Kelley Breiding

Nightingale

Music Maker Foundation

Kelley Breiding listened to the music her parents loved, from the forties and the fifties, and together they went to antique shops, as they value older things. Breiding is a multi-instrumentalist and singer originally from Charlotte, North Carolina. After graduating from Western Carolina University, she lived in Mt. Airy for just over a decade and now resides in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Ashe County, North Carolina. She is a jack of all trades: a guitarist, fiddler, banjo player, bass player, and singer-songwriter. She is well-versed in the old-time music of northwestern North Carolina. Breiding is a banjo player and singer for the old-time band Crooked Road Ramblers and also leads her rockabilly band Kelley and the Cowboys. She also participates in a Blue Ridge National Heritage Initiative called Fine Tuned, which connects seasoned musicians with emerging artists. Through Fine Tuned, she works with the Allen Boys, a sacred steel group out of Mt. Airy.

On top of this, she directs the Blue Ridge Opry, a variety show inspired by the era of the Ernest Tubb Show, with a rotating cast and crew. When not on stage, Breiding is teaching guitar and fiddle with JAM (Junior Appalachian Musicians), a nonprofit that recruits artists to teach traditional music in a classroom setting. Nightingale is Breiding’s debut album as a solo artist.

Breiding, on guitar and vocals, is joined on Nightingale by guitarists Jimbo Mathus, Kirk Russell, and Scott “Paco” Goolsby; mandolinist Wesley Jordan; fiddler Jessie Jordan; banjo player Matt Singer; pedal steel player Nathan Golub; and drummers Mathus and Russell. The album was produced by Mathus and recorded in 2025 at Music Maker Studios in Fountain, North Carolina.

The album opens with “Party Hat,” as Breiding sings, “I’m just a pary hat, I’m where the party’s at, you put me on when you want to…”

On the title track, “Nightingale,” Breiding chimes, “I’m as blue as blue as the sea…so far away from your shore…since you’ve been gone…from now on.”

“I Need You Know” features Breiding as she chants, “Dreamin’ of you…I told you so…what does it take…I need to know…”

On “Lowdown Man,” Breiding moans, “That lowdown man of mine, mistreats me all the time…he comes around and then leaves me sad and lonely…that lowdown man of mine.”

“Belle of the West” features Breiding as she shouts, “Well, the belle of the West, somewhere down in Arkansas…she’s the belle of the West…on her way back home.”

“Quit Calling My Husband” is a mighty-but-funny get-lost anthem, as Breiding cries out, “He comes in late at night…quit calling my husband, you stay off this line…quit calling my husband, leave my family alone…”

On “Learn to Forget,” Breiding wails, “I was so wrong…I tried and tried but haven’t yet learned to forget…to forget our kisses, things were sweeter than wine…I just remember everything I want to forget.”

“Broken Glass” features Breiding as she howls, “Broken glass down on the floor, I can’t miss anymore, I love you so, it’s in the past, memories of broken glass.”

On “Turn and Burn,” Breiding groans, “Turn and burn, run me into the ground, turn and burn run me all over town…turn and burn, run me into the ground.”

On the closer, “Rodeo,” Breiding croons, “I yearn to wander alone like the cowboys of old…tied up my horses…in the saddle again…there’s always another tomorrow…”

For 32 years, Music Maker Foundation has worked to preserve and promote the musical traditions of the American South. Since 1994, they have partnered with senior roots musicians living in poverty, sustaining their day-to-day needs while building their careers. Through Music Maker, our rich musical heritage will not be lost with the passing of time. Tim Duffy, co-founder and executive director of Music Maker Foundation, states, “Kelley Breiding came in willing and excited, thrilled to have this opportunity, and truly poured her heart and soul into this record. I think you’ll agree Kelley Breiding is the real deal.”

Richard Ludmerer

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