Kelly Richey Performance at Memorial Hall Robben Ford
After 18 months of hiatus due to COVID, this past Saturday was my first on-stage performance, and it felt great! It was an honor to open for Robben Ford this weekend at Memorial Hall in Cincinnati’s OTR (Over the Rhine). This is the second time I have opened for Robben; the first time was in 2016, at 20th Century, here in Cincinnati, OH. Both times I’ve opened for Robben, I played a solo acoustic show– something I rarely do. My traditional live shows are fronting the Kelly Richey Band, a blues-rock power trio, or since 2018, the Spear Shakers, a female power duo featuring myself and Sherri McGee on the drums.
Acoustic Guitar Journey
I first started playing the electric guitar but quickly added an acoustic guitar to my collection to allow me to play with or without an amp, especially since I took my guitar with me everywhere I went– literally! Throughout my career, I played with bands and with singer-songwriters. My journey throughout the years has been blessed with many friends and musician travelers, from Tates Creek High School in 1980 to Farm Aid IV in 1990– Cyndi Fisher (Cyndi Lamb), Carolyn Connor, Kiya Heartwood (Stealin Horses, Arista Records), and Heidi Campbell, (newly elected Senator to the Tennessee Assembly). I will do a follow-up post on my music journey in future posts.
Guitar Lessons
Robben Ford is an amazing guitarist, and he and his band put on a stunning performance! Also, Robben is a featured guitar instructor for TrueFire.com, where I have two instructional series (Blues Grit & Focus On: Blues-Rock Power Trio) and an online classroom (Kelly Richey’s Cutting Edge).
My love for guitar and performing will never fade! It felt great to be on stage, and the best thing of all was the warm welcome from the audience! Raised in Lexington, KY, but for the last 25 years, Cincinnati has been my home. It was great to see familiar faces and be surprised by several Lexington friends who made the journey!
I want to thank Jeff Shiflett for taking photos of the show!