kelly love jones

Biography

Kelly Love Jones is a New Orleans–based singer, songwriter, multi‑instrumentalist, producer, and director whose work bridges reggae, soul, Americana, world music, and lovers rock. Appointed a United Nations “Messenger of Truth” and recognized as a Louisiana Music Ambassador, she has spent more than two decades using music as a vehicle for healing, storytelling, and social uplift.[3][2][6] Raised in the New Orleans area with formative time in St. Louis and Houston, she deepened her craft early through classical guitar lessons funded and closely supervised by an aunt who insisted she practice daily.[1][2] In high school and at the Art Institute of Houston, Jones moved between hip‑hop, freestyling at pep rallies, and live performance, eventually earning a videography degree before returning to New Orleans to study sound recording and work in local venues, where she learned live engineering, band dynamics, and the city’s rich musical culture.[1]

Jones’ first group, Understatement, grew out of a teenage love for hip‑hop, but she soon began integrating singing and guitar into her performances, developing a hybrid style rooted in groove, improvisation, and intimate storytelling.[1] Back in New Orleans, she gained early exposure working at Storyville District, then as a vocalist and guitarist with jazz drummer James Alsanders’ band at the Funky Butt, which led to regular club work and support from heavyweights like George Porter Jr., who invited her to open for his band.[1] Over time she released a growing catalog of independent albums, including her eighth album Surrender—unveiled through intimate blindfolded listening sessions in her home—and the conceptually driven project TRUST, which she expanded into a full stage production that she wrote, produced, directed, and starred in, presented at museums and venues in Louisiana and Atlanta.[1][2][8] Her message‑driven repertoire and outreach to impoverished youth led to her designation as a U.N. Messenger of Truth and multiple touring opportunities, including a self‑organized “Triumphant Tour” of California in 2010 that she completed with her two‑year‑old son in tow, using each show to book the next and embody her philosophy of perseverance.[2]

Artistically, Jones’ music is characterized by warm, soulful vocals, rhythmic guitar work, and cajón‑driven grooves—an instrument she adopted after living in Peru in 2006, where a street performance inspired her to study the Peruvian cajón and bring it into her live shows back home.[1] Her genre‑fluid approach spans reggae, singer‑songwriter, Americana, world music, and soul, unified by lyrics that focus on triumph, possibility, love, forgiveness, and trust.[3][2] Beyond recording and touring, she is a Big Easy Award winner for Best Emerging Artist, a noted storyteller, and a creator of multidisciplinary productions such as “Pitch Dark” and “TRUST,” which integrate narrative, music, and visual staging.[6][4][8] Through these projects and her mentoring of emerging performers in her ensembles and productions, Jones has established a legacy in the New Orleans arts community as an “alchemist of people” who not only performs but also curates spaces where other artists can shine and audiences can experience music as a transformative, communal ritual.[1][5]

Fun Facts

• Jones once organized a nine‑month “Triumphant Tour” of California starting with only three booked shows, a one‑way ticket, $80, her guitar, and her two‑year‑old son, booking the rest of the tour on the fly from contacts made at each performance.[2]
• During that tour, her toddler sometimes slept inside her open guitar case onstage while she performed, symbolizing her commitment to balancing motherhood with a full‑time music career.[2]
• She was spontaneously invited to Barcelona for a World Music Summit after a doctor fan contacted her, leading to her appointment by the United Nations as a “Messenger of Truth” for the impact of her music on impoverished youth worldwide.[2][1]
• Jones discovered the cajón while living in Peru in 2006 after following the sound of street music; she asked a woman performer to teach her, then brought the instrument back to New Orleans, where it became one of her signature sounds on stage.[1]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Aunt Troy (first name given as Troy, Jones’s aunt in St. Louis) - Paid for and strictly supervised Kelly Love Jones’s early classical guitar lessons, insisting on daily practice and refusing to let her quit, which cemented Jones’s identity as a guitarist and songwriter. (Foundational guitar training that underpins songs across early compositions and later albums such as Surrender and TRUST.) [Teen years, during a stay in St. Louis (1990s, exact years not stated).]
• Sade - First major musical influence and first concert Jones attended as a young adult; seeing Sade live (on a bill with Digable Planets) convinced her to pursue music as a lifelong vocation. (Influence reflected broadly in Jones’s smooth, soulful vocal delivery and emotive ballads rather than in specific cited tracks.) [Young adulthood, prior to the start of her professional career (1990s).]
• Chaka Khan - Met Chaka Khan after getting her music into the singer’s hands; Khan’s emphatic advice to “NEVER GIVE UP” became a guiding mantra throughout Jones’s musical journey. (Not tied to a specific collaboration; influence is motivational and career‑affirming, connected to Jones’s touring era and the story of her Triumphant Tour.) [Around or after 2010, during/after her California “Triumphant Tour.”]

Key Collaborators

• James Alsanders - UNO jazz student and drummer who invited Jones to his studio, incorporated her into his band at the Funky Butt, and effectively gave her first steady gig and club circuit experience. (Live performances at the Funky Butt and other New Orleans clubs; early original songs developed in his studio.) [Early 2000s (shortly after her return to New Orleans post‑college).]
• George Porter Jr. - New Orleans bass legend who repeatedly put Jones on his shows, inviting her to open for his band and helping expand her audience and credibility. (Support slots opening for George Porter Jr. and his projects; specific dates and setlists not detailed.) [Early to mid‑2000s.]
• The Original Pinettes Brass Band (The Pinettes) - Jones worked with The Pinettes while exploring collaborative concepts that blended her songwriting with the energy of a brass band. (Unspecified collaborative performances and experimentations in New Orleans clubs.) [Early 2000s.]
• Deezle (Darius ‘Deezle’ Harrison) - Three‑time Grammy‑winning producer who has co‑created remixes and new material associated with Jones’s TRUST album, bringing mainstream production polish to her songs. (New music and remixed songs from the TRUST album; specific track titles not listed in the available sources.) [Mid‑2020s (post‑original TRUST album release).]

Artists Influenced

• Impoverished and at‑risk youth reached through the U.N. “Messenger of Truth” initiative - Jones was appointed a United Nations Messenger of Truth for the way her music inspires impoverished youth globally, using concerts and storytelling to encourage resilience, self‑belief, and healing. (Message‑driven songs about triumph, possibilities, love, and forgiveness performed at World Music Summit events and related outreach concerts.) [Appointed in 2006; influence ongoing in the years following.]
• Emerging New Orleans performers in her productions (e.g., cast and band of “TRUST” and “Pitch Dark”) - As writer, producer, director, and star of multidisciplinary shows like “TRUST,” Jones deliberately curates ensembles where featured artists are given space, visibility, and mentoring, effectively shaping their artistic development. (Stage productions “TRUST” and “Pitch Dark,” and live iterations of the TRUST project at museums and venues in Louisiana and Atlanta.) [2010s–2020s (exact premiere years not fully specified).]

External Links

• Spotify