NEW PROJECT FEATURES EIGHT COVERS OF KELLY’S FAVOURITE EMO SONGS

FALL HEADLINE TOUR CONFIRMED WITH TORONTO SHOW ON OCTOBER 22

Toronto, ON – October 11, 2019 – Acclaimed singer, songwriter and musician. Ruston Kelly’s, new project Dirt Emo Vol. 1 is out today via Rounder Records. Stream/purchase here. Of the project, Kelly shares, “I don’t play country, this stuff is dirt emo. It’s like crying in a barn or angsting in your room with a banjo.”

Co-produced by Kelly and Jarrad K, the eight-song release consists of Kelly’s favorite emo songs including a rendition of Dashboard Confessional’s Screaming Infidelities featuring the band’s lead singer, Chris Carrabba, a live cover of Wheatus’ Teenage Dirtbag and new versions of The Carter Family’s Weeping Willow and Taylor Swift’s All Too Well.

Kelly’s version of All Too Well was released to widespread critical praise and garnered attention from Swift herself. Billboard declares, “Kelly puts his own haunting spin on the track with yearning vocals, delicate percussion and soaring instrumentation,” while UPROXX praises, “…his rendition is a beautiful tribute to the raw emotionality of the original. He makes the song his own with atmospheric instrumentals, replacing Swift’s driving percussion with drums that sound more soft and searching.”

In celebration of the release, Kelly will continue his extensive Brightly Burst headline tour this fall including stops at Atlanta’s Terminal West, Austin’s Scoot Inn, Los Angeles’ Troubadour (two nights), Seattle’s Tractor Tavern, New York’s Bowery Ballroom, Boston’s Brighton Music Hall and Washington D.C.’s U Street Music Hall among several others. See below for complete details.

The release of Dirt Emo Vol.1 adds to a landmark year for Kelly, whose full-length debut album, Dying Star, was released last fall on Rounder Records (purchase/stream here). Co-produced by Kelly and Jarrad K, Dying Star landed on several “Best of 2018” lists including Rolling Stone, Paste, UPROXX, American Songwriter and NPR Music, who praises, “Kelly digs down deep on Dying Star to fearlessly put forth a set of songs steeped in emotional twists, turns and complications…This here is powerful stuff.” Additionally, album track Mockingbird is nominated for Song of the Year at the 2019 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards. 

TOUR DATES
October 11—Minneapolis, MN—Fine Line*
October 12—Madison, WI—High Noon Saloon*
October 16—St. Louis, MO—Blueberry Hill*
October 18—Louisville, KY—Mercury Ballroom*
October 19—Columbus, OH—A&R Music Bar*
October 20—Detroit, MI—The Shelter*
October 22—Toronto, ON—Horseshoe Tavern†
October 24—New York, NY—Bowery Ballroom*
October 25—Boston, MA—Brighton Music Hall*
October 26—Washington, DC—U Street Music Hall*
October 27—Philadelphia, PA—World Café Live*
October 30—Richmond, VA—Richmond Music Hall*
October 31—Cleveland, OH—House of Blues Cleveland*
November 1—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall*
November 11-15—Punta Cana, Dominican Republic—John Prine’s “All The Best Fest”
*with Donovan Woods
†The Drew Thomson Foundation

DOWNLOAD – Hi Res Press Photo | DOWNLOAD – Hi Res Album Artwork

www.rustonkelly.com