July 3 2025

For the last three decades, vocalist Kelly Zirbes and acoustic guitarist Perry Robertson have been churning out blues and soul records as Kelly's Lot. Eighteen albums down the road, the duo decided to go back to their folk roots. Although their latest offering, Late Bloomer, does have a folky feel, it's no stripped-down, acoustic two-stools-and-a-spotlight production. As usual, Zirbes and Robertson bring along a full band to help them move things along in a snappy fashion.

The eleven cuts are all originals co-written by the husband-and-wife team. Sounding like Stevie Nicks and upgrading to Grace Slick in places on the opener, “Pied Piper,” vocalist Zirbes gets a Fleetwood Mac vibe going on, using a whistle as her piper's charm. She doesn't call him out by name, but it's pretty clear who she's addressing on “Bully,” telling fearless leader that “Breaking up a country don't make you a king.” She goes on to tell him that “Beating up the weak don’t make you strong,” a bit later adding that “Forcing your beliefs adds hate to the world.” The title cut has a country feel courtesy of Zirbes' vocal, while electric guest guitarist Rob Zucca adds Allman Brothers-style licks to the mix. Most of the band members featured on the release have played and toured with Zirbes and Robertson for nearly a decade as their backing blues band.

The group goes honky-tonkin', Patsy Cline style on “Daddy,” with some weepy pedal steel work from Doug Pettibone, with Zirbes adding another man's daddy to her wish list: “He's empathetic and quite effective at brightening up your day/He's your daddy can he be my daddy too? “Let Live” is another pedal steel-enhanced weeper that'd be right at home at any honky-tonk palace jukebox. Zirbes band pours out more country-style licks behind her on “This Time,” a rocky proclamation and prognostication about an old love affair being given a fresh shot at survival. There ain't no blues to be found on this outing, but Kelly's Lot fans will find the same care and feeling that the group lavishes on any project they adopt.

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Grant Britt (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) has been writing about music since the earth cooled a while back. A staff writer for No Depression, his work also appears in BluesMusic Mag and the Greensboro News and Record. 

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