Cincy's 'Female Power Duo' The Spear Shakers, Rock The Greenwich

Cincinnati's own Female Power Duo The Spear Shakers (guitarist/vocalist Kelly Richey; percussionist Sherri McGee) bring their bruising blues and raging rock to The Greenwich, 2442 Gilbert Ave., Saturday, November 17. Showtime: 9:00pm. Tickets: $10. (includes complimentary appetizers). Info: (513) 221-1151 or visit http://www.the-greenwich.com.

Richey, dubbed "Queen of the Road Warriors" by WHAS-TV Channel 11 in Louisville, has twenty-five years of touring and sixteen albums on her lengthy resume, including a stint as lead guitarist on Stealin Horses, a popular Kentucky-based rock group once signed to Arista Records. Drummer McGee is an in-demand session musician who previously was a member of successful rock group Velvet Elvis on Enigma Records.

Kelly Richey is one of the hardest-working independent musicians in the music business today. When it comes to touring, this Cincinnati-based blues rocker can truly claim the title "Queen of the Road Warriors." The veteran guitar-slinger has covered the USA, Canada, Europe and Australia in her thirty-year career. Fronting her blues/rock power trio, Kelly has played over 4,000 shows, logged a mind-boggling 1 million road miles (and counting) and released 16 albums on her private label, Sweet Lucy Records, earning her reputation as a master guitarist and singer/songwriter. This ain't no polite, watered-down sound. It's hardcore blues-rock on steroids, a blistering, in-your-face tour de force.

Born in Lexington, Kentucky but a resident of Cincinnati since 2000, Richey started playing guitar at the age of fifteen. The late Lonnie Mack was so impressed with her hyper-muscular playing and singing that he described her as "Stevie Ray Vaughan trapped in a woman's body." Listed among the "Top 100 Gifted Guitarists" by the influential Truefire Community, Kelly frequently draws comparisons to guitar icons from Stevie Ray Vaughn to Jimi Hendrix. Throughout her career, Richey has shared the stage with legends like Lonnie Mack and Albert King and has opened for, among others, Boston, Heart, Joe Cocker, Lita Ford, Johnny Winter, Edgar Winter, Walter Trout, Little Feat, Foghat, REO Speedwagon, George Thorogood, Average White Band, Robben Ford, Warren Zevon, and James Brown. Kelly also performs as a solo artist, delivering electric blues that incorporates guitar looping and beat creation - or, for a more intimate evening of music and storytelling, stripped-down and earthy blues on her acoustic guitar.

In addition to her reputation as a touring musician and recording artist, Richey has over thirty years of teaching experience. She is a dedicated guitar instructor who is passionate about inspiring students to learn. Early on, while practicing twelve to sixteen hours per day, Kelly began teaching in her hometown, giving one-on-one guitar lessons to students of all ages. As she began to tour, Richey took her teaching with her on the road, giving instruction workshops at schools, universities, and local communities and developing her own guitar instruction manual. With advances in modern technology, she has continued to expand, giving one-on-one lessons via Skype and launching her own online guitar classroom with over one-hundred-and-fifty instructional videos built on the rock-solid method she has perfected over three decades.

Since 2010, Richey has steadfastly maintained her commitment to a well-balanced lifestyle. Today Kelly tailors her schedule to meet her deepest passions: Music Arts, Creative Arts, and the Healing Arts. By writing, recording and working with the best players the Midwest has to offer, this lifelong guitar-slinger revels in delivering her signature rock-solid wall of sound, whether she's fronting her power trio or performing as a solo artist.

Just as you'd expect from the "Queen of the Road Warriors," Kelly Richey never stands still very long. And so the song continues - in 2016, Kelly began a three-year training program at Wellstreams in Columbus, Ohio, to become a Spiritual Director.

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