Kelsey Waldon is the real deal. She’s a country singer who was born in a rural town in Kentucky and moved to Nashville to try her luck. After two relatively unsuccessful self-produced albums, she signed with Oh Boy Records, the American hero John Prine’s super-selective label. She brought out a record about her life in Kentucky and it was as good as a collection of short stories by Chris Offutt. Here, Kelsey Waldon is releasing a mini-album made up of seven covers of songs by Kris Kristofferson, Neil Young, Nina Simone, Dylan, John Prine and Hazel Jane Dickens. Prine’s Sam Stone is particularly emotional since the singer (and also her mentor) died from Covid in April 2020. Kelsey Waldon is the full package and, like all things that are genuine, she’s never simplistic or cartoonish. She’s an amazing country singer with very personal lyrics, though her music goes beyond that. Even with covers, she has a sound that’s truly her own. It’s mesmerizing and hypnotic, with guitars coming from the depths of a canyon and rhythms that try to catch the setting sun. It’s almost like the alternative country played by Hazeldine and Jesse Sykes in the 2000s. Or maybe a form of psychedelic soul. Kelsey Waldon’s love for Nina Simone (she devotes two of the seven covers to her) speaks volumes about how Waldon views music: like a scalpel that cuts to the bottom of your soul, heart and guts. © Stéphane Deschamps/Qobuz