by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS
Sometimes it’s easy to hear the connection two artists share with each other, meaning they’re so on the same page that the authorial voice seems to be coming from one mind. Blaze and Kelly have been writing and performing together since 2004, and that history comes across in the way their voices intermingle so effortlessly. The folk-rock duo thrives on the strength of its crystal-clear harmonies, lending weight to songs that tend toward the melancholy without ever wallowing in sadness. Rather, Niccole Blaze and Mo Kelly’s music is unabashedly optimistic, always preferring to look at the world in a charitable way. Life is Beautiful, the title of their 2009 album, really does seem to be how they feel about things, even when times are tough. Blaze and Kelly know how to cut loose, especially when their more country-leaning tendencies come to the fore.
What: Blaze and Kelly
Where: Huntamer Park,
618 Woodland Square Loop SE, Lacey
When: noon Wednesday, July 19
How much: free
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