Album Review: The Kelly Girls – ‘May You Always’

The Kelly Girls

May You Always

* * * * 1/2 

I first came to know Massachusetts based Celtic band The Kelly Girls when I had the opportunity to attend one of their delightful live performances in Spring 2016. I’ve been waiting for the group’s debut album ever since and I’m thrilled to say it’s finally arrived and surpasses the already high expectations I had for it.

May You Always was produced by band member Nancy Beaudette, an artist of which I’ve long been an admirer. The band, which is comprised of Beaudette along with Christine Hatch, Aisling Keating, and Melinda Kerwin, recorded the album, a beautiful mixture of newly-written and traditional tunes, in Central Massachusetts.

Beaudette had a hand in writing or co-writing six of the album’s songs, including four by herself. She tells of strangers in a bar connecting over a pint in the gorgeous “Reeds on the River” and gives fair warning not to mess with the Canadian riverboat captain at the center of the feisty “Molly Kool.” The title track is a wish of continued good fortune for us all and a timely message any time of year.

Her final solely written number, “Mariners of England,” was adapted from the 1880 Thomas Campbell poem “Ye Mariners of England”. The mid-paced waltz “Daffodils,” co-written with Keating, has its origins in the William Wadsworth poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.” She teams with Kerwin for her final writing credit, the stunning lullaby “Another Goodnight.”

Kerwin and Keating teamed up for, “Miss Martha / Barney’s Shenanigans & Barney Get Home,” a medley of striking instrumentals. Hatch and Kate Chadbourne contribute “Last Rose of Summer,” a haunting ballad about the passage of time framed in a story about a woman’s relationship with her mother.

The jaunty, and excellent, “Walk In The Irish Rain,” comes from the pen of Americana singer-songwriter Steve Spurgin. The band also includes their beautiful version of iconic Canadian singer-songwriter Allister MacGillivray’s “Song for the Mira,” one of my favorite songs on the album.

Another favorite, “Wild Mountain Tyme and Sommervals,” was one of the traditional tunes they performed when I saw them live. I loved it then and I adore it equally now. “Jolly Rovin’ Tar,” which opens the album, is a wonderful Irish jig and a perfect way to set the mood for the album as a whole. “I Know My Love” is equally spirited and just as delightful.

May You Always is a fantastic introduction to The Kelly Girls and a stellar debut album. I fell in love with them and their sound when I caught their show and I’m pleased to see how brilliantly their distinct personalities translated to this record. I eagerly look forward to continue following them and cannot wait for whatever it is they choose to do next. I’m very fortunate to have them performing, living and recording essentially in my backyard.

NOTE: For more information on The Kelly Girls, please visit their website

Concert Review: Nancy Beaudette & The Kelly Girls in Framingham, Massachusetts

The Kelly Girls (L-R: Christine Hatch, Nancy Beaudette, Aisling Keating and Theresa Gerene) perform at Amazing Things Arts Center in Framingham, MA

As our world becomes increasingly more frivolous, it’s harder and harder to find cultural experiences that truly awaken the soul. I was witness to a gem recently, when Nancy Beaudette and The Kelly Girls performed at The Amazing Things Arts Center in Framingham, Massachusetts.

I’ve been a fan of Beaudette’s music for a few years now but I’d yet to see her live until this April 23 concert. I had a feeling the show would be special; her latest album South Branch Road is exquisite, but I didn’t know how far it would exceed my expectations.

She opened solo, taking to the stage backed solely by the trusty six-string strung across her shoulder. Beaudette began wistfully with “Starlight” and closed merrily with “’Till The Tomatoes Ripen,” which had ample audience participation.

Beaudette shared many stories along the way, from her time growing up in Cornwall, Ontario to her distinctly separate relationships with her parents. She’s the middle of five kids, and not afraid to admit she was the rebellious one. These autobiographical anecdotes were perfect fodder to pair with songs like “South Branch Road,” a nostalgic ode to her childhood home. She livened up the room with the jaunty “Build It Up,” about a fire suffered by her great-grandmother who, incredibly, had fifteen children.

My favorite moment in her set wasn’t a song, but a tale about her annual writer’s retreats, trips that have taken her across continents. This past January brought her to Bali, where she connected with children in a small village through a love of music. They didn’t have the resources for everyone to have an instrument, so Beaudette made sure they all received a guitar before her departure back to the states.

The cultural immersion kicked into high gear when The Kelly Girls took the stage in the second half. The four-piece Celtic band, of which Beaudette is a part along with Christine Hatch, Aisling Keating and Theresa Gerene, performed songs that traversed centuries, generations and even ancestry.

Their set was richly layered with historical significance and a captivating approachability. They opened strong, with their tight harmonies giving way to infectious fiddle-drenched instrumentation. They ran through traditional and newly penned Irish tunes along with accents of folk and a touch of country. The set was distinctly diverse, with Keating displaying her angelic soprano and Gerene firing off verses at breakneck speed. Hatch sang lead on two of the evening’s most charming numbers, the folksy “Charlie On The M.T.A.” and the Western classic “I Wanna Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart.” Their yodels were impeccably distinct signatures of their personalities, which added unique texture to the more than ninety-year-old standard.

Nancy Beaudette performs at Amazing Things Arts Center in Framingham, MA on April 23, 2016.

The ballads were just as robust as the uptempo numbers, striking in their simplicity. I adored their take on Beaudette’s “The Company of Stones,” which is rooted in the ancestral homeland where the Beaudette family first settled in Canada. I loved Keating’s accents of flute, an instrument I can’t say I hear live all that often.

As if the music wasn’t enough, they brought a human element to the evening that aided in personal connection. The Kelly Girls gave away prizes during their set and Beaudette singled out my mom, who went to High School with her ‘Build It Up’ co-writer Marc Rossi. They even greeted the crowd (which consisted of friends and family, including Hatch’s mom) before and after the show, which just doesn’t happen anymore no matter how localized the artist may be.

I came away having witnessed a unique bond between friends making music simply out of passion for the art. The Kelly Girls, the epitome of a tightly in synch ensemble, left me in the best possible place – wanting more and more. If you ever get a chance to see them live, hopefully accompanied with a Beaudette solo set, I’m sure you’ll come away feeling exactly as I did that evening. Make it a point to seek out a performance; I know for sure you won’t regret it.