Kelly Joe Phelps


CORINNE WEST AND KELLY JOE PHELPS Magnetic Skyline Out now is 'Magnetic Skyline,' a 26 minute, 6 song EP by Corinne West & Kelly Joe Phelps. The EP was recorded live-off-the-floor at Skywalker Sound - the sound division of George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch - in Novato, California. Click here to stream the first two songs! We are taking orders now for 'Magnetic Skyline.' We caught up with Corinne and Kelly Joe at the Climate Theater in San Francisco on May 19th. Check out a video of a song from the new album "Whisky Poet."

CORINNE WEST AND KELLY JOE PHELPS DUO Kelly Joe will be taking some time off from solo touring to pursue a new duo collaboration with singer/songwriter Corinne West (visit Corinne's website or her MySpace). Check the tour page for new dates, with more to come, including the Netherlands and Germany in the Spring and England in the Fall. Watch a video of the duo performing one of Corinne's songs at Schoenberg Guitars in Tiburon, CA February 26th, 2010. Check it out here!

WESTERN BELL 'Western Bell' out now on the label Black Hen. This is the first all-solo instrumental album including 6 string and 12 string guitars as well as a return to lap-slide on three pieces. To listen to a few select tracks and order Western Bell, click here!

WHAT THE PRESS HAS TO SAY ABOUT WESTERN BELL “Western Bell is among the most unique acoustic guitar recordings out there today. Cryptic, hushed, confoundingly beautiful, this is a brilliant, deeply moving work by an artist who has created a new language on the acoustic guitar, culled from the discontinued speech fragments of American music's own mysterious past.” -Thom Jurek, AllMusicGuide read more-> “His eighth album of solo acoustic guitar improvisation should be enough to land him status in the company of legends, if he isn’t there already. Like a hero of the high plains, roaming nameless to wherever God deems his services necessary, Phelps speaks directly to your soul. If that isn’t the stuff of legends, I don’t know what is.” -Filmore Mescalito Holmes, PopMatters read more-> “On this latest opus he dispenses with the oblique wordplay that marks his usual output and concentrates instead on his considerable skill with six strings and piece of wood. The results, while typically idiosyncratic, are as remarkable and offbeat as you'd expect from a man of such proven talent.” -Chris Jones, BBC read more-> “One might call it "free blues" as it seems firmly rooted in Delta blues, but is filled with harmonic and rhythmic twists and turns. Every guitarist alive should own this album.” -David Reid, The Intelligencer read more->

MISSISSIPPI SHEIKS TRIBUTE ALBUM

"Things 'Bout Comin' My Way" is the title of the Mississippi Sheiks Tribute album released on October 20th on Black Hen Music. The Mississippi Sheiks are a highly under-appreciated country blues group that recorded throughout the 1930's. Featuring all new performances of the fantastic material of the Sheiks, the tribute covers everything from traditional to avant-garde takes on their classic repertoire. Along with Kelly Joe, the lineup for the tribute also includes John Hammond, Bill Frisell, Geoff Muldaur, Madeleine Peyroux, Bruce Cockburn, Jim Byrnes, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Ndidi Onukwulu, Del Rey, Bob Brozman, Robin Holcomb, The North Mississippi Allstars, Oh Susanna with Van Dyke Parks, Danny Barnes, The Sojourners, and Steve Dawson.

LIVE VIDEOS FROM BERKELEY, CA FILMED FEBRUARY 21st, 2009

WATCH "COUNTRY BLUES"

WATCH "BEGGAR'S OIL"

WATCH "WINDOW GRIN"

Flash 8 required

Check out videos for the songs "Country Blues" from the record 'Shine Eyed Mister Zen,' "Beggar's Oil" from the record 'Sky Like a Broken Clock,' and "Window Grin" from the record 'Slingshot Professionals' recorded live at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California on February 21st, 2009.

VIDEOS FROM BERKELEY, CA 01/24/08

WATCH VIDEO
Flash 8 required

Watch a video for the song "Tight to the Jar" and "Plumb Line" from the record 'Tunesmith Retrofit' recorded live at the Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California on January 24th, 2008.

POP!TECH VIDEO

Watch Kelly Joe performing a few tunes from his visit to Pop!Tech last year.

VIDEO & INTERVIEW FROM OPB

Kelly Joe stopped by OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting Studios.. Oregon's NPR Station) in Portland, Oregon to play some songs and talks about his early performing career as a jazz bassist, improvisation, moving to fingerstyle and slide guitar, welcoming the muse, and finding his voice over the years as a singer. Check it out here!