kelli eagan in the press

Kelli Eagan
The Mint
Los Angeles
Music Connection September 11-24, 2000
Material: Out of a nine-song set, Kelli Eagan had eight captivating tunes. Only the second of the set fell flat. All of the rest were well-crafted folk-pop songs with strong choruses. The finest piece of the night was called "First."
This song was very good, played on acoustic guitar, but could have been even more impressive if it was supported by a band and a good producer. Somewhat reminiscent of Paula Cole or early Sarah McLachlan, Eagan’s songwriting shows a lot of merit and promise.
Musicianship: Eagan was very effective with her voice and guitar using impressive dynamics with both. She has a sweet voice that finds its purpose in her lower-register. There is a nice strength and sincerity to her delivery and she uses it to good effect, getting soft as a whisper at times and dramatically loud at others. Her guitar skills are more than capable and she seemed comfortable with the instrument. With a little more finesse on the slower numbers, her playing would be as effective as her voice. Again, some of the songs would be strengthened by the addition of a conga player or other light percussion – just some other sound to augment the guitar.
Performance: It’s difficult for a solo artist with only an acoustic guitar to be a captivating performer, but Kelli Eagan succeeds. Her manner onstage is honest and friendly. She seems comfortable bantering with the audience and smiles a lot. Eagan might be advised to talk with the audience even more and give the songs less set-up. She does have a tendency, however, to state the obvious, i.e. "this is a mellow tune I wrote." This is unnecessary and there are a lot of other things that would better introduce the song.
Summary: Kelli Eagan is a very competent songwriter who puts on a thoroughly enjoyable show. Her honesty and sweet manner are certainly impressive, with a charming personality that shines through in her music.
- Casey Shelton

from billboard magazine

You can listen and watch one of my performances at The Mint in Los Angeles from January 20, 2001 www.liveonthenet.com/rock/mint