Kelly Moneymaker

EXCERPT: "As a performer, Moneymaker just doesn’t seem to know the term half-hearted because she goes at these various soul and rock songs like her very life depends upon her performances. The way she sings “Hello Beauty” is a lot like the great Tina Turner might have done it – like a full force gale.

In a world where Miley Cyrus’s tongue gets more attention than almost anything of true musical value, Moneymaker’s Race against the Sky is such a breath of fresh air. This is music made from the best ingredients on Earth (sorry Snapple), and when you create a meal out of top shelf elements, it’s nearly impossible to go wrong. It's the kind of soul music that stands the test of time.

It’s not fair to merely label Kelly Moneymaker as a former member of Exposé because she is so much more than that. It’s safe to say Moneymaker is writing and recording the best music of her life. We can only hope and pray these songs reach an appreciative audience – they’re just too good to waste."

Artist: Kelly Moneymaker
Album: Race against the Sky
Review By: Dan MacIntosh
Rating: 4 Stars (out of 5)

- Pop Matters

EXCERPT: Moneymaker has put together a slamming, rocking blues/rock album that has some of the most soulful singing this side of Aretha Franklin. From the first note to the last, she belts out everything with forceful authority. Without exaggeration, Moneymaker is an incredibly powerful vocalist; her full-throated gusto is just as effective in her impassioned cries for love as it is in her moments of emotionally vulnerability.

Race Against The Sky is a major accomplishment for Kelly Moneymaker. As opposed to her work for television scores and soundtracks, this is a cohesive collection of powerful blues-rock that has her in incredible voice, backed by an incredible band. This is far removed from the days of Expose’ and represents a stunning achievement in musical growth and ability. Race Against The Sky is an album that can easily be heralded as much as it can be enjoyed.

Artist: Kelly Moneymaker
Album: Race Against The Sky
Review by: Heath Andrews
Rating 5 Stars (out of 5) - Review You

EXCERPT: Singers are a dime a dozen these days, particularly with the rise of reality shows like American Idol, The Voice, and The X-Factor. And while there are plenty of great voices out there, singers who’ve done their time in vocal lessons, singing through scales and fine tuning their pitch, it’s the rare artist that comes along who was truly born to sing. Theirs is the voice that captivates from the first note to the last and, whether they’re singing from the Great American Songbook or the Los Angeles Metro Yellow Pages, listeners are drawn in, enraptured and unable to turn away.

Fairbanks, Alaska native Kelly Moneymaker is one of those rare individuals.

And Moneymaker truly is the star here, as she should be. Her voice is smoky and whiskey soaked, rich and resonant. She sings with a powerful energy that recalls fellow vocal greats like Janis Joplin and Tina Turner, as she swaggers through thirteen solid tracks of blues-rock goodness, shining all the way.

Kelly Moneymaker may be the best artist you’ve never heard and that’s not an overstatement. Gifted with a voice that is simply stunning and surrounded by a recording band that’s as strong as any out there, Moneymaker makes full use of each and every element on Race Against the Sky, crafting one of the tightest blues rock records heard in a long, long time. Don’t walk, but run to your nearest record store and grab this record now. You won’t be sorry…

Kelly Moneymaker and In the Black
Race Against the Sky
Reviewed by Andrew Greenhalgh
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 - Liverpool Daily Post UK

With a strong influence from Curtis Mayfield and company, Moneymaker combines soul, blues, rock and R&B to create incredibly down-to-earth and soulful music. Her acoustic set in Ashland with her band In the Black was fantastic and we are working on bringing them back to the Rogue Valley early next year. Her new album Race Against the Sky was recorded independently and is available on iTunes. - Rogue Valley Messenger

Live Concert Review: Kelly Moneymaker (CD Release Party @themintLA October 1 by Luis Alexander

I attended an Exposé show 20 years removed from tonight that was a highlight for me as a 21 year old straight out of college. I reviewed that show as an intern for a rather large music newspaper, I have that show back then a pretty good review -- but this time -- fast-forward 20 years and it's not Exposé but one of it's former leading ladies gone solo -- Kelly Moneymaker -- and all I can say is WOW, say it backwards -- WOW!

I was not expecting this amount of POW from the petite singer/songwriter. If you are thinking sappy love songs or an electro pop sound reminiscent of the trio, you are most certainly mistaken. Erase that delusion. This was pure unapologetic soul, R&B, blues and some southern rock'n'roll...and Moneymaker proudly hails from Alaska!

The song list set she performed is from her newly released CD, Race Against The Sky. She opened with "Swampy Things" and sounded like Bonnie Raitt right out of the bayou to the self-titled "Race Against The Sky" ballad -- which by the way brought the crowd to their feet with applause at the end of the song. She then belted the toe-tapping, butt-slapping (pun intended) "Black Magic In Blue Jeans" a song about her husband's behind, which frankly got us all wanted to SEE that behind!

She closed with Koko Taylor's "Wang Dang Doodle" in her own Moneymaker version that I only wish was included on this new CD.

Holy crap, can she bring it!

The show was a graduate-level workshop on powerful rock & roll vocals. Her unique raspy waling came full force in most all of her tunes. I swear she was channeling Joplin on several occasions. She may sound like Janis Joplin or a Bonnie Raitt but Moneymaker has her own definitive sound, mark my word - including her own distinctive growl that had me saying "Yes, Yes, Yes!" on her "No, No, No" performance. I look forward to the day when I review another artist and report "she has a voice like Kelly Moneymaker!"

Throughout the show she demonstrated an absolute command of the stage. Even when she wasn't singing, you had to remind yourself to pay attention to her as-talented tour band, In The Black.

She revisits Los Angeles on November 1 at the House of Blues Foundation Room -- 11pm. Race Against The Sky can be purchased on iTunes or her website at www.KellyMoneymaker.com

4.75 out of 5 Stars - Luis Alexander (Blog)

“Fact is, Moneymaker is one bizarre, enchanting, haunting, strangely seductive singer-songwriter with an album that demands to be listened to…” - The Music Scene Magazine