Geoffrey Kelly (born October 23, 1956, in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

rock musician. He played guitars, flutes and

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A Goatskin (material), goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or ot ...

for the

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

band Spirit of the West, for whom he was also the lead vocalist on some songs: Geoffrey Kelly and John Mann were the band's primary songwriters and founders. They were often referred to as the "Glummer Twins". Their partnership endured through the years until the final 3 SOTW shows at the beloved Commodore Ballroom in April 2016. The Spirit of Canada shows took place at the Commodore the following year with an all star cast of Canada's finest. Kelly is also a full-time member of The Paperboys, Kelly released the solo album ''Gringo Star'' in 2002 recorded at home studio Basecamp. He also tours internationally, and across Canada with The Irish Rovers. He has recorded on all their albums since the year 2000, and even appears on the Hard Stuff album from 1989.Jeremy Shepherd, "Not closing time just yet for The Irish Rovers; Iconic band bring their final tour to CelticFest". ''North Shore News'', March 11, 2016. Kelly also tours with the Cariboo Express. Geoffrey has recorded with many artists including Alan Doyle, Paul Hyde, Odds, Barney Bentall, Ashley MacIsaac, The Wonder Stuff, The Town Pants, Early Spirit, Pat Chessell and many others. His most recent recorded work is the album RanchWriters (2021), in partnership with longtime friend Barney Bentall. RanchWriters is an instrumental album centered around 2 acoustic guitars with additional tracks contributed by some of the finest musicians from Western Canada and beyond. Including dear friend, former Paperboy and honorary Spirit, Kendel Carson. An upcoming Geoffrey Kelly solo album has also been completed with hopes of a fall 2022 release or spring of 2023. Kelly resides in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with his family, wife Alison, son Ben, and daughter Maeve.

Discography

*''Gringo Star'' (2002) * "RanchWriters" (2021) With Barney Bentall

References

External links

Geoffrey Kelly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Geoffrey 1956 births Living people Canadian folk rock musicians Canadian male songwriters Musicians from Dumfries Scottish emigrants to Canada Musicians from British Columbia Spirit of the West members 20th-century Canadian songwriters 21st-century Canadian songwriters