Join us at Askew on Wednesday June 8th for Taylor Kelly from Philadelphia with special guests Funkademic and Wendy Lucas!!
7pm doors8pm show$10 cover
Taylor Kelly
Born and raised in the suburbs of Rochester, NY, Taylor Kelly is now a fixture in the vibrant Philadelphia music scene further honing her introspective take on jazz, soul, and funk. She combines her smooth, powerful, technically-informed voice with a full horn section, addictive hip hop and electronic beats, and complex arrangements she writes herself with help from long-time collaborator and trombonist Mike Rilli. Both a vocalist and trumpet player, her sound is a dynamic blend of several established genres: she melds the improvisational looseness of jazz, the rhythmic earworms of funk, and the moving resonance of soul to carve out a niche all her own. Kelly names Stevie Wonder, Chet Baker, Roy Hargrove, Art Farmer, and Erykah Badu as influences, integrating strong melodic contour and intricate harmonies into lyrically personal and sonically anthemic tracks.Kelly is a Berklee College of Music graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Professional Music. Along with her band, she has released four albums and shared the stage with Moonchild, Becca Stevens, Monophonics, Neal Francis, Bahamadia, and Georgia Anne Muldrow. She was a finalist in the PHL LIVE Center Stage competition for R&B in 2018, has amassed over half a million listens for her single “California” on streaming platforms worldwide and has uplifted, inspired, and energized thousands of ardent concertgoers at hundreds of live shows with her unabashed authenticity and immersively freeing performance style. Previously, Taylor was the front-woman (Tayoncé) of Jay-Z/Beyonce tribute band For the Record, who had the unbelievable privilege of opening up for Salt N Pepa at Boston's ThrowBBaQ at City Hall in 2014. Kelly has an unyielding, marrow-deep commitment to self expression through music and has continued to transfer this passion to her listeners and live audiences with her EP, ‘All I Need’, released February 25th 2022. The first single, “Maybe” released September 24th 2021 and the final single, "Sabotage” released January 21st of this year.Aside from performing, Taylor teaches voice, piano, songwriting and trumpet lessons. She takes pride in teaching others and inspiring them to love music in the way she has learned to. "I believe the essence of music is self-expression and finding meaning in every word and/or note but I also realize the importance of music theory, ear training and the ability to read as it allows you to understand music fully and go far beyond what you ever thought you could do."