WILL ROGERS AWARD - Female Vocalist of the Year '09
TEXAS STATE MUSICIAN NOMINEE
Piano Poundin', Rhythm Rockin', Bass Kickin'
the Queen of Swing™
Kelli Grant
Kelli has been listed, charted and recognized in a variety of genres but says her music is easy to define. To coin her phrase:
“It Rocks, It Swings but it’s not Hillbilly, my Momma called it,” Swing-a-Billy™“…. ~the Queen of Swing™, Kelli Grant~
And that pretty well nails it. ;o)
At the tender age of 7, Kelli’s Mother taught her to play a walking bassline with her left hand, popularized by Walter Page from Count Basie’s Band & the “swing” era since her hands were too small to reach the customary octave and 10th’s. Over the years Kelli has cultivated and perfected her left hand into a truly awesome and unsurpassed bassline and is the foundation and backbone of her band, “the Swing Kings.” Add a rockin’ rhythm and piano poundin’ gyrating leads and … well, you have, “Swing-a-Billy™”.
Kelli has long been known for her Rock-a-Billy piano style, recording with Rock-a-Billy legends, “Groovy” Joe Poovey & “Mr. Action” Roy Moss. After headlining on show with R&B legends, Carl Perkins and Roy Moss, both took notice of Kelli’s unique piano style and tagged her, "the Queen of Swing," now a registered trademark.
Kelli has been listed, charted and recognized in several musical genre's: Pop, R&B, Blues, Western Swing and Rock-a-Billy. She was one of only 36 albums on the Grammy voting list for "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album". (Not Nominated) She has received numerous nominations and received an “Honorable Mention” from Billboard for an R&B original but never the winner. Now; she can add to her long list of credentials, AWARD WINNER! Of course, this is not to slight the nominations she has received. When there are literally thousands of eligible Candidates in the business, it is truly an honor to be one of the top 5. As Texas State Musician Nominee, if you are going to lose to someone, there is no shame when the recipient is Willie Nelson. Being from Texas and the Queen of Swing™, with a colorful & descriptive lyric, “Don’t Mess With Texas”, Kelli salutes the sights & sounds of Texas which wowed!!! the Texas Department of Transportation prompting them to issue a special license for the use of their logo, a first for TxDot.
CREDENTIALS: Kelli Grant, the Queen of Swing™:
WILL ROGERS AWARD - Female Vocalist of the Year - ‘09
TEXAS STATE MUSICIAN NOMINEE 2009
World Who's Who Jazz Cabaret Singers, New York, NY - Federation of American Musicians, '08
Who’s Who Entertainment '07/'08 registered Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Will Rogers Award Nominee - Academy of Western Artist ‘08
Artist of the Year Nominee - Roots Music Association ‘08
Honorable Mention - Billboard, L.A. - R&B
Mid-America Arts Alliance Touring Roster - 2007 / 2008
BMI Songwriter
Texas Touring Roster 2001 - 2007
Texas Arts & Exchange Conference - Table Top Speaker
Isle of Capri Casino - Blue Book, BEST SHOWS - Trela Wilson, Ent. Dir.
NARAS - voting member 2001
Vocalist Nominee - Grammy Board of Directors - Tx. Chapter
Western Swing Hall of Fame - Seattle, Wa. - 2001
Public Service Announcements - Texas Department of Transportation - litter campaign, “Don’t Mess With Texas”
International Recording Artist - Warner Bros. German affiliate, Eagle Records
Music Graduate - Kilgore Jr. College / Stephen F. Austin State University: Scholarships: Voice, Clarinet, Stageband
Awarded Vivian Thyng Scholarship for Music Theory
** CD, “Don’t Mess With Texas” - all proceeds are donated to the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Music Project
References:
Isle of Capri Casino - Bossier City, La. / Vicksburg, Ms. / Lake Charles, La.
Commercial Casino - Elko, Nev.
Peppermill Casino - Wind Over, Nev.
Marshall Regional Arts Council
Horizon Casino - Lake Tahoe, Nev.
Riverside Casino - Laughlin, Nev.
Roots Music Association, Artist of the Year
AWA - www.awa-awards.org
Upshur Country Regional Arts - Gilmer Civic Center
Dalhart Regional Arts Center - Dalhart, Tex.
Mid-America Arts Alliance touring roster
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