Patio Records Releases The Kelley Family Christmas Holiday Album

Singing For Childhood Christmas Tree Unexpectedly Grows into Kelley Family Holiday Album

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – Nashville-based singer and hit songwriter Irene Kelley is using her voice combined with those of her two successful artist daughters to bring holiday cheer and help raise funds for the Healing Gardens project created by Patio Records founder and philanthropist, Terry Eagan.

The Kelley Family Christmas album will be the 14th album released on Patio Records and was available November 24th on CD and digitally on all platforms.

Growing up in Latrobe, PA, Irene learned early on that her voice could bring people together, especially at Christmastime. “I sang [‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’] over the phone on a radio show in my hometown and won a Christmas tree when I was about 9 years old,” recalled Irene.

Patio Records was born out of another very personal experience. 

When lifelong music fan and supporter Terry Eagan’s spouse fell ill with cancer, he found a way to merge his passion for music and love of family, launching Patio 

Records with a mission of “sponsoring live and recorded music to create garden patios at cancer treatment centers.” 

Since 1997, the record label has built 53 of these Healing Gardens in the United States and Canada, including the recent completion of a $1.5 million garden in Cambridge, MA.

The Kelley Family Christmas album is familiar yet fresh, including 12 tracks with each Kelley singing four songs featuring very different and identifiable leads, while the other two provide beautifully woven harmony vocals. “We all had our list of maybe 30 songs. We pared them down to the 12 making sure each of us appeared on an equal amount of songs,” explained Irene.

“Silver Bells was at the top of my list. Most people wouldn’t guess it, but jazz standards are my favourite genre of music to sing, and most classic Christmas songs are jazz standards,” said Sara Jean.

“It's really cool to work as a family. We all have different strengths and styles, but I think they blend together seamlessly on this project,” says Justyna.

The ladies also blend seamlessly together on the album cover and in the liner notes, wearing celebrity designer and “Project Runway” All-Star Johnathan Kayne’s beautiful one-of-a-kind dresses. 

The “Red Carpet Designer of the South” had them visit his Nashville warehouse and select whatever they wanted. “We had a blast trying on those dresses,” said Irene.

Kayne also styled the Kelley’s for their album release concert on November 29th at The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville.

Swipe for jams from their “Bluebird on 3rd” Christmas Brunch show! - INSTAGRAM

Believing the record should be non-genre specific, the trio of ladies chose a piano-based approach to instrumentation. “Our musical arranger, Will Barrow, was a no-brainer for us,” Justyna said. “He has played music with us since my sister and I were kids… his musicianship and musical sensibilities are beyond compare. He and mom helped cast the right assortment of players, and it worked out magically.”

Executive Producer Eagan first learned of Irene in 2000 after hearing her critically acclaimed “Simple Path" record on WUMB-Radio in Boston. Soon after, he invited her to play his Healing Garden concert series. “Terry went on to learn of my daughters, Justyna and Sara Jean's talents, and booked them each individually and us as a trio on several occasions,” says Irene.

“[The Kelley Family Christmas album] was Terry's idea,” continues Irene, “and Terry and I both agreed this would be a meaningful and truly special project for all involved.”

“Every purchase of The Kelley Family Christmas album will include a contribution towards funding the creation and caring of Healing Gardens.” said Eagan, a timeless way to continue to generate support for gardens that help heal.

The Kelley Family Christmas Album

·         Angels We Have Heard On High – Irene Kelley

·         Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Justyna Kelley

·         The Christmas Song – Sara Jean Kelley

·         Do You Hear What I Hear? – Irene Kelley

·         Joy To The World – Justyna Kelley

·         I’ll Be Home For Christmas – Sara Jean Kelley

·         Silent Night – Irene Kelley

·         Hark The Herald Angels Sing – Justyna Kelley

·         Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Sara Jean Kelley

·         O Come, O Come Emmanuel – Irene Kelley

·         O Holy Night / Minuit Chrétien – Justyna Kelley

·         Silver Bells – Sara Jean Kelley  

About Patio Records: https://www.patiorecords.com

About the Kelley Family Members

Irene Kelley

https://www.irenekelley.com/home 

Irene Kelley’s signature mix of Bluegrass, Country and Americana appeals to music lovers across all genres. Irene’s songwriting has drawn much deserved attention, and her pure and lonesome vocal prowess has tugged at the heartstrings of music lovers for years, making her one of traditional music’s most beloved music story-tellers. Her newly released Snow White Memories full-length album currently occupies the Bluegrass Unlimited radio charts with her fourth single, and her previous album, Benny’s TV Repair, garnered five #1 songs on the BU charts and continues to receive coast-to-coast 24/7 airplay on Sirius/XM. As seen and heard at the IBMA,SPBGMA, Grand Ole Opry, the CMA Music Festival, the 30A Songwriter Festival, Folk Alliance International, the Americana Music Festival, COUNTRY festival (Belgium), Disneyland Paris, the Equi Blues Music Fest (France), Avila Beach Music Fest (CA), Bay Fest (AL) and many other venues. Syndicated on-air appearances include Sirius/XM, Acoustic Cafe, NPR’s Live at Mountain Stage, CMT, GAC, Larry’s Country Diner, as well as airplay on Country, Bluegrass, Folk and Americana radio stations worldwide.

Noted Music Historian Robert K. Oermann sums up her great gifts this way: “As a vocalist, IreneKelley glows with beauty and expressiveness. As a songwriter, she shines with a lustre that few of her peers can match. This is music to cleanse the soul. This is music to raise you up. This is music to touch your heart.”

Justyna Kelley

https://www.justynakelley.com

Justyna Kelley is an accomplished singer, songwriter, producer and actress from Nashville, Tennessee. Growing up and touring the world with her mother sparked an early passion for travel that would eventually lead her to Paris, France, where she signed a record deal with Warner Francein 2012. 

While signed to publishing with Universal France, she was nominated for a Mark Award for her album Nashville TN and wrote songs for many international artists, films and tv shows. 

In 2019, she reached #1 songwriter status with “Anything To Help You Say Goodbye,” co-written with Irene Kelley and Steve Cropper.

 Her album Canon recorded in both English and French, is signed to E.K.P. in France and set to release worldwide on October 6, 2023.

Sara Jean Kelley

http://www.sarajeankelley.com

A lover of wild things – plants, animals, people and music – Nashville native Sara Jean Kelley crafts songs that combine upbeat, pop-inspired country hooks with thoughtful, often philosophical lyrical themes that explore our human connection to the natural world. Due to her dark sensibility and slightly melancholic sense of humour, Kelley’s particular brand of alternative country is multi-dimensional, with one foot firmly rooted in her Nashville Country / Americana background, another foot exploring the realms of alternative rock, rock and roll, pop, and even hip-hop influences. Her voice, at times husky, dark and sultry, at times floating light-as-a-feather, has been compared to celebrated female country stars Brandi Carlisle, Patti Griffin and Lucinda Williams. She’s opened for icons Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell and her songwriting reveals a clear, intuitive understanding of what makes a song work.