Meet Stacey Kelleher

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stacey Kelleher. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Stacey, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

I’ve been pursuing music since I was a kid and have been told “no” more times than I can count. That used to really affect me and I’d try to figure out what I had done wrong or what I didn’t have that maybe someone else did. I learned over time that often when we’re told “no”, it’s because there’s a better, more fitting opportunity that’s coming our way, even if it doesn’t show itself for a while. There are so many roles, jobs, and opportunities that I didn’t get that ended up leading to something that made more sense for me. It may sound cliché, but trusting the process and not letting “no’s” affect you personally are so important, because most of the time, it’s not personal.

On the more personal side of things, I’ve found my resilience through my family. My parents have been through a lot with their health, but through it all they’ve always supported me and taught me to persevere. Things don’t stay difficult forever and we always get through the hard times, even if it takes a while.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

My name is Stacey Kelleher and I’m a singer-songwriter/producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. I create indie-pop music and I also write for other artists. I’m so excited about all of the music that I’ve got coming out because I feel that it’s the most “me” sound I’ve cultivated yet and I am so proud of and connected to these songs. Over the years, I feel that I’ve been chasing down what my sound is, and with this music, I feel like I’ve found it. I just released my new single “I HATE GERMANTOWN” and have so much more music coming out in the remainder of 2024.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I’d say self-awareness, patience, and dedication. It’s important to know yourself and what it is that you want – I spent many years trying to overcome self-doubt about my artistry but realized that I just needed to dive in and discover what sound felt more like “me”. Knowing exactly what it is that you’re trying to accomplish and making a plan of how to get there is so important.

Again, this sounds cliché, but being patient is critical. I still work on this daily. It’s so easy to compare yourself to others and ask why you’re not where they’re at, but we’re all on our own path. I’m a firm believer that the longer it takes you to succeed, the longer that success will last, whatever that looks like to you.

And finally, being dedicated. Making sure that every single thing that you do every day leads to that same goal you’ve got in mind, whether it’s getting a workout in, scheduling writing sessions that fit your sound, taking a day off to recuperate, reading books that inspire you, taking a trip to clear your head, napping to rest your mind, working to make money to fund your project…if it’s not getting you to that next step in one way or another, replace it with something that is.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

Starting me in piano lessons at age 6 and always saying yes to every musical opportunity I asked to be a part of after that. From guitar lessons to band to chorus to musical theater to band camp to applying to and being accepted on scholarship at Berklee College of Music, they made sure I got to be a part of all of the things I wanted to do, no matter how much it cost or what hoops we’d have to jump through to make it happen. I am so grateful to them for their endless years of support.

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Image Credits

All photos shot by Cole Plichta.

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