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Dublin writer-performer Michele Ann Kelly was introduced to music by her piano teaching grandmother and childhood summers spent on Achill Island in the west of Ireland. This gave her a unique insight to both classical and Irish traditional arrangements.
At 17 she went to Milan, Italy where she sang with an Irish trad group. Returning to Ireland, Michele wanted to learn more about the music business, so she commenced work with the Ronanstown Music Programme. She honed her songwriting skills by gigging and through IMRO's songwriter workshops, collaborating with established artists like Liam Reilly, Steve Wickham (The Waterboys), Dee Moore, Rob Burke and Thom Moore.
In 2000 her demo ‘Lying in the Arms of Love’, a song she co-wrote with Dee Moore, earned her support slots with artists like Mary Black, Paul Brady, Sharon Shannon and Altan. It also gained her a place in the Top 100 Unplugged Songs of the Year in Hotpress magazine.
As with so many emerging artists, the paying of bills interfered with the playing of music and Michele found herself disillusioned. But in the summer of 2003 while listening to Joni Mitchell’s ‘Both Sides Now’ she felt compelled to pick up her guitar and write music again. Thus, ‘A Breakfast Affair’ was born. She also recorded 'Shark Cages' with Irish band Caliban that same year. She self-released her debut 6-track EP A Breakfast Affair in June 2005, coinciding with a sold-out headline gig at The Sugar Club in Dublin.
In July 2005 she recorded a new song at Annesley House for their 10 Summer Nights compilation album. In November she and her band played the fundraiser at the Fire Restaurant in Dublin to support the groundbreaking equality case of Anne Louise Gilligan and Katherine Zappone. December 2005 saw her headline in the Civic Theatre in Tallaght before an enraptured audience, and that same month she was named 'First Cuts' artist of 2005 by Hotpress Magazine.
2006 began with yet another sell out gig in Dublin's Sugar Club. In March Michele played Whelan's Bar on Wexford St, Dublin and in April she shared the stage at the Helix Theatre duetting with the legendary Don Baker. She played support to Mick Hanly at the Moat Theatre in County Kildare, and with Leslie Dowdall and Mike Hanrahan (Stockton's Wing) at Carey's in County Tipperary. She marked the year-end with a knock-out show on her home turf at Dublin's Civic Theatre. This concert featured Michele with her band, string quartet and special guests Leslie Dowdall and Marian Bradfield. One of the tracks from this live recording was 'Close To Midnight' written by Michele Ann, and of which Hotpress Magazine’s music writer Jackie Hayden said, "this song should be a world wide hit".
2007 was mainly spent writing and recording with writer guitarist John Thomas Pratt. The product of that collaboration can be heard impressively on her first single for 2008 ‘Fall On Me’. Although she took time out to headline in New York at Manhattan's oldest bar, the Ear Inn, playing to a full house, and promoter and venue owner Martin Sheridan was so impressed he invited Michele back in 2008 for a US tour. She also performed in the South of France and completed the year with another dazzling performance at the Civic Theatre in Dublin, before an audience that included noted singer Frances Black.
Michele Ann Kelly's music is a melange of blues, rock and folk with a hint of country. Her smoky vocals move effortlessly from fragility to down and dirty ballsy, earning her comparisons to such great female singer/songwriters as Shawn Colvin, Alison Krauss, k d lang and Sarah Mc Lachlan. Her debut album is due for release in 2008.