Kelley Smith

Minnesota songwriter Kelley Smith is a wallflower who fancies old poetry and grandpa sweaters. All at once whimsical and haunting, Smith delivers deeply affecting lyrics with wry charm and a time traveler's voice. Prone to melancholy and daydreaming, Kelley spent her childhood roaming the woods of the north country. To this day, her longing for that landscape runs deep and seems to find its way into her songs in one way or another.

Raised by musicians, Smith always had music in her bones, but it wasn't until she was 40 and a mother of four that her first record, Moon Child (2022), came to be.

“These organic and unvarnished songs reflect life experiences that could as easily come from past lives as they could from Kelley’s soul.”

Rieder Homestead Concerts

”Her rustic sound, combined with relatable gut-punchy lyrics has been resonating with audiences up north and beyond.”

Southern Minn Scene

Since 2022, Kelley has had the honor of sharing stages with artists such as Charlie Parr, Kelly Hunt, Wild Horses, Dave Simonett, and Alan Sparhawk. Every once in a while, she tucks into old dive bars with her banjo to play folk songs. Otherwise, she’s doing things that quiet people do: Chopping vegetables, playing instruments, reading too much Carl Jung, talking to her cat, and carting her children around town.