Rising Stars: Meet Nori & Barbie Kelley of WIND

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nori & Barbie Kelley. They and their team shared their story with us below:

“Refreshing” is the word most often used to describe the music of WIND. WIND primarily consists of husband and wife, Nori & Barbie Kelley, who are currently based in Nottingham, Pennsylvania, USA. To date, they’ve released 18 albums and EPs. In 2020, they began to receive airplay on various “prog-rock” radio shows in the UK, resulting in a live slot on the “Prog & Rock Virtual Festival” on May 23, which attracted nearly 17,000 listeners. They also did a live “on-air” performance on “The Prog & Rock Show” during a UK tour in November 2022. WIND’s new album, entitled “Shift,” was released in July 2022, and has been receiving high praise, including a good review in the prestigious PROG Magazine.

Born in Japan, but raised in Gadsden, Alabama from age 9, Nori Kelley is a veteran session musician who has worked with Jon Anderson (Yes), Dave Hope (Kansas), Jon Camp (Renaissance), Will McFarlane (Bonnie Raitt/Muscle Shoals), John Sussewell (Diana Ross, Alvin Lee, Bob Dylan), the Chi-Lites, Michael English and others. CCM magazine once compared his guitar playing to both Mark Knopfler and Phil Keaggy. Mel Bay Publications released two of Nori’s guitar teaching projects internationally, both of which were best sellers. He also produced a number of albums in Japan from 1999-2016. Nori has produced & engineered nearly 100 album projects in all and has played on well over a thousand recordings.

Barbie Kelley hails from the Wilmington, Delaware area and comes from a large musical family. She began playing the flute at age 9 and now plays percussion and guitar as well. She has played & sung in hundreds of recording sessions. Her voice has a pleasant, almost Celtic-like quality, and has been compared by some to Natalie Merchant and Annie Haslam of Renaissance. Audiences love her flute playing, and WIND’s flute and guitar combination achieves nice results. Barbie has written a musical with Nori called “No Love, No Peace – The Musical, “ geared toward middle/junior high school students, dealing with issues such as bullying & suicide. It debuted at AAST High School in Myrtle Beach, SC in 2017, and “WIND & Friends” released the musical soundtrack in 2018. Nori & Barbie hope to see it performed in more schools in the near future.

WIND’s music is an original mixture of prog rock, classic rock, and folk styles, influenced by British artists like Pink Floyd, Mark Knopfler, Yes & Renaissance, as well as North American artists like Bruce Cockburn & Tom Petty.

Their new album is called “Shift,” released on July 26, 2022. “Shift” contains 13 tracks ranging from classic-rock-inspired shorter songs to the almost 12-minute progressive rock epic, “More.” Aside from the review in PROG magazine, it continues to receive high praise, including from an individual on the Grammy committee and other music professionals.

WIND’s music continues to be broadcast on progressive rock radio shows in the UK, the US, and Canada.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As with many independent artists, finances have always been a challenge. Over the years, because of our Christian faith, we’ve managed to keep our trust and focus on God to provide, and He has!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Nori and Barbie are songwriters and performing musicians who have thousands of performances under their belt in the U.S., Japan, the UK, Siberia, and Mexico. Someone once described WIND’s music as being similar to listening to the radio and switching from one station to another – no two songs sounded alike.

They’ve always had a project studio in their home where they have both taught music lessons, and Barbie has taught dance and music classes with homeschoolers. Nori is a recording engineer and music producer, producing records for both WIND as well as many other independent artists – around 100 albums in all. Nori and Barbie are both studio musicians who have done hundreds of recording sessions in their studio as well as in many other studios.

Contact Info:

• Website: windmusic.us
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/windmail77
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/windmusic.us
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCqwjqFsUkEWLy29ntnYk80w
• Spotify: spotify.com/artist/5XlALnxej8AQi71nQw79El 
• Music:  windworld.bandcamp.com