Jadea Kelly: Wildflowers
The award-winning singer/songwriter delivers a haunting and fresh version of the Tom Petty classic. She has also curated a talent-laden Canadian playlist of Petty covers coming soon.
By Kerry Doole
Jadea Kelly - "Wildflowers" (Indie): It is exactly a year since beloved rocker Tom Petty died, and his loss is still felt deeply by his peers and admirers.
Much-lauded Toronto singer/songwriter Jadea Kelly was a big fan, and she has released a cover of Petty's tune "Wildflowers" in tribute.
In a press release, Kelly explains that "I recorded Tom Petty's ‘Wildflowers’ with my partner (John Clinebell) a few months ago. We heard it on the radio one night while driving and thought ‘hmmm, let’s create our own version.'"
"Once it was complete, we thought ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be great to release this cover on a playlist with other Canadians covering Tom Petty’...but we couldn’t find any online. So, I began reaching out to my Canadian songwriter friends to create individual covers and the response was overwhelming. Everyone immediately said yes because everyone loves and respects Tom Petty."
The result is Canada Covers Tom Petty - a collection of covers curated by Kelly that will be released on Oct. 20 on what would have been Petty's 67th birthday.
Kelly previews the playlist in style by delivering a compelling version of "Wildflowers." Accompanied by piano and subtle strings, her striking voice does justice to one of Petty's most tender and moving songs (sample lyric: "You belong among the wildflowers, you belong somewhere close to me").
A popular fixture on the T.O. scene (she now also spends time in LA), Kelly has corralled an impressive cast list for her playlist. We're certainly keen to hear Matt Mays and Terra Lightfoot tackle "Learning To Fly" and Royal Wood cover "Don't Come Around Here No More."
Other notables featured on the playlist include Sam Cash, Sweet Alibi, Dwayne Gretzky, Adam Baldwin, Slocan Ramblers, Mike Evin, Matt Epp & Christina Martin, and Amanda Rheaume.
Of note: Jadea Kelly was named ‘contemporary singer of the year’ by the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2016. She won the Best Score & Music Award in 2018 from the Hollywood International Documentary Festival for her work on the 2018 CBC Documentary Channel feature Met While Incarcerated - the Film. The accompanying soundtrack written by Kelly will be released on an EP in 2019.
Kelly, the Black Pearls and other artists will play a Petty tribute show at Toronto's Dakota Tavern on Dec. 20.
Links
Publicity: Beth Cavanagh - What's The Story? beth@whatsthestory.ca
Mike BilcoxJordan Letkemann (London, Ontario)
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