Kelly Richey Rocks JazzFest, Gains Thousands of New Fans

From the first time I saw Kelly Richey perform live, I was hooked. She played the guitar unlike most women in that she attacked the instrument. You can see it in her guitar: the wear and tear that comes from hours and hours and gig after gig. It may not be a shiny color like you see many other women play, but you can tell Richey and that axe have spent a LOT of time together and it shows in her performances.

Every time I've had the pleasure to see Richey and her band perform they never disappoint and I've been wanting to see them on the big stage at JazzFest for several years to see her prowl around and interact with her amazing rhythm section of Freekbass on bass and Big Bamn on drums. Richey is cut from the same cloth as her heroes Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton. She's one of the best female guitarists in the world in the blues and one of the best guitarists period. Somehow pairing her with a funk bassist and a rap drummer just works. The three play off each other so well and seeing them feed off the energy of the crowd was a beautiful thing to see.

2014 will go down as possibly the best JazzFest ever because of the great, balanced lineup through the three days. If you ask 10 people who their favorite performer of the weekend was, you may get 8-10 different answers, but inevitably at least a couple of them put the Kelly Richey Band's set on Thursday July 17 as the best of the weekend.

Kelly sat down with me for an interview before the band's set which you can see below along with a few videos of the show and a photo gallery. Those that saw the band rip it up can't wait to see them again. Those that missed it will be kicking themselves even harder after seeing the videos.