Kelsey Waldon is an American country singer and songwriter. She has released four EPs and six full albums, the most recent being "No Regular Dog" released on August 12, 2022.

Early life

Waldon was born in

Ballard County, Kentucky Ballard County is a county located in the west portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,728. Its county seat is Wickliffe and its largest city is LaCenter. The county was created by the Kentucky Sta ...

, and raised in the rural Western Kentucky town

Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky Monkey's Eyebrow is a rural unincorporated community in Ballard County, Kentucky, United States. It is generally the northwesternmost community in the Jackson Purchase area of western Kentucky that is identified on the highway maps distributed ...

. Waldon's family roots in the Bluegrass State date back over ten generations, from tobacco farmers to cattle raisers, and some of her first jobs were in farming and planting tobacco. She picked up the guitar at age 13 to deal with her parents' divorce, and continued to use music as an outlet throughout her teenage years. After high school, instead of pursuing a college degree, Waldon moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

to see if she could make it in the music industry. She picked up any small gigs she could find, and continued to insert herself in the Nashville community. After two years she decided to enroll in

Belmont University Belmont University is a Private university, private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporate ...

majoring in

songwriting A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

and music business so that she could learn more about the music industry.

Career

Waldon self-released four EP's before releasing her debut LP ''The Goldmine''. In 2007 she released ''Dirty Feet, Dirty Hands'', followed by ''Anchor In The Valley'' in 2010, ''Anybody's Darlin'' in 2011, and ''Fixin' It Up'' in 2012. Waldon's following began to grow when she released ''The Goldmine'', produced by Michael Rinne, in 2014 which

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

dubbed as “the brightest country debut of 2014”. The album was named one of Rolling Stone's “10 New Artists You Need To Know: Summer 2014" with journalist Marissa Moss calling Waldon, "

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter, considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Lynn, Wynette helped bring a ...

on a trip to Whiskeytown, as unafraid of heavy twang and spitfire pedal steel as coffeehouse confessionals." Waldon released another LP, titled ''I’ve Got A Way'' in 2016. Her sophomore album ranked on two of

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's most-acclaimed lists of the year; Fresh Air host

Ken Tucker Kenneth Tucker is an American arts, music and television critic, magazine editor, and nonfiction book author. Early life and education Tucker was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York, and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. He earned a ...

's “Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2016” alongside

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country music, country singer. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place ...

, and Stax legend

William Bell (singer) William Bell ( ''né'' Yarbrough; born July 16, 1939) is an American soul singer and songwriter. As a performer, he is best known for his debut single, 1961's " You Don't Miss Your Water"; 1968's top 10 hit in the UK " Private Number", a duet w ...

In May 2019, it was announced at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

that Waldon recently signed to

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. Widely cited as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, Prine was known for his signature blend of humoro ...

's label

Oh Boy Records Oh Boy Records is an independent American record label founded in 1981 by singer John Prine, his manager Al Bunetta, and their friend Dan Einstein. The label has released more than 40 audio and video recordings by singer-songwriters Prine, Kris ...

. Waldon is the first artist in fifteen years to be signed to Prine's label. Waldon released the album ''White Noise/White Lines,'' her first release on Oh Boy Records, on October 4, 2019. The album was produced by Waldon and Dan Knobler. "Anyhow" was released as the lead single from the album. Writing for ''Nashville Lifestyles Magazine'', music critic Luke Levenson commented, "The new LP pulls inspiration from both her Kentucky roots and the three intense years since her last release." “They'll Never Keep Us Down”, an EP of politically-charged

cover song In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song released ...

s, was set for release on November 20, 2020. As well as the

Hazel Dickens Hazel Jane Dickens (June 1, 1925 – April 22, 2011) was an American bluegrass singer, songwriter, double bassist, guitarist and banjo player. Her music was characterized not only by her high, lonesome singing style, but also by her provoca ...

title track, she also tackled

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

's Mississippi Goddamn,

Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...

’s “The Law Is for Protection of the People,”

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

’s “

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

,”

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

’s “ With God on Our Side,”

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the a ...

and

Dick Dallas Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat * '' D ...

’ “

I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" is a jazz piece written by American musician Billy Taylor, originally recorded as an instrumental and later released as a song with lyrics by Dick Dallas. Taylor's original version ("I Wish I Knew") w ...

” and Oh Boy Records founder John Prine's "

Sam Stone Sam Stone may refer to: * "Sam Stone" (song), 1971 song by John Prine *Sam Stone (character), character in the video game series ''Serious Sam'' * Sam Stone (rugby league), Australian rugby league player *Sam Stone, pen name of the British writer S ...

". Guests include

Adia Victoria Adia Victoria (born July 22, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. In addition to playing and writing music, she also writes poetry. She is currently based in Nashville. Musical style Victoria has described her music as " gothic blues". ...

, Kyshona Armstrong, and

Devon Gilfillian Devon Gilfillian is an American soul singer-songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee. Early life Gilfillian is originally from Morton, Pennsylvania. He began playing guitar at age 14, and while still in high school played in a band called Black ...

. Kelsey has performed with artists of high notoriety within the country and Americana genres, such as John Prine,

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. During her career Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature into adulthood ...

, and Jamey Johnson. In 2019, John Prine invited Kelsey Waldon to join him on stage at

Bonnaroo Music Festival Bonnaroo (or Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival) is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Bonnaroo has taken place at what is now Great Stage Park, a 700-acre (280 ha) fa ...

to sing Prine's duet "In Spite of Ourselves". Waldon also joined guitarist and songwriter Jamey Johnson in performing Prine's Paradise,

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

' "I Saw the Light", and

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing p ...

' "Tulsa Time". During Americana Fest 2019, Waldon stayed busy performing solo sets, as well as playing with

at 3rd and Lindsley. "That was definitely the most event-filled week I’ve ever done," Waldon told the ''Nashville Scene''.

Performances

Waldon made her debut performance on the

at the

Ryman Auditorium Ryman Auditorium (originally Union Gospel Tabernacle and renamed Grand Ole Opry House for a period) is a historic 2,362-seat live-performance venue and museum located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in the downtown core of Nashville, Tennesse ...

in 2016, then was invited to play the Opry House on April 23 of 2019. She performed at The Opry again on May 28, 2019 together with

, Sturgill Simpson, and others. She has also played the historic

Station Inn The Station Inn is a concert venue in Nashville, Tennessee that hosts bluegrass music acts. Frommers wrote that it is "widely regarded as one of the best bluegrass venues around". The small nightclub has a reputation for being a simple building ...

, the go-to spot of the 1970s, where intimate, post-Opry jam sessions were hosted by musicians like

Jimmy Martin James Henry Martin (August 10, 1927 – May 14, 2005) was an American bluegrass singer and musician, known as the "King of Bluegrass". Early years Martin was born in Sneedville, Tennessee, United States, and was raised in the hard farming l ...

Bobby Osborne Bobby Van Osborne (December 7, 1931 – June 27, 2023) was an American bluegrass musician. He was the co-founder (with his brother Sonny) of the Osborne Brothers, a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fa ...

, and

Bill Monroe William Smith Monroe ( ; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre takes its n ...

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

* ''Dirty Feet, Dirty Hands'' (2007)

Self-released Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

* ''Anybody's Darlin'' (2011) Self-released * ''Fixin' It Up'' (2012) Self-released * ''On Audiotree Live'' (2016) Audiotree Music * ''They'll Never Keep Us Down'' (2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldon, Kelsey Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American women country singers American country singer-songwriters American women singer-songwriters Country musicians from Kentucky 21st-century American singer-songwriters Songwriters from Kentucky People from Ballard County, Kentucky 21st-century American women singers