Nolan McKelvey + Jesse Valenzuela

Over the course of his thirty-year career, Nolan McKelvey has covered nearly every corner of the country and traversed all roads of Americana. From the pavement of alt-country, to the dusty trails of bluegrass, to the gravel roads of classic-country, to the interstate highway of rock-n-roll. Nolan has received critical acclaim along the way from magazines like No Depression, Country Standard Time, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Globe, and Performer Magazine among many others.
Nolan has opened for luminaries of Americana like Greg Brown, Peter Rowan, Odetta, Fred Eaglesmith, Los Lobos, Sam Bush, Bela Fleck, Tim O’Brien, Jerry Douglas, and Leon Russell. He has also opened for contemporary artists like Leftover Salmon, Railroad Earth, Cowboy Junkies, Gregory Alan Isakov, Jack Johnson, Infamous Stringdusters, Jeffrey Foucault, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, Son Volt, Josh Ritter, David Grisman and the list goes on and on...
Nolan performed in several bands in Boston, including The Benders, The Resophonics, with Kris Delmhorst, Ry Cavanaugh, The Vinyl Avenue String Band, Jabe, Bow Thayer, and his own 33. He was dubbed “Central to the (Boston) roots-rock revival” by WBUR radio. His bands won two Boston Music Awards (BMA) and were nominated for BMA’s 7 times in his 5 years in the city. Since returning to Arizona, Nolan was named “Best Musician” by the readers of the Arizona Daily Sun and has been dubbed “One of the best songwriters in the southwest,” and "Flagstaff's Poet Laureate." (FlagLive)
Nolan’s studio credits include recording with grammy-winner Levon Helm (The Band), Dana Colley and Billy Conway (Morph*ne), Paul Q. Koldrie (Pixies, PJ Harvey, Radiohead and more), Jennifer Kimball (The Story, Wayfaring Strangers) among many others. Nolan’s songs have appeared on 21 cds to date, he released five solo albums, five albums with The Benders, six with Muskellunge, four with former band Onus B. Johnson and a duo disc with Dave Desmelik. Nolan's work as a bass player and harmony singer pushes the release list over 75 recordings.
Nolan's latest release is How Small We Are, recorded at the
Tone Kitchen in Tempe, Arizona.
Produced by the core band of PH Naffah
(Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers), Jeff
Lusby-Breault (Enormodome), and
Nolan.
The record includes appearances from
some of the most talented musicians in the
Phoenix area including Jesse Valenzuela
(Gin Blossoms on 2 & 9), Jon Rauhouse
(Neko Case, Old 97’s, Sunpunchers on 2 &
10), Nick Sterling (Wyves on 6, 7, & 9),
and Stephanie Groot (Mark Zubia Trio,
Dusty Ramblers on violin on 4 & 7). Nolan
imported old friend, Mandy Fer (Sway
Wild) for the vocal duet “Anam Cara” (3),
and longtime friend and former bandmate
Tim Kelly (The Benders, The Resophonics)
to play dobro (7 & 8). McKelvey penned all
10 tracks, played all upright and electric
bass, acoustic guitar, and performed all
lead and harmony vocals.
How Small We Are builds on the momentum
of Forward, about which Americana
Highways wrote, “His voice is inspired and his
reliance on poignancy is admirable.”
Rootstime compared him to singersongwriters
such as David Gray, Ryan
Adams, and Damien Rice. Blaskans Vanner
stated, “Somehow these songs glide away
towards the forest and meadows of beauty.”

To put it as succinctly as possible, Jesse Valenzuela loves music.

“Ever since I was a kid, music has had a hold on me – and one of the great blessings of my life is that I’ve been able to keep a hold on music.”

And then some.

As a founding member of Tempe, Arizona’s melodic, melancholic Gin Blossoms, Jesse Valenzuela has climbed a musical mountain.

For more than three decades, Jesse has provided the multi-platinum group with hit songs (“Til I Hear It From You,” “Follow You Down,” “Mrs. Rita”), masterful guitar playing and exquisite harmony singing. And, historically, the Gin Blossoms have been true road warriors, often playing more than 150 shows a year.

But for Jesse Valenzuela, music isn’t just a career, it’s a calling.

Solo artist, producer, session musician, film and television composer -- all part of answering music’s call.

On those rare nights when the Gin Blossoms aren’t on the road, you might find Jesse playing in a Phoenix-area pub, delighting audiences with Gin Blossoms classics and dipping into his deep bag of rock, folk, country, blues and flamenco favorites. Chances are you may hear him covering the Monkees’ “Daydream Believer,” and confiding: “This is my sister’s favorite song.”

An artist in love with music.

The road stretches out and the beat goes on.

As Jesse once wrote: “Some rides don't have much of a finish/That's the ride I took.”

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Coconino Center for the Arts