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Humility, Swagger, and Music
Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: May 2023
It’s the sounds of country when Jilly Martin and Ryan Brooks Kelly visit The Farm, Thursday, May 25. For updates and to book online, visit OldEdwardsHospitality.com/OrchardSessions.
Martin and Kelly
On Thursday, May 25, the sounds at the Orchard Sessions at The Farm at Old Edwards will be country. Jilly Martin and Ryan Brooks Kelly will play and sing in a program that defines the best of country music – the singular ability of country musicians to create a close rapport with their audiences.
Jilly Martin loves the song “Over the Rainbow” and knows how to yodel. She was a toddler when she started singing by her grandmother’s piano and seven when she began singing in church. It wasn’t too many years later that she sang for several hundred thousand for the 4th of July festivities with the Boston Pops. She played gigs around New England, chasing her dreams as a solo artist when Ryan Brooks Kelly asked her to sing a debut on an EP he was working on.
By the time he met Martin, Kelly had long been breaking barriers, forging his own creative presence in the industry. His smooth-soulful vocal ranges had shined in performances as the opening act for such artists as Lynrd Skynard, the Doobie Brothers, Chicago, and Joan Jett.
In the studio, the two clicked. As Kelly related to Limelight Magazine, “We decided that we really liked how our voices and harmonies blended.” The two decided to team up, “to create a duo to reckon with.”
The pair are both inspired by the music of Buck Owens, Loretta Lynn, Brad Paisley, and Miranda Lambert. Those influences are evident in the music they perform and the songs they write that bridge the gap between new and traditional country music.
Clearly, their decision to join their musical talents was the right one.
With just the right amount of humility and swagger in their originals, covers, and performances, they complement each other on and off stage. As one critic reported, “Jilly has the rare ability to deliver a vocal story with complete honesty, whether a gentle ballad or a powerful anthem. Ryan’s guitar work is a skillfully inspired force, and their harmonies blend with exquisite seamlessness whether presented as a two-piece acoustic duo, three or four-piece act.”
As is well known to Plateau music lovers, the Orchard Sessions are a rare opportunity to connect simultaneously and viscerally to nature and the performing artists. The show begins at 6:00 P.M. and concludes around sunset at 8:00 P.M. There is a $40 cover charge for the public. Every ticket includes light bites and a cash bar.
