Kimberly Kelly Shows Her Country Music Reverence On Debut Album

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Kimberly Kelly. Photo: David McClister

Singer-songwriter Kimberly Kelly will release her debut album, I’ll Tell You What’s Gonna Happen, via Show Dog Nashville in partnership with Thirty Tigers on Friday (July 8). The 12-track project is jam-packed with country music references and nostalgia, including in its track list where songs from tunesmiths such as Bob DiPiero, Wynn Varble, and Kent Blazy are featured.

A native of Lorena, Texas, Kelly has spent years paying her dues in both the Texas and Nashville music scenes. After many years of hard work getting her Master’s degree and working full time, she signed her record deal with Show Dog Nashville last summer.

“This is not my first rodeo,” Kelly says of her Show Dog Nashville label debut. “I worked really hard in Texas before I came to Nashville. I wrote songs, put out records, did a radio tour, and played every weekend while going to school and working full-time.”

The project is produced by Brett Tyler, Kelly’s husband and a hit songwriter himself with the No. 1 hit “Cold Beer Calling My Name” under his belt. Prior to the album’s debut, Kelly released “Summers Like That,” an ode to ’90s country summer songs such as “Strawberry Wine,” “Maybe It Was Memphis,” “Keeper of the Stars,” “Walkaway Joe,” “Neon Moon” and more.

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She also released the fun “Blue Jean Country Queen,” featuring Steve Wariner, as well as a cover of “Black Rose” by Country Music Hall of Famer Billy Joe Shaver, who Kelly calls a friend and mentor. The track ends with a voicemail from Shaver.

The album title, I’ll Tell You What’s Gonna Happen, is also a nod to Shaver. The abbreviated quote is pulled from a story of the iconic songwriter forcing his way into a Waylon Jennings recording session.

According to Shaver, Jennings had tried to abandon his promise to record some of Shaver’s songs. That’s when Shaver said to Jennings, “I’ll tell you what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna either listen to these songs or I’m gonna whip your ass.” After the outlaw country star agreed to listen to one of Shaver’s songs, he ended up recording many that wound up on Jennings’ 1973 Honky Tonk Heroes album, on which every song but one was written by Shaver.

Inspired by Shaver’s gumption, Kelly named her debut album after the awesome story.

“I landed on this album title on a dare,” Kelly says. “I was like, ‘Sure. What do I care?’ I did the Texas music scene, I’ve done time in Nashville, and I thought my time had passed when I got offered my record deal. My husband could keep writing songs and I’d just be a speech therapist. So I made this album like it’s the last one I’ll ever get to make and the title is my mantra so to speak. I love good songs, and I let the best ones win whether I wrote them or not. It’s a compilation I’m proud of, and I’m thrilled for people to hear them!”

I’ll Tell You What’s Gonna Happen will be available everywhere tomorrow (July 8).

I’ll Tell You What’s Gonna Happen Track List:
1. “Honky Tonk Town” (Jessi Alexander, Jessie Jo Dillon and Brett Tyler)
2. “Some Things Have a Name” (Bob DiPiero and Troy Johnson)
3. “Summers Like That” (Karyn Rochelle and Bobby Tomberlin)
4. “Why Can’t I” (Bob DiPiero and Karyn Rochelle)
5. “I Remember That Woman” (Kent Blazy, Cindy Blazy and Karyn Rochelle)
6. “Blue Jean Country Queen” featuring Steve Wariner (Kimberly Kelly, Brett Tyler and Steve Wariner)
7. “Don’t Blame It On Me” (Ben Danaher and Brett Tyler)
8. “Forget The Alamo” (Don Rollins and Wynn Varble)
9. “Person That You Marry” (Kimberly Kelly, Lori McKenna and Brett Tyler)
10. “No Thanks (I Just Had One)” (Dale Dodson and Wynn Varble)
11. “First Fool In Line” (Byron Hill and Tammi Kidd)
12. “Black Rose” (Billy Joe Shaver)

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