In Review: Calumet Queen by Kiely Connell

by: Tremblin’ Jack

Hailing from Hammond, Indiana, Kiely Connell has finally decided to lay claim to the throne and take her rightful place as the Queen of the Calumet Region. I don’t pretend to fully understand the region’s monarchy, but I can honestly say that, based solely on her music, I think she should have taken her chances at being a musician. She really has some chops (songwriting that is, not sideburns).

Listen here: 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/calumet-queen/1577765681

Kiely is a humble soon-to-be monarch who sings about us common folk. She even reportedly recorded her newest EP in producer Don Bates’s Motel (Pictured Here). Together with her longtime collaborator & guitarist Drew Kohl, drummer Taylor Jones, bassists Jess Perkins and Cameron Carrus, steel guitarist John McNally, cellist Chris Perdue, and fiddle player Lauren Saks, Connell delivers a record to her loyal subjects that is deserving of the royal treatment.

“Calumet Queen” opens the record with Connell reminiscing about her own roots. “She’s got mud running through her veins, she’s got a soul so old you’d be amazed, she’s been wandering ’round the riverbanks, just waiting on the Calumet River to crown this Calumet queen,” sings Connell. Are muddy veins what it takes to be a monarch? 

The record’s second track, “The Blues That Really Burn,” serves up a heaping helping of relentless and repeated punches to my nether regions. “Think I’ll take another Paxil before I crawl back into bed, Pull the same old musky T-shirt over my troubled head, Seems I spend every waking moment tucked in my bed fast asleep, but it’s been four months since I had a dream,” sings Connell. “When will I see the state, I’m in and know I should’ve learned, that it’s the blues that really burn.” They do burn…like really hot. Hotter fires burn with more energy, which are different colors than cooler fires. Although red usually means hot or danger, in fires it indicates cooler temperatures. While blue represents cooler colors to most, it is the opposite in fires, meaning they are the hottest flames. Well played, Kiely, well played.

“Caroline’s Corner Café” is probably my favorite from what we were able to hear so far. It’s a brooding track in which Connell lovingly and cleverly paints a picture of a small wood-panel-clad café interior that questionable characters tend to haunt. “There’s a judge and lawyer and a preacher discussing the latest case, who’s gonna walk and who’s gonna talk while the preacher prays for their souls.” “Caroline’s Corner Café” is the kind of song that makes you feel uneasy from the start. The tension builds musically as Kiely leads us through a late-night tour of the aforementioned dive.

This Friday, November 12th, 2021, Queen Kiely will be releasing her first full-length album and will be crowned, “Calumet Queen. Her coronation will be held on November 20th, 2021, at a local pub in Nashville, Tennessee, called “The 5 Spot.”

Calumet Queen is a record that I suggest you take time to listen to. Though this is Kiely Connell’s first full-length offering, she is obviously a seasoned professional. Kiely has honed her craft over the years of playing in Nashville and is a well-known and loved local folk artist on the scene. It’s wonderful to see her finally getting the recognition she so deserves.

This record is Bohemian-Oatmeal-Certified Tasty. ALL HAIL THE QUEEN.