Kelleigh (pronounced Kelly) McKenzie (vocal, acoustic guitar, banjo, foot stomp, etc.) Special guests appearing on "Chances" are: Jeff Michne (lap steel, percussion, mando guitar, electric guitar), Scott Petito (bass), and Dan Hickey (drums)
Booking/Publicity:
Zatchubilly Music
PO Box 508
Rosendale NY 12472
845-518-7352
Radio Promotion
Brad Hunt, WNS Group
845-358-3003
US Distribution
Burnside Distribution Corp
503-231-0876
Armed with a banjo, guitar and amplified stompbox, Oregonian-turned-New Yorker Kelleigh McKenzie (pronounced "Kelly") has a way of mixing folk, blues, old-time and rock into a music all her own. With a whimsical voice and soaring melodies, she takes the well-worn roads of Americana to unexpected places, thumping and plucking out original tales that veer effortlessly from a graceful social consciousness to lusty romps and sinister seductions. Kelleigh's acclaimed debut album Chances was recently released nationally and her song "Gin" won the 2009 Independent Music Award (IMA) for Best Americana Song. She received two additional IMA nominations (Best Americana Album and Best Cover Song for "Eleanor Rigby") and was named a winner in last year's Mountain Stage NewSong Contest.
After years of writing and performing for a small circle of friends and fans in upstate New York, Kelleigh and her partner, musician and co-producer Jeff Michne, decided to record a few of her songs for the fun of it and to "see what would happen." They enlisted Grammy-nominated engineer/bassist Scott Petito (Rory Block, James Taylor) to record and play on the project and Dan Hickey (Rickie Lee Jones, They Might Be Giants) to add drums on a few tracks. In July of 2008 they celebrated the completion of Chances with a party in Woodstock, garnering accolades from local press, and then they put it up for sale online and started sending out copies to folks in the music industry.
Within six months, Kelleigh was performing on NPR's "Mountain Stage." Songs from Chances went into rotation at radio stations across the country and spent 24 weeks on the Americana Music Chart, getting more than 2,500 spins and peaking at 59. She was invited to showcase at international and regional folk conferences and began opening shows for national artists at some of the nation's premier listening rooms. Called "a major talent" by Tony Trischka, Kelleigh is busy writing songs for her next record and bringing her captivating solo acoustic show to new audiences.
Hey Fallzone Friends! Tonight was a great night, we had our Single Debut of "Dance with me" played on radio tonight. Thanks to Rob Rush and 94.3 WMJC to backing great local music. Take a listen to it on our myspace page right now. myspace.com/fallzonemusic -Jon Santos Fallzone