The Kellylee Evans Winter Song 2023
By Joy Osiagwu
Saturday 23 December 2023
The Award-winning Kellylee Evans was at her best again on Saturday, December 23rd, at the National Art Centre (NAC), Ottawa, sharing a mix of Christmas holiday classics and original songs. It was my first time watching Kellylee live!
Walking into the National Art Centre and noticing the sea of heads of the Canadian Mosaic quickly gave this reporter a sneak peek of what to expect. Kellylee must be a viewer’s delight, I whispered to myself.
Then came the stylistic singer, speaker, and artist on stage with her fantastic team of performers: Steve Boudreau on the piano, Chris Pond on bass, Stephen Adubofuor, and Ben Dimillo on the guitar.
Kellylee and her team. Photo credit: Kelly Evans Music
From Jazz to soul, the singer-songwriter and 2011 JUNO Award winner captivated the audience with her resonant voice. The modulation and the periodic variation in the pitch of her musical tone (vibrato) accompanied by her dance steps swaying from time to time to the rhythm of the songs, and interactive sessions with her audience made her brand exquisite and peculiar!
Kellylee’s unique signature on what I knew as Christmas classics instantly enraptured me. Nat King Cole’s “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” has always been my collection’s best Christmas classic song. But that night, Kellylee’s version of the song proved her act as a “must-watch”. The Latin Jazz Network aptly described her as having a “gorgeous voice (that) rises to the heavens in rapturous wonder as if in consanguinity with a chorus of angels).
We spotted the former Governor-General of Canada, Michaelle Jean, taking a selfie with Kellylee at the show. You must watch the live performance to get a rewarding experience of this gift to Canada embodied in a beautiful human. The show was not open to video recording, but the organizers allowed a few video clips on my phone to give you a visual description and the quality of Kellylee’s voice. Perhaps it will spur you to look forward to the next edition in 2024. Apart from performances like this across Canada, Kellylee has opened for stars such as George Benson, Willie Nelson, and John Legend.
Kellylee Evans (Middle) with SVGA President, Suzette Small-Weeks, on the far left, and other guests
Click on the link to watch and listen to the sights and sounds of Kellylee Evans’s Winter Song 2023 at the NAC in Ottawa.