Jo Kelly Stephenson is an award winning Aussie singer songwriter currently based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Awards include the Billboard World Song Contest, The Australian Songwriter's Association's Rudy Brandsma Award, a prestigious major prize for excellence in songwriting, and the Vox Populi award for Alternative Country Album of the Year in the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards (IMAs), among others. Recently Jo Kelly received two nominations for Bluegrass Song of the Year in the 17th Annual IMAs and attended the awards ceremony at Symphony Space in NYC. Her songs have featured on prime time television shows and films worldwide including The Glades, Rizzoli and Isles, Switched At Birth, Mistresses, Unforgettable, Warner Bro’s Girl On A Bicycle, and more. Her songs are currently being played in shopping malls and stores across America including Ralph's, Kroger, WinnDixie and Walmart. She also supplied call hold music for Walgreens and other retailers.
Jo Kelly has performed at top music venues and festivals throughout Australia including Melbourne’s historic international venue, The Palais Theatre, The Metro Theatre in Sydney, and The Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts in Brisbane. She showcased at Michael Chugg's 'Australian Music Week', which has an average attendance of 300,000 people, and performed alongside The Angel's Doc Neeson and The Brewster Brothers at the ASA televised awards ceremony in Sydney. More recently are appearances on the Music City Roots show featuring Grammy Award Winning Jim Lauderdale, in Nashville, Tennessee. Her face and music bio appeared on Vietti Chili cans in grocery stores throughout the southern United States, after writing multiple jingles about mouth watering chili.
“I See Flowers heralds the arrival of someone with the potential to blaze a trail far beyond home territory” - Performing Songwriter Magazine, USA.
"Her brand of bluesy country deserves comparisons to Shawn Colvin. The songs are strong and her voice sounds wonderfully fresh"- Jeff Jenkins, 'Australian Music Mag' (JB Hi-Fi - Australia’s largest physical music retailer’s guide to new music in store).
"Otis Redding meets Cyndi Lauper in the country" - Anthony J. Resta (Producer: Elton John, Blondie, Duran Duran) describing Jo Kelly's song Perfect Chance.