Alaina Stacey + Madeleine Kelson

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Alaina Stacey grew up with three brothers in a musical family in Chicago. Kicked out of the house for making too much noise while her older brothers and dad were recording in their home studio, three year old Alaina went outside in a tutu to throw a sophisticated tea party in the middle of nearby construction rubble with her best friend Rory. Dusty and dirty from head to toe, Alaina ambled back in the house singing a song she had just made up for her tea party co-host. The family quickly recorded it, documenting her first song, So Sad. She was then given a bath and sent off to bed.

From that moment on, the toddler was hooked.

In her formative years, Alaina drew from a host of rock, pop and musical theater influences, crushes and emotional rescues: Ben Folds, *NSYNC, No Doubt, Counting Crows, Death Cab for Cutie, Jack’s Mannequin, Evanescence, Bruce Springsteen, Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, Tom Waits, Hanz Zimmer, Alan Menken, Destiny’s Child, Ne-Yo, Eminem, The Fray, OutKast, Rihanna, Maroon 5, The Killers, Britney Spears, Coldplay, Wilco, and Goo Goo Dolls. The impact of these influences is not stylistic, but is reflected in the emotional imprint they convey.

She discovered country music on a rafting trip in Utah with her dad when she was 10. She began listening to Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and Taylor Swift.

When she was just 16, Christian Century magazine stated that Alaina sounded like the long-lost little sister of Emmylou Harris, with high lonesome ‘woos’ that conveyed “a whirlwind full of autumn shivers.”

In her first release, this whimsical young woman offers a peek into the old soul within her, where heartbreak, worldliness and a romantic spirit reside.

Her brothers are excited about this release and have forgiven her for interrupting their recording session.

Madeleine Kelson has been writing and performing music since childhood, developing a unique, country-leaning style of Americana laced with elements of rock and blues. She spent her early career performing with her twin sister in Chicago band, The Kelson Twins, at iconic venues across Chicago, including the House of Blues, and the Athenaeum Theater, and landed a 2016 Top Daytrotter Session with Paste Magazine. After graduating high school, Kelson started her solo career in Nashville. Shortly after moving, she won the 2017 International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) Songwriter Showcase. After the April 2022 release of her debut album on Olivia Records, Kelson was named by NPR as one of 10 rising artists in Nashville, and was chosen as a finalist in Kerrville Folk Festival’s NewFolk competition.