Kate Kelly(XII)
- Additional Crew
- Art Director
An American multi-hyphenate singer, songwriter, artist, producer, and advocate, Kate Kelly grew up singing in church and school choirs in her hometown of Lake Oswego, OR. She began training in opera and classical voice at the age of 15, and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her music career; at 19 she signed her first independent record deal, and began performing throughout Southern California.
During college Kate suffered a brutal attack that left her facing a long road to recovery. Her musical career on hold, Kate began working in television production, as well as touring with some of the world's top rock bands, pop acts, and boy bands as a guest and licensed massage therapist, providing a healing touch to a variety of celebrity clients while on the road.
It was while backstage, in tour buses, and in behind the scene jam sessions that Kate began to connect with others musically, find her voice, and gain the confidence to once again pursue her music.
In 2002, Kate wrote and recorded her first 4-song EP over beats created by Simon Rex. This EP highlighted her unique smokey tone, classical techniques and four octave range. She began collaborating with several artists, performing, writing, and singing on a variety of singles and albums.
In 2003, Kate was introduced to co-founder of Spring Records, Jules Rifkind by his son Robert. Best known for arranging James Brown's first major record deal and helping Elvis and Barbara Streisand secure their first deals in Vegas, Rifkind took Kate under his wing as he mentored, encouraged, and guided Kate on how to stay true to herself and her art while navigating the business. Kate recorded her first single, Lullaby, in 2005 and released two singles with the band Saint Spero before undergoing reconstructive surgery for the injuries sustained from her attack. Her recovery spanned several years and required extensive vocal training to regain her previous range.
Today Kate has fully recovered and returned to collaborating, writing and singing on several albums. Simultaneously, she continued in her television career and became heavily involved in charity work. In 2013, she co-founded and produced the celebrity driven Dream Again Campaign supporting Love 146. Since then, Kate has consistently worked with a variety of organizations, facilitating individual survivor support as a vocal advocate for survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence, and other traumas.
In 2017, Kate was asked by composer Matt Thalin to sing the credit song and vocal fills for the score of the award winning short film What If Wendy. Recently, Matt and Kate reunited for a collaborative album Echoes in 2021 and a for single benefitting the Children's Defense Fund set to release by 2023.