Today we’d like to introduce you to Madeleine Kelson.
Hi Madeleine, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in a musical family. My mom was always singing and played some guitar and piano, and my twin sister and I started on violin when we were four. For as long as I can remember, there was always a song being sung in three-part harmony at our house. I was raised in Chicago and started playing really great local venues like Schubas when I was 9, through the Chicago School of Rock. I really fell in love with being on stage and playing music with other people. By the time my sister and I were teenagers, we were booking our own shows around town as The Kelson Twins. That’s really how I entered the Chicago music scene. We played shows together all through high school. I didn’t start my solo career until I was 18. At that point, I moved to Nashville, and my sister moved to Minnesota for college. The shift was more out of necessity than anything else. While I miss playing together, being forced into a solo career gave me the opportunity to create music that was truly my own.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have definitely been struggles! Growing up, my sister and I would get booked at 21+ venues as 16-year-olds. At that point, all of the “fans” we had were our also-high-school-age friends, so we played to a lot of empty rooms. I also remember playing weeknight shows in nearby cities, and having to drive back home until 1 am so that we could make it to school the next day! The biggest struggle I’ve faced personally was starting over when I moved to Nashville. My last show in Chicago was at House of Blues, and the next shows I played for years were mostly local writers’ rounds and open mics. After putting in so much work in Chicago, it was really discouraging at times to feel like I was back where I started. Switching from a duo/band setting to being a solo artist was really challenging too. Throughout my whole career up until that point, I had other people to turn to when I got stuck. As a solo artist, I have had to learn to work through those problems myself.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a singer and a songwriter. I grew up on old country, rock, and folk, and I think that is evident in the music I make. I would call myself an Americana artist, but I think I definitely tend to lean pretty hard into country, rock, and folk in different songs. Recently, I’m a producer too! I just started releasing songs off of my debut album. Everything I have released up until this point has been either produced entirely by someone else, or co-produced. Producing my own album is something I’m really proud of. It was a huge challenge, but it really helped me figure out my own sound. Right now, I think what sets me apart from others, especially in country music, is being open about being gay in my music. That’s something that Americana as a genre has really been starting to embrace, but Country music still has a long way to go in terms of representation and acceptance.
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Probably that I played violin for six years! I can’t play at all anymore, and I wish I could.
Contact Info:
- Email: Madeleinekelson@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.madeleinekelson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeleinekelson
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madeleinekelson
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/madeleinekelson
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7LFqrK5SqBpd0f1ctwpCYg?si=hiJVgyiASkKuKflC9o7dHw
Image Credits
Meghan Marshall
