With artistic authenticity, Sarah has spent the last few years refining her sound, a warm, harmonious blend of jazz, soul and funk that has earned her the love of online and live audiences. With a few dates left on her US headlining summer tour, she continues to share her latest collection –The Spins EP, their sixth studio release – with fans. But their catalog is a rich source of shining gems just waiting to be discovered.
Originally from Rochester, NY, Kelly grew up in a home that nurtured and encouraged a passionate appreciation for the arts. Both of her parents were artistically gifted in some way—her mother was a dancer and her father had played trumpet while in college—which fueled her early adolescent experiments with bands and choirs. At Berklee College of Music, she began to explore songwriting alongside her studies in music theory.
In college, she began exploring the nuanced complexities of jazz that are found in abundance on debut songs. Weather change (2015) in pursuit of a technical sophistication she was happy to leave behind. Now Taylor devotes herself to the elegant simplicity of lyrics and melodies that come straight from the heart – adorned only with a sincere vulnerability and soul-stirring resonance.
Her debut EP, Do you feel me?introduced her as a singer with an ecstatic voice whose words were as electrifying and soothing as the music that enveloped her. Thanks to TikTok, the dreamy, serene and bubbly grooves of her single “California” became a catchy tune that helped many new listeners discover her music during the pandemic. The release of her second album, Up, up and away (2019) brought with it a series of songs that are at once intimate and universal, bubbling over with love, heartbreak and anxious uncertainty.
In 2022, the same year, she released another EP, Everything I need—which further anchored her sound in reflective shimmers of guitar-driven R&B, pop and funk—she recorded Live in Philly on New Year’s Eve as the opening act for Saint Paul and the broken bones. In addition to capturing the magnificent soundscape and passionate emotions she brings to the stage, it also includes a cover of Sound Garden‘S “Black Hole Sun” this will give you goosebumps and prove beyond a doubt that she has vocal power.
The six pieces of Taylor’s The Spins On EP, the singer enters richly textured soundscapes filled with the swell of sweetly plucked strings and the call of moody horns. Even in their sparsest moments, the spaces between these instrumentals glow with the sparkle of piano keys, the sonorous production and her own lovely, honeyed coo. Some absolute highlights include the enchanting “Fit in” and slow rolling funk from “Attention,” which swells irresistibly into an exciting guitar solo.
In a post on Instagram, Taylor gushed about the release of a project that marks a milestone in her long journey as an artist: “I’m 32 today. Also, I released my sixth studio project today. Sometimes I forget that as a 16-year-old, I wanted a career in music so badly, but had no idea how to get there or what it would look like. She had no idea that she would be writing her own songs at 20, or releasing her first album on her 21st birthday – that she would move to Philadelphia at 24, and by 27, her music would be played everywhere from New York to Nashville to Montreal to Chicago.”
She continued, “Today I remember why I’m here. Not because I want to be rich or a household name – but because I want to feel everything there is to feel, really fully and deeply. I want to always be aware of the power and necessity of community, of art, of nature, of life itself. And here I am, with $20 in my bank account, feeling everything at once, but most of all love – and gratitude – for this life, for art, for community, for the fact that my music will live on long after I’m gone – because it’s so much bigger than I’ll ever be.”
Every clip we’ve seen of Taylor on tour for the Spins Tour has only reinforced what we’ve already learned from listening to her music: This artist not only thrives in the spotlight, but leaves the rooms she performs in – as well as the people who see her – brighter and more serene than before. To say we’re eagerly awaiting her next project while holding down the play button on her entire catalog is an understatement.
Text: Steven Ward
Visit Taylor Kelly on her website and Instagram to stay up to date with new releases and tour announcements.
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