By Jo Louks.
This article is a regular monthly contribution, published exclusively in the Sound Café magazine with the intention of providing you with information on artists that you might not have heard of, but I think are truly worth exploring further.
KAE SHELBY
Kae Shelby is a singer songwriter originally from Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. As a kid, Kae was always singing along with her parents to country music, playing on the hi-fi stereo. Kae always knew music would be a part of her life, but it was a career in the Canadian Military Police and then North Bay and Ottawa Police that would come first. After 20 years in Policing Kae started her own business, which freed up some time to start writing and singing.
Some of Kae's favourite artists are Supertramp, Cat Stevens, Melissa Etheridge, Jann Arden, Joni Mitchell and Carole King. Many of Kae's fans say they can hear every one of those artists in her voice.
While still working full time Kae recorded her first album, "Music and Motorcycles". Kae tells a lot of her life experiences in her music, some sad, but that’s life at times. Her sophomore album, "Unbroken" has a bit of a different twist.
I had the personal pleasure of tagging along for the recording of, "Unbroken", in Austin, Texas. I had no idea the work that went into recording an album. It was just amazing. The song I picked from Kae's newest album is the title track "Unbroken" and you should also give a listen to her lead single release, the anthemic, "This Time".
The interesting thing is, with Kae's new album, every time I listen to it, I have a new favourite song. I love "Music and Motorcycles", and I think Unbroken has topped that. Looking forward to album number 3.
BENSON BOONE
Benson James Boone is a 21-year-old singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was born in Monroe, Washington. Boone began sharing his music on TikTok in 2021 and subsequently auditioned for American Idol. He withdrew from the competition but continued to gain popularity on TikTok, with 1.7 million followers.
In advance of his first single release, Benson caught the attention of Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds, who signed Boone to his record label Night Street Records in partnership with Warner Records.
Have a listen to "In the Stars", co-written by Boone with Jason Evigan and Michael Pollack, produced by Pollack, with Benson stating that he wrote the song about the death of his great grandmother.
About Jo Louks:
"My collection of K-TELS playing on my portable candle record player is where my relationship with and love for music of all genres began. It continued throughout my life, from going to concerts through to my more recent luck in being involved in an album production, from studio recording to mastering. WOW! What an experience, and from it I've gained an even greater respect and appreciation for what it takes to make great music!
Couple that with my air guitar acumen, and that of course makes me a consummate professional in bringing 'Jo's Picks Of The Month' to you.
All kidding aside my repertoire of songs is vast and what an honour it is to share my picks with the readers of The Sound Cafe Magazine!" - Jo Louks.
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