Kelly’s voice is so versatile it can wrap itself around any song, in any style, be it torchy jazz, country weepers, soul-fueled bump and grinders or long-lost pop nuggets, and transform them into something all her own.

Hogan was born and raised in Atlanta where her dad is a policeman and her mom can make a pickle out of anything. She’s been singing as long as she can remember. Her brother used to punch her in the arm for constantly harmonizing with the radio, yet she could not put a sock in it. She got ants in her pants and moved to Chicago in 1997.

Hogan began to hone her mellifluously spooky welter of torch songs and honky tonk anthems when she fronted the legendary peg-legged cabaret quartet, The Jody Grind, and then fanned the flames of her bummer-rock fixation while playing guitar for Orbisonic southern gothic punks, The Rock*A*Teens. She has also kept her bad self busy with appearances on some clever and popular Bloodshot compilations, and she did a split single with fellow singer Neko Case (which is long out of print, but the songs can be found on the Bloodshot Records compilation Making Singles, Drinking Doubles.

The past few years has seen Kelly singing with fellow Georgians the Drive By Truckers, Mavis Staples, the kiddie-punk ensemble Wee Hairy Beasties, the hopped up jazz combo The Wooden Leg and recording and touring with Neko Case as backing vocalist singer (a match made in heaven, let us tell you).