Kelly McMichael is a multi-instrumentalist who can sling a guitar, serenade on piano and program beats in equal measure. Known for her buttery vocals and genre-bending arrangements, Kelly’s blend of retro pop and rock production styles that flirt with psychedelia help provide rich packaging for her ‘instant-classic’ songwriting.
Based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, originally from Peterborough, Ontario, McMichael’s early songwriting career was established around 2007 through DIY feminist synth bands Rouge, and later on, Renders. As a side-player, she has toured North America and Europe performing with The Burning Hell, Sarah Harmer and Tim Baker. McMichael turned focus to her solo career as an artist and producer and independently released her breakthrough debut LP Waves in 2021. The album earned her three Music NL Awards, the ECMA for ‘Best Rock Recording’, and garnered a prestigious spot on the Polaris Prize shortlist.
Kelly’s sophomore album, After The Sting Of It (released September 2024), is a fearless expansion on the classic sound of her debut. Recorded and co-produced with Jake Nicoll, her music sits in the comfort of its core ideas - tear down and rebirth, while being utterly unafraid to try new things, including McMichael doing much of the recording herself. The first single ‘Bomb’ had a hot year of heavy rotation on The Verge and national college and community radio, and it made the CBC Music Top 20, followed by a second single in the Top 20: “Open (Hurts to Have a Heart). The album continues to simmer nationally with praise from Exclaim! and CBC for its fiery energy and inventive exploration of different sounds and textures. “I write and record in a way that you’re just giving the song what it needs. “Why limit the creativity?”, Kelly says. “ I don’t want limitations.”
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