Album Notes

Singer / Songwriter

“Not only is Seraphima a great song, it’s a great record and the first real Americana music we’ve heard today.”
–Robert K. Oermann (Music Row Magazine)

“Yelling at you in my head” is the most basic and original idea anybody has had in a decade in the songwriting world (the lyric is a wonderful obverse to “It Never Entered My Mind”)-John Beebe

"Bill Kelly has crafted a landscape full of characters that feel like they live next door.
It's a beautiful record of great songs that won't let go."
-Buddy miller

"Bill Kelly has the voice and pen of a true artist, with a great sense of melody"-Larry Campbell

"Well produced, heartfelt songs"- John Leventhal



In BREAD ON THE WATERS, Kelly takes a long hard pull on the bottle of life, with weather-beaten songs of messed-up love, longing, and redemption. Bill’s inviting sound, produced by Lincoln Schleifer, blends back porch grooves with everyday poetics to tell real stories in a newer, truer way. BREAD ON THE WATERS features the exceptional talents of Larry Campbell, Marc Shulman, Danny Louis, and Denny McDermott.? The song Seraphima has been applauded by the critics, and Yelling at You in My Head has already shown up in the new Anna Holtzman documentary, Subway Dreams.

A native of rural New Jersey, Kelly was front man for
The House of Cards.? Songs from their CD, Luck of the Irish, were featured in the TV series Northern Exposure and the Ken Russell film, Whore.? In 2002, Bill and Michael Parrish formed the urban hillbilly duo Folkfoot and released Dos Hombres; the song It Must Stink to be Pink can be heard in the Academy Award-nominated documentary, Super Size Me. Kelly also performs on the movie soundtrack of Don Gorske: Mac Daddy, and the Lisa France feature film, The Unseen.

In San Francisco, Bill was resident musician in
The National Theater of the Deranged, fronted the bluegrass folk group Spare Parts, and played bass for the Maga¢a Baptiste Royal Academy of Belly Dance.
His CD Jumbo was produced by George Recile (Bob Dylan, James Brown) and Anthony Krizan (Spin Doctors) and featured the late Howie Wyeth, John Ginty
(Sheryl Crow, Citizen Cope) and Andy Goessling (Railroad Earth).? Bill’s song She’s Single Again was featured in the NBC show, Ed.

Bill lives in Manhattan with his wife and descendant.