Brigid Kaelin

Brigid Kaelin is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, author, artist, music theory nerd, and reluctant content creator whose career has taken her around the world—and occasionally back home to Kentucky. She’s been a guest on A Prairie Home Companion (NPR), the BBC, and has played in Elvis Costello's band on multiple continents, playing everything from accordion and piano to the musical saw. Though she tours Europe regularly, Brigid remains a Louisville favorite, earning multiple “Best Singer/Songwriter” honors over the years. She turned down a dream role on a national Broadway tour to care for her dying parents and says she wouldn’t change a thing about that decision.

She's released several original albums, composed and musical-directed for Kentucky Shakespeare, Actors Theatre of Louisville, KentuckyUSA, and countless community theatre productions. She's written an official song for Kentucky's Agricultural commission ("Kentucky With You") and hosted Kentucky Homefront. 

In addition to her music, Brigid is also an award-winning author; her first book received the region’s top history writing prize. Her essays have appeared in Salon, ScaryMommy, Kveller, LEO Weekly, and Louisville Magazine.

A true Renaissance woman, Brigid’s visual art—particularly her architectural paintings—hangs in collections across the U.S. and even in a government building in Switzerland. In 2024, Gov. Andy Beshear commissioned an original Brigid painting for his inauguration. 

Focus might not be her strongest suit, but the arts certainly are—and if there’s a transatlantic plane ticket involved, she’s probably already packing. Truly, she just wants to travel the world, play music, talk about music, and encourage kindness and lifelong learning. 
 

NOTABLE FESTIVAL APPEARANCES:

AmericanaFest (Nashville)
Original Thinkers (Telluride)
Forecastle (America)
Belladrum Fest/ Tartan Heart (Scotland)
HullabaLOU (America)
Filey Folk Festival (England)
Islay Whisky Festival (Scotland)
Celtic Connections (Scotland)
HebCelt (Scotland)
MusicPort (England)
Einsiedeln MusikFest (Switzerland)

HAS OPENED FOR/SHARED A MIC WITH : 
Elvis Costello, Jason Isbell, Jim James, Ben Folds, Maceo Parker, Nellie McKay, Dan Bern, Loretta Lynn, Cowboy Jack Clement, Patty Loveless & so many more.
 
HAS COMPOSED/ARRANGED/MUSIC-DIRECTED/MUSIC-COACHED FOR:
Kentucky Shakespeare
Actors Theatre of Louisville
Countless theatre productions
Paramount
Amazon
Independent films
Commercials

Brigid has been invited to guest on multiple Taylor Swift podcasts, but this one above (SWIFTORY) spent an entire episode talking about how much Brigid's deep dives are changing the way people listen to music. And Brigid had NO IDEA this episode was happening until someone sent it to her to listen.

Brigid is a marketing team's DREAM – she's got a great brain for business, creative ideas, and an INability to be anything but authentic. Brigid tells it like it is, but is smart enough to NOT do anything stupid on live interviews. Funny, engaging, ADHD-in-a-charismatic-way, Brigid is a great guest on any podcast/TV/radio/live event. 

At conferences/festivals, she can give a concert, moderate a panel, do a live interview, create/edit content, run a workshop, give a TED-type talk – or a combination of all. She's given musical saw lessons to Morning TV hosts and improvised songs on live TV about the weather forecast. Silly, sassy, and smart, and she is living her best 40-something and cancer-free life. She's also run her own music business for 25 years, so understands the hustle and the real work invovled. And she's ready to MAKE IT HAPPEN.