ArtistInfo

Jimmy Kelly

voc, acg,
Pop, World, Rock and Folk
A.k.a. James Victor Kelly

For 30 years, Jimmy Kelly has already been at home on the stages of the world, even though he is only 35. After his family decided to leave their former home, in the U.S.A. and to start a new, more independent life in Europe. Jimmy was born on the 18th of February 1971 in Gamonal/Spain. Inspired by the culture of the Basque region, he and his siblings started to make music in restaurants and bars around town under the name of "Kelly Kids". This was the beginning of an exceptional career, which led the still growing family to a multitude of countries, ultimately becoming known as "The Kelly Family". Through this period, the group developed its musical variety into what was unique in the international cultural landscape. In the 70s, they became street musicians in Europe with a repertoire of international folksongs. By the beginning of the 80s, they had great success with Irish and German traditional music on TV shows and hit parades. Performances in their own circus tent and again countless street concerts followed, which were celebrated by thousand and thousands of people. By this time they had a repertoire of African gospels, Irish traditional music and their own songs. In the mid 90s, Jimmy and his siblings were getting an unbelievable response with their rock songs and ballads. They sold roughly 20 million records and filled huge stadiums. This was a few years ago and since then their houseboat, which they used to live on, has now become a virtual museum piece. Now, after 30 years of performance with his family, Jimmy is active as a solo artist. He will go on tour in the fall and is writing his own songs for a new album, which will be out next year. We can look forward to it with anticipation...

Instruments

• Vocals
• Acoustic guitar
• Accordion
• Harmonica
• Guitar

Genres

• Pop
• World
• Rock
• Folk

Plays With