With a voice like sunshine and a smile that can light up the room, singer-songwriter Claire Kelly brings us her debut full-length album, The Scenic Route. PATCHWORKdigital had the opportunity to visit Claire at her in-home studio in Milwaukee to chat about life, music, and the album, which drops today on March 19, 2021. Check out our interview with Claire Kelly on PATCHWORK & Friends here.
Claire is a singer, songwriter, and self-proclaimed optimist from Cary, Illinois. She has been living in Nashville for the past several years and splits her time between there and Milwaukee. But above all else, Claire is a storyteller. As soon as we walked into her home, I could tell it was going to be a great time with lots to talk about. Filled with beautiful trinkets, antiques, plants, and candles in every room, the place was brimming with happiness. Not to mention her Dolly Parton shrine, chia pet, and records hanging on the walls of her studio room. I wanted to move in!
Claire told us about how she was inspired by Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2016 Tony Award acceptance speech — in which he urged viewers that “nothing here is promised, not one day” — to quit her job in PR at a corporation and pursue her real dreams of writing and performing music. She lives by her mantra “Don’t Quit Your Daydream,” which can be found on her merch on her website. She has so many stories to share of her adventures and she puts them beautifully into songs.
On the wall of her studio hung a list of goals for the year, including “write the dang musical.” Guys. She’s writing a dang musical. The first truly Nashville honky-tonk inspired musical, featuring her song “Be Careful Who You Kiss in Nashville,” which is loosely based on a true story. Check that song out — it’ll be stuck in your head for days.
And atop the beautiful built-in cabinets with stained glass, she had a metal sign that said “Music City.” When Claire first moved to Nashville, she walked by a store called Cool Stuff, Weird Things. When she saw a life-sized Elvis statue on the sidewalk luring customers in, she decided to check it out. She got to talking to the store owner (his name is Skip Towne, you really can’t make this stuff up), and eventually ended up working there as a barista to make a little extra money while she wrote songs and played music. The sign came from that quirky little store and truly ties the room together in her Milwaukee home.
I could go on and on about all of the amazing stories that Claire told us. She truly took Lin-Manuel Miranda’s words to heart. She takes risks, travels the world (well, pre-COVID she did), and welcomes us on her journey by sharing her music with us.
When the world shut down in 2020, Claire and a small group of musicians and friends quarantined together in a cottage in the Tennessee countryside. This is where The Scenic Route was born. But as its namesake would suggest, there were many other paths that led Claire to this album. She sings about her times in Scotland, Ireland, Berlin, Nashville, and all of the detours along the way. This album is truly a journey in itself. And you can listen to it while burning one of her homemade candles that “smell like adventure.” Streaming everywhere you listen to music. Or, if you’re like me and appreciate a tangible CD copy of the album, head to clairekellymusic.com to order.
Also! Claire Moseley (lots of Claires, I know) interviewed me on Patched In to chat about the experience of designing the album artwork for The Scenic Route. Listen below:
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