A Brief History On Shane Kelly...
Born in Waukegan, IL, Shane started out as an actor/improviser and singing for fun, while frequenting various saloons, and karaoke bars around Chicagoland (illegally at first, being that he was under age at the time).
While attending a show featuring a musician friend of his named Matt McBride. Shane was asked onstage to harmonize with Matt. The crowd loved the sound, and shortly thereafter, he began making appearances at Matt’s other shows, becoming a regular on the stage, while working for him offstage (signing up people on his e-mail list).
The singing bug finally stung him. So, on the day of Frank Sinatra’s passing, Shane decided to do a tribute to him (although he’d loved the music all his life, he had never before sang a Sinatra song). Upon arriving at his local saloon, he ordered a “J.D. Rocks” and spoke with his friend running the show. He asked if he could say a few words, and sing “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” The host eagerly agreed, and set the wheels in motion.
As soon as the opening bars of the song hit, the room lit up. Not one peep was heard, until he finished the song. Then came a pause (one that felt like forever), followed by a massive wave of applause, along with requests for everyone's favorite Sinatra songs.
He surprised everyone that night, including himself. Hence, the “Chairman of The Cradle” was born.
This led him to his first real gig. A lounge show at the "Half Day Inn" where he covered a variety of Sinatra hits and other tunes from that era. The guy was just getting warmed up.
Shane then ventured out to Los Angeles, taking a job as a singing waiter at "Café Bellisimo", specializing in Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Bobby Darin covers and requests. This led to a showcase at B.B. Kings, private parties soon followed. Then Terry Bochanty found him, and he was asked to perform live with his big band, "Jazz-Bo" (which is a 16 piece orchestra) during the summer jazz festival at Hollywood’s famous "Farmer’s Market". Soon after, he was gigging all over the place. Making stops at places like Miceli's, Goodfellas, Howl At The Moon, The Brown Derby (in Las Vegas with Bobby Barrett), The Curragh, Durty Nellie's, among many others.
Shane was a featured performer/emcee/host for his own variety show titled, “Monday Night Live” every Monday Night at "Ireland’s 32" in Van Nuys, which ended in March of 2007, after Shane and his family left L.A. and moved to Burleson, Texas. There was even a documentary film made about the show. You can find it at www.digitalfiremedia.com. It was directed by Daniel Baldwin.
He was the winner of the "Fabulous Finds" (sponsored by The Fabulous 690 AM) contest in October of '04 (he received plenty of press for that one). That contest landed him a huge show at the infamous "Balboa Bay Club" with the "John Peace Super Band".
To top it all off... For 3 years straight, he played at "U.S. Cellular Field" (aka White Sox Park, aka Comiskey Park) home of the "WORLD CHAMPION" Chicago White Sox, for their “Rat Pack Night”. Being a life long fan of the team, it was a dream come true.
You can hire him as a solo act, or with the "Rat Pack" in tow.
Book him now, to relive the memories...
or start some new ones.