RUSTON KELLY’S “MOCKINGBIRD” NOMINATED FOR SONG OF THE YEAR AT 2019 AMERICANA AWARDS
DEBUT ALBUM DYING STAR OUT NOW TO WIDESPREAD CRITICAL ACCLAIM
FALL HEADLINE TOUR CONFIRMED
Acclaimed singer, songwriter and performer Ruston Kelly’s song “Mockingbird” is nominated for Song of the Year at the 2019 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards. The annual awards ceremony will take place on September 11 at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium.
The nomination celebrates a landmark year for Kelly, whose full-length debut album, Dying Star, was released last fall on Rounder Records (purchase/stream here). Co-produced by Kelly and Jarrad K, Dying Star features 14 new songs written/co-written by Kelly and continues to receive widespread critical acclaim.
In celebration of the release, Kelly will continue his extensive headline tour this fall including stops at Atlanta’s Terminal West, Austin’s Scoot Inn, Los Angeles’ Troubadour, Seattle’s Tractor Tavern, New York’s Bowery Ballroom, Boston’s Brighton Music Hall and Washington D.C.’s U Street Music Hall among several others. See below for complete details.
Of the album, Kelly comments, “A lot of my music is focused on suffering, or trying to understand the human condition through the lens of suffering…which probably sounds totally depressing, but it’s actually the flipside of that. Sometimes you’ve gotta go into that darkness—you need to get lost and then figure out for yourself how to find your way back. That’s the only way we can find pure joy, and really be thankful for the life we’ve been given.”
In addition to Kelly (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, xylophone, harmonica) and Jarrad K (12-string guitar, background vocals, electric guitar, Rhodes) , Dying Star also features Tim Kelly (pedal steel), Ian Fitchuk (piano, organ, drums, percussion), Eli Beaird (bass) and Kyle Ryan (banjo) as well as background vocals from Jon Green, Natalie Hemby, Kacey Musgraves, Kate York, Abby Sevigny and Joy Williams.
Photo credit: Alexa King
RUSTON KELLY CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
June 15—Manchester, TN—Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
July 12—Minneapolis, MN—Basilica Block Party
July 27—Newport, RI—Newport Folk Festival
July 28—Camden, NJ—XPoNential Music Festival
August 3—Chicago, IL—Lollapalooza
August 4—St. Charles, IA—Hinterland
August 10—Lexington, KY—Railbird Festival
August 22-23—Tonder, Denmark—Tonder Festival
August 24—Amsterdam, Netherlands—Once In A Blue Moon Festival
September 18—Chattanooga, TN—Songbirds South Stage*
September 19—Knoxville, TN—Bijou Theatre*
September 20—Atlanta, GA—Terminal West*
September 20-22—Bristol, TN—Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion
September 26—Dallas, TX—Granada Theater*
September 27—Houston, TX—White Oak Music Hall*
September 28—Austin, TX—Scoot Inn*
October 1—Los Angeles, CA—Troubadour*
October 3—San Francisco, CA—The Independent*
October 4—Portland, OR—Wonder Ballroom*
October 5—Seattle, WA—Tractor Tavern*
October 7—Salt Lake City, UT—The State Room*
October 8—Denver, CO—The Bluebird Theater*
October 10—Des Moines, IA—Wooly’s*
October 12—Madison, WI—High Noon Saloon*
October 16—St. Louis, MO—Blueberry Hill*
October 18—Louisville, KY—Mercury Ballroom*
October 19—Columbus, OH—A&R Music Bar*
October 20—Detroit, MI—The Shelter*
October 22—Toronto, ON—Drake Underground
October 24—New York, NY—Bowery Ballroom*
October 25—Boston, MA—Brighton Music Hall*
October 26—Washington, DC—U Street Music Hall*
November 11-15—Punta Cana, Dominican Republic—John Prine’s “All The Best Fest”
*with special guest Donovan Woods