An all-original studio recording of guitar virtuosity that will firmly grab the attention of the press and music aficionados everywhere.

11 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Blues-Rock, ROCK: 70's Rock

Details:
CINCINNATI, OH - Sweet Lucy Records announces a June 3rd release date for Carry the Light, the new studio CD from guitarist/singer Kelly Richey, with national distribution by Select-O-Hits.

Carry the Light is an album of all-original songs co-produced by Ms. Richey and Rick Brantley that expertly demonstrates all the tools she brings to the table as a songwriter, singer and a powerful, provocative guitar player. Her music is a thrilling mix of blues-powered rock that has made Kelly Richey one of the most exciting live acts on tour.

Carry the Light reflects every bit of Richeyâs stellar guitar tone and style, while propelling her into a new light as a thoughtful and insightful singer/songwriter. The 11 tracks range from personal reflection and contemplation to illuminating thoughts on our world situation.

âThis CD was written with my guitar mentor, John Redell, and songwriter Steve Carroll,â says Richey about the new album. âEach week for four months, John and I got together and hammered out song ideas. Many songs were passed on to Steve to add either a chorus, bridge or to strengthen the melody line. Steve also sent songs he wrote based on ideas/concepts we discussed and John and I constructed guitar parts to help make the songs come to life. I was constantly challenged by John to grow as a guitarist, and challenged by Steve to construct songs that stood alone with or without guitar wizardry.â

âRick Brantley was a guitarist and has a guitar playerâs dream studio,â Richey says. âI asked Rick to co-produce the project because I knew I had taken the songs as far as I could and needed an outside perspective to insure that the CD sounded like the best commercial release possible, while maintaining the character that it had when written. We decided that I needed to move away from such a âliveâ mentality and into a more studio frame of mind, so we chose to bring in session players who could capture the foundational tracks with perfection and speed; then, we could place the majority of our time capturing the best guitar and vocal performances that I could produce.â

With her current touring band, Kelly Richey has all the ingredients to transfer the songs on Carry the Light to the stage. âI feel that this CD says something that needs to be said in this day and age when commercialism often supersedes the realities that we as individuals face,â says Kelly. âI feel that this is an important role that music provides in society, especially during times when we face such conflict and division. Music has always been the medicine as well as the vehicle to carry light and hope from each generation to the next.â

Guitarist/singer Kelly Richey has been described by one music critic as: âStevie Ray Vaughan trapped in a womanâs body with Janis Joplin screaming to get out.â The Lexington, Kentucky native, whoâs been based in Cincinnati for many years, has often been compared to Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix because of her ability to capture and entertain an audience with ripping guitar leads that both sing and astonish.

Richey began her professional career as a member of the Arista Records group, Stealin' Horses. In 1990, she formed The Kelly Richey Band and has gone on to become both a nationally and internationally touring artist. Since establishing her own label, Sweet Lucy Records, Ms.Richey has released a number of CDs as both a solo artist and as The Kelly Richey Band. In Cincinnati, Kelly and her band have won multiple awards, including Best Blues/RB Band, Best Rock Band, Best Musician, and Best Band.

Her last CD, Speechless, was an all-original instrumental album that generated praise from fans and critics alike, with Blues Revue calling it âan inspiring and extraordinarily controlled display of six-string talent.â Goldmine magazine perhaps summed it up best by declaring the CD, âan incendiary blast through her influences, an all-instrumental set that picks up where the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Roy Buchanan, Jeff Beck, Pat Metheny, and Al DiMeola left off (or were once spotted) and tears hell for leather through a series of stylings and storms that render you slack-jawed in amazement.â

Kelly Richey will tour extensively in support of Carry the Light.

Guitar virtuoso Kelly Richey has written and co-produced an all-original studio recording, Carry the Light, which will firmly grab the attention of the press and music fans everywhere. Richeyâs songwriting and vocals underscore her powerful, take-no-prisoners guitar playing, firmly expressing her genuine talent and versatility.

Carry the Light, released on her own Sweet Lucy Records, reflects every bit of Richeyâs stellar guitar tone and style, while propelling her into a new light as a thoughtful and insightful singer/songwriter. The 11 tracks range from personal reflection, contemplation and illumination to questioning the world we live in, all the while capturing the defining sound of The Kelly Richey Band.

âThis CD was written with two dear friends: one is my guitar mentor, John Redell, and the other, Steve Carroll, came to me as a guitar student/songwriter,â says Richey. âEach week for four months, John and I got together and hammered out song ideas. Many songs were passed on to Steve to add either a chorus or bridge, or to strengthen the melody line. Steve also sent songs he wrote based on ideas and concepts we discussed and John and I constructed guitar parts to help make the songs come to life on the stage. I was constantly challenged by John to grow as a guitarist, and challenged by Steve to construct songs that stood alone with or without guitar wizardry.

âI recorded each song in demo form in my own studio over the summer,â recalls Kelly. âAfter the basic framework of each song was constructed, I asked my drummer, Shane Frye, to be there as we began pre-production, and with John playing bass weâd jam to make sure that each song would transfer to the stage and work as a three-piece band.â

Richey thought she would record the CD herself but soon realized she had a much larger project on her hands and began seeking a studio and co-producer. Rick Brantley ended up being the perfect complement. âRick is a guitarist too and has a guitar playerâs dream studio,â says Richey. âI asked Rick to co-produce the project because I knew I had taken the songs as far as I could and needed an outside perspective to ensure that the CD sounded like the best commercial release possible, while maintaining the character that it had when written.

âRick and I were a great fit. We decided that I needed to move away from such a âliveâ mentality and into a more studio frame of mind, so we chose to bring in session players who could capture the foundational tracks with perfection and speed; then, we could place the majority of our time in capturing the best guitar and vocal performances that I could produce.â

The result is Carry the Light, a compilation of thought provoking lyrics and powerful sounds that The Kelly Richey Band can make their own and take to the stage.

About Kelly Richey

Kelly Richey has been described as âStevie Ray Vaughan trapped in a womanâs body with Janis Joplin screaming to get out.â Thatâs an apt appraisal of the Lexington, Kentucky native whoâs been based in Cincinnati for many years. Richey has often been compared to such greats as Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan because of her ability to capture and entertain an audience with ripping guitar leads that both sing and astonish.

As a teenager, Richey practiced guitar 12 hours a day. âI never set it down,â she remembers. âI took it to school, I took it to the kitchen table and if I took a walk it was strapped on.â Now, when she picks up her guitar, anyone within earshot is compelled to listen. A working musician since her teens, she began her professional career as a member of the Arista Records group Stealinâ Horses; in 1990 she formed The Kelly Richey Band, with whom she has become both a national and international touring artist.

One of Kellyâs most cherished moments as a guitarist came in 1988 when she found herself on stage with the legendary Albert King at his sold-out show in Nashville. Invited to join him for one song, King told Richey, âThat guitar is like a gun: if you pick it up, you better mean to use it.â And use it she did, playing the remainder of the set with the late blues legend. In 1993 she was playing a benefit in Louisville where another of her idols, Lonnie Mack, saw her perform. Impressed with her strong performance, he invited Richey to join him on stage, and together they brought the house down with their dueling guitar leads.

Since establishing her own label, Sweet Lucy Records, Richey has released 10 albums and a live DVD, as both a solo artist and as The Kelly Richey Band. As an extension of Sweet Lucy Records, she built a studio where she records her own music and works with other artists. In her adopted hometown of Cincinnati, Richey and her band have won multiple local awards, including Best Blues/R&B Band, Best Rock Band, Best Musician and Best Band.

Richeyâs involvement with music goes way beyond recording and performing. A longtime private guitar instructor, in 2003 Richey began developing a Guitar Workshop and a Blues History program to take into the schools. In 2004, she became an âArtist on Tourâ with the Cincinnati Arts Association, and in 2005, was added to the Kentucky Centerâs artist roster. That same year, Richey began delivering an adult education program that included a six-week Guitar Instruction class. The following year, Richey created Music for Change, a 501(c)(3) non-profit committed to music education in todayâs public schools; a variety of programs offering live performances, lectures, and interactive participation serve to facilitate learning opportunities for students while keeping the history of American music alive and prospering. Through standards-based instruction and academic enrichment, Music for Change programs support and strengthen existing school curricula. Recognizing that music is a universal language and the gift of music can be used to build learning skills and to strengthen each studentâs imagination, Richeyâs entire life is dedicated to enhancing the musical experiences of students and audiences alike.

Kelly Richey Talks About Some of the Songs on Carry the Light

âCarry the Lightâ is what I would call my own defining âguitar song,â with a chorus that leaves you singingâwhich describes what it is we do as traveling musicians. As the lyrics say, âSomewhere inside, thereâs a song to be sung/You gotta let it out, just to help someone/If thereâs a wrong, you gotta make it right/Let the music carry the light.â The inspirations for this song were Jimi Hendrixâs âManic Depressionâ and Van Halenâs âAinât Talkinâ âBout Love.â

âWhat In The World (Were We Thinking)â is a song about the current state of affairs in this country and in our world. Iâve realized how we have taken for granted that things would simply be ok and they absolutely are not. We as a country are at one of the greatest crossroads we have ever faced and we need to realize that things are accomplished not on the left or right, but in the middle. Itâs time to wake up, grow up, stand up and move forward with hopefully a new level of thought and approach to our world around us. We need the insight to pull together as the bridge in the song states, âWe donât have to look too far, to see the pain/Step outside your door, it falls round you like rain/Weâd have to close our eyes, not to see/People everywhere, still longing to be free/The time has come, for us to see...that the answer lies, it lies with you and me!â I feel that there is great hope today, and without that hope, we have nothing.

âAngelaâs Songâ is dedicated to a 17-year-old girl who graduated high school early to go into the military because she felt it was her only hope of escaping the life she faced.

âWhen All Is Said and Doneâ challenges the listener to think about their life in light of dying and not having any regrets: âWhen all is said and done, I donât wanna be the one, who looks back on the things I should have done/To think about my life, and the dreams that couldâve been, if I only knew now, what I knew then.â

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