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His music has been referred to as "a breath of fresh air to the music scene," and as "serious ear candy." Kel Schmitz displays a relaxing style of vocal clarity and acoustic finger picking reminiscent of the 60s-70s coffee house gig-meisters. He has developed a huge reportoire of cover songs, as well as a growing array of original songs. Assigning a genre to his songs is difficult, as they reflect elements of country, pop, and folk. Kel's popularity, especially in outdoor venues, has blossomed during the past two years, and he is in current demand at all the major local farmers markets. He has returned again this year to take listeners to a land of "melody and harmony - and things like that." |
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| At Port Gamble, WA - Photo by Steve Tobias |
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BIO
Kel Schmitz was born and raised in Kenmare, North Dakota, population 1200. Performing as rhythm guitarist/lead vocalist with "Stillwater Trio" in the early 70's, he survived the Northwest North Dakota bar stages. College happened, with the folk music, teen idol songs, variety shows, and more tavern and coffee house performances. Then there was the military and 25 years of non-music. Now it's catch up time! "North Dakota Lonesome," Kel's well-received first CD, is fresh out of the studio and has caught fire on the performance circuit. He currently plays lounges, coffeeshops, private parties, and outdoor venues such as farmers markets, car shows, tractor pulling contests, etc. He is now back in the songwriting mode, gearing up for his next venture into "melody and harmony and things like that."
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