Spotlight On Kelly Vaughn

Spotlight On Kelly Vaughn

Get to know this americana-folk singersongwriter telling stories with her original songs.

By Kaylee Duff

Photo by Bryon Walter.

Name: Kelly Vaughn

Age: 49

Genre: As far as covers, I play everything from Johnny Cash to Ed Sheeran and Rihanna; pretty much whatever your can get away with on an acoustic guitar. My original stuff falls under americana, but I also have an indie-rock feel to some of my songs. And then some of them are completely folk and tell a story. It’s a pretty good mix.

Kaylee: Why would you say that making music is important to you?

Kelly: For me, it started out as a way to heal from the loss of my mom, which was actually eight years ago, to cancer. It was something I was doing as a way to cope with that loss. I never imagined that I would be doing it publicly, that it would end up being my career. With some encouragement from my friends and family, I kind of got brave and started sharing the songs I was writing. It’s just evolved, and I’ve been doing it full-time now for five years. It was a little later in life, this career change.

Kaylee: It’s never too late to do what you love.

Kelly: Nope. No, not at all.

Photo by Joy Kollmer Photography.

Kaylee: Who or what inspires your music?

Kelly: Initially, the inspiration was, like I said, coping with that loss and trying to process all that. I found music was this great outlet. Music is so powerful. It can change your mood, it can change your day. There are songs you hear, years later, and you still remember exactly what you were doing that first time you heard the song. I would say that it’s something that’s continuously changing for me. Now, a lot of my writing is more pertaining to things going on socially, environmentally. I might even just observe a situation and take something away from that. The short version would just be: things that move me.

Kaylee: How did your career get started?

Kelly: I was at a little pub in Hilliard. I had taken my guitar at the encouragement of some friends. I’ve always been very shy. I still have stage fright, I’ve just learned how to manage it. They pushed me to try and play. The crowd that was there started singing along, and we were all just having fun. It was a real casual, spur-of-the-moment type of thing. That led to me getting the courage up to ask to play a gig there. I did that, and I lived through it. I thought, “Oh, this wasn’t so bad. I should do it again.” I started venturing out to different venues, and they kept asking me to come back. One thing led to another, to another, to another. It got a little bit easier the more I did it. Then the next thing I knew, after about six months of doing it part-time, I was busy enough to start doing it full-time.

Photo by Joy Kollmer Photography.

Kaylee: Do you have a favorite performance memory?

Kelly: One of the people coordinating the entertainment for the Gay Softball World Series had seen me play at Southbend and asked me if I wanted to be a part of the opening ceremony. That was in 2016. I got to be a part of the opening ceremonies at the Columbus Commons. I was on the Jumbotron and everything. That was really cool. It even led to an interview on Good Day Columbus. It was pretty early, when I was just starting out, so to have that opportunity was great. To get to represent the community in that way was fantastic.

My other top pick would be when I played the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, which was amazing. Then I have other favorite moments. I played at Mansfield’s first Pride. I played at Lancaster’s first Pride. Being a part of the small communities, trying to make a difference, that means a lot to me. It’s special to be a part of that. I also got to open for Jennifer Knapp in 2016. I’ve had some pretty good moments, and I feel very fortunate.

Kaylee: If you had to eat one meal for the rest of your life, what meal would you choose?

Kelly: I don’t think it would matter what I was eating if I got to eat with friends. Good company sometimes makes the meal even better.

Listen to Kelly’s music online at kellyvaughnmusic.com, as well as iTunes and Spotify.