroe)
Tennessee Saturday Night (Red Foley)

Basic Requirements

Calendar