Michele Ann Kelly’s sound could best be described as white soul music, it’s got everything, a melange of blues & soul, rock & pop with a hint of folk and a small helping of country. Her smoky vocals move effortlessly from fragility to down and dirty ballsy, earning her comparisons to such great female singer/songwriters as Shawn Colvin, Kd Lang, Alison Krauss and Sarah Mc Lachlan.

A singer, writer and performer Michele was born in Dublin and first introduced to music by her piano teaching grandmother and childhood summers spent on Achill Island in the west of Ireland. This gave her a unique insight to both classical and Irish traditional arrangements. At 17 she went to Milan, Italy where she sang with an Irish trad group. Returning to Ireland, Michele wanted to learn more about the music business, so she commenced work with the Ronanstown Music Programme in Dublin. She honed her songwriting skills by gigging and through IMRO’s songwriter workshops, collaborating with established artists like Liam Reilly, Keith Donald (Moving Hearts), Steve Wickham (The Waterboys), Dee Moore, Rob Burke, Thom Moore and a host of others. In 2000 her demo ‘Lying in the Arms of Love’, a song she co-wrote with Dee Moore, earned her support slots with artists like Mary Black, Paul Brady, Sharon Shannon and Altan. It also gained her a place in the Top 100 Unplugged Songs of the Year in Hotpress music magazine.

As with so many emerging artists, the paying of bills interfered with the playing of music and Michele found herself disillusioned. But in the summer of 2003 while listening to Joni Mitchell’s ‘Both Sides Now’ she felt compelled to pick up her guitar and write music again. Thus, ‘A Breakfast Affair’ was well on it’s way to being born. She also recorded the song ‘Shark Cages’ with Irish band Caliban that same year. She self-released her debut 6-track EP A Breakfast Affair in June 2005, coinciding with a sold-out headline gig at The Sugar Club in Dublin.

In July 2005 she recorded a new song at music venue Annesley House for their ‘10 Summer Nights’ compilation album. In November she and her band played the fundraiser at the Fire Restaurant in Dublin to support the groundbreaking equality case of Drs. Anne Louise Gilligan and Katherine Zappone. December 2005 saw her headline in the Civic Theatre in Tallaght before an enraptured audience, and that same month she was named ‘First Cuts’ artist of 2005 by Hotpress Magazine.

2006 began with yet another sold out gig in Dublin’s Sugar Club. In March Michele played at the well-known Whelan’s Bar on Wexford Street and in April she shared the stage at the Helix Theatre duetting with the legendary Don Baker. She played support to Mick Hanly at the Moat Theatre in County Kildare, and with Leslie Dowdall and Mike Hanrahan (of Stockton’s Wing) at Carey’s in County Tipperary. She marked the year-end with a knock-out show on her home turf at Dublin’s Civic Theatre. This concert featured Michele with her band, string quartet and special guests Leslie Dowdall and Marian Bradfield. One of the tracks from this live recording was ‘Close To Midnight’ written by Michele Ann, and of which Hotpress Magazine’s music writer Jackie Hayden said, “this song should be a world wide hit”.

2007 was in the main a year spent song writing, Michele did perform in the South of France and also made time to headline in New York at Manhattan’s oldest bar, the Ear Inn, prompting the approach to tour the US in 2009. Completing the year with another dazzling performance at the Civic Theatre in Dublin, before an audience that included noted Irish singer Frances Black.

2008 saw the release of her single ‘Fall On Me’ (MAK/Caruso version) followed by a visit to Paris France that included a headline gig at the ‘Blues Autour de Zinc 08 Festival’ in Beauvais. ‘Fall On Me’ serves as a taster for Kelly’s debut album, due for release later this year.

8pm, €10