The new single ‘LONELY’ came with the title and melody line during the pandemic,” Irene Kelley recalls. “I was feeling alone and isolated and picked up the guitar and starting singing the word over the descending line. My long time friend and co- writer Mark Irwin came by to write on the back porch soon after, and I showed it to him. He immediately said, 'let's keep what you've got and lean into it even." Mark and I have a pretty good track record after writing, "A Little Bluer Than That" and having Alan Jackson record a few years back. So I trusted his direction and the process. Ronnie Bowman was the perfect voice for the harmony parts, and I love it when he steps out on a few lines. Just magic. Rob Ickes dobro was certainly the icing on the cake.”

Irene Kelley’s summer 2021 single, “Wild Mountain Stream,” ended up on top of the Bluegrass Today chart for the entire year. Then “Carolina Special” soared to #2 on the weekly Bluegrass Today chart. The bluegrass singer- songwriter returns with “Carolina Special,” a song that captures a time and place in American history.

A Pennsylvania coal miner’s granddaughter, Irene Kelley went from singing lead with the bluegrass band Redwing to Nashville and a pair of major label singles. While her performing career didn’t take off back then, her songwriting career took flight. An exceptional co-writer, she had her hand in songs recorded by Alan Jackson, Trisha Yearwood, Loretta Lynn, Little Big Town, Rhonda Vincent, Claire Lynch, Darrell Scott, The Whites, the Osborne Brothers, and Bill Anderson. Returning full speed to bluegrass with 2014’s acclaimed Pennsylvania Coal, her solo career finally soared, establishing as a well-rounded bluegrass vocalist and performer as well as a top songwriter.

“Without giving away too much of what's in store,” Kelley says of this follow up to Benny’s TV Repair and its 5 #1 songs, “I have the title track written for the album but have not yet recorded it. I can say that Justyna Kelley and I wrote it, and it has a winter theme. This ought to make for a frosty album cover. Stay tuned. This next album will have a lot of sentiment.”