Music Sin Fronteras – Kelly Lot

Kelly’s Lot new album is pure gold.

This is an all-American column- no “sin fronteras” this week, no mariachi, K-pop or J-pop or even cumbia from East LA..  Once in a while a just have to go back to the blues, that unique American music that tells stories of heartbreak, suffering, love and sometimes joy.  And what better place to go is one of today’s blues queens, Kelly Zirbes, – Kelly Z and her band Kelly’s Lot.

Kelly’s Lot blues band has released a new album, The Blues Remind Me after the 2020 success of their album Another Sky and it is pure gold. Ten songs, each a treasure in itself, and together a collection that spans the different realities that are the blues with talent and skill and feeling that is unique in the blues world, or any music genre.

If you are a blues fan, you know Kelly’s Lot. If you don’t,  a little history is in order. Kelly’s Lot is a blues band formed in 1994  by Kelly Zirbes, a folk singer/songwriter with a passion and outsized talent for the blues . In 1996 she met guitarist and sound man Perry Robertson who produced her Live and the Troubadour album and later joined the band ,adding a Texas/southern blues sound. The band has evolved since then, sometimes playing as a Duo, a 5-piece, sometimes a larger folk/blues/rock band with horns, harmonica and multiple guitars, always centered around Kelly Z’s vocals and great songwriting by Kelly and Robertson..

The band has released 16 CDs and the last 15 years they have played and toured as a Duo, Trio and a 5 piece band, while adding horns, keys and harmonica at different times. They have played in blues and folk festivals in the US and Europe. Their songs have been heard in movies  like “ Ghostbusters” and in  television shows, and covered by other artists. Kelly’s Lot’s music is a blend of soulful blues and folk influences, creating a unique sound that has a dedicated fan base and a clutch of awards including the  Los Angeles Music Awards – Best Americana Group (2006), the  LA Critics Music Awards – Best Blues Band (2011), and the Akademia Music Awards – Best Blues Album (2014.

Their latest album, The Blues Reminds Me, showcases the full range of the band’s skills and Kelly Z’s vocals and hers and Perry Robertson’s songwriting skills. The 10 songs on the album range from the rockin’ with horns “Just Tell Me the Truth”, to the soft, breathy “Man in the Moon” to the pure down home “I Gotta Sing the Blues” duo with Mo Beeks.

The railroad rock “Boogie  Bus” grabs your guts and pushes you out onto the dance floor – you just can’t sit still and listed as the harmonica wails the train whistle and the big steel wheels in the drum kit power on. “Mama’s Blues” pierces your heart with Kelly Z’s nostalgic vocals and orchestration with guitar and horns in the background building an environment that allows you to really feel the urgency and love in the  story of “Mama’s Blues”.

Kelly ups the ante with “It Ain’t What You Say”, a classic  blues form, with a horn call- and- response to her vocals, and a classic blues structure moved along with a gut-grabbing piano. “Man in the Moon” starts like the daughter of a heavy metal parents, a guitar wall and Kelly talking blues accented with the electric organic and a solid beat.  

My favorites is “Blessings”, an intimate close- in- your- ear woman’s warning, “I can hurt you so bad that it’s good”. So intimate, so ominous, so beautiful. Kelly Z’s vocals are magnificent.

 “Aces”, a fast-paced piece with stomach-clinching harmonica and Kelly moving through the bars at a fast clip. laying down one earworm line after another.  The album wraps up with “Love and Understanding” a gentle swaying blues song Kelly with a great message and a hypnotic beat. I love the breakdown with the guitar and piano rifts. It does exactly what the blues are supposed to do – as does Kelly Z and her Lot. This album is gold, and it is going into my blues playlist.