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Artist
Lisa Donnelly
12+ albums
under 2000 listenerssinger-songwriteracousticUSAhotel cafe
about
Born in Lawrence, outside of Kansas City, Donnelly’s kinetic childhood energies were channeled into a whirlwind of pursuits at which she excelled: dance, tennis, acting and academia. “All my life I couldn’t figure out what my biggest passion was,” she remembers. “It never occurred to me to sing in bands until I was a freshman in college in San Diego. When I look back I realize: I’m a writer who sings.” Returning to study at Kansas University, Lisa, waiting tables in a local club, would sit in with the resident bands. Lisa recalls her invitation into this circle of musicians as “a handful of 40 year-old dudes wanting me to sing with them so I started going around to hole-in-the-wall bars in Kansas City, Lawrence & Topeka. I was not even legal, but I was making money singing covers and learning about the blues.” Blues, Donnelly says, draws her into its core. “I like the rawness. Lyrically, it never apologizes for itself. The blues takes my blues away.” Returning from a study trip to Spain, she decided to channel her energies into singing. “Putting all logic aside, my brain and heart were more invested in the theater, but my soul – the part of me I felt came to life when I was in Spain --was completely enamored with music. I knew I had to explore it.” Lisa first organized her own band in Lawrence & began writing songs for the first time in her life. She then made plans to convene in Los Angeles with a Boston band from Berklee, but the project faltered. Instead, she fronted the
