Nashville indie folk-rock artist, Kellen Wenrich, once found himself a fiddle player in Apache Relay. Now, the multi-instrumentalist begins his solo career with a debut LP, Posthumous Release (out 16 February). Wenrich has performed with Jenny Lewis, Mumford & Sons, The Wild Feathers, G. Love, The Devil Makes Three, JP Harris, rayLand Baxter, Gill Landry, Desert Noises & more. His Sad Bastard EP was recently hailed by NPR as one of World Café’s “Indie Discoveries Of 2017“.
KoT’s Posthumous Release finds Wenrich mellow, focused, and rich with realization. The impassioned new record employs situational irony, with self-reflective and somber lyrics that are often defied by cheery, blissful and breezy indie-folk countermelodies. He pens parables from personal and professional life and backs up his vulnerable confessions with dense arrangements.
As Wenrich gears up for his February release, he was kind enough to take a break and share the origins of Kellen of Troy, and what he hopes to accomplish in the near future.
Can you tell us about your music and how Kellen of Troy got its start?
I make folk-pop-rock from Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve been playing music in various roles since I was a kid, but I started writing and performing as Kellen of Troy after an old band and an old relationship fell apart simultaneously. KoT started as a practice in self-assuredness, but I began liking what I was doing and thought it deserved to be heard, so I started recording and playing shows.
How do you engage with your audience?
I love talking and getting to know fans in person, especially if they don’t realize I’m playing in a group they’re a fan of. One of my favorite things to do is get fans on the guest list to shows I’m playing, if they don’t have a ticket or can’t afford one.