Biography
Singer and songwriter Kelly Pardekooper has built a reputation as a seasoned performer whose gritty yet melodic alt-country style draws on plainspoken, heartfelt stories rooted in Midwestern experience. That grounded, lived-in sensibility shaped his first release, the 1998 album 30-Weight, along with later projects such as 2000’s Johnson County Snow, 2004’s Haymaker Heart, and 2011’s Yonder. Hollywood soon took notice, placing his songs in series including True Blood, Sons of Anarchy, and Justified. The title track of his 2014 album Milk in Sunshine appeared in the series Virgin River. He has since explored his country leanings further on 2016’s City at Night and 2022’s Autumn, the latter cut in Nashville alongside Teddy Morgan and Wilco’s Pat Sansone.
Raised in Iowa City, Iowa, Pardekooper first connected with music through his parents’ record collection, which held classic LPs by the Beatles, the Kinks, and Neil Young. During his teenage years and time at the University of Iowa, he found additional guidance from regional songwriters such as Bo Ramsey, Greg Brown, Joe Price, David Zollo, and others. At age 32 he issued his debut, the spare 30-Weight, on his own Leisure Time Records imprint. Trailer Records, an independent Iowa City label, then partnered with him for his follow-up, 2000’s Johnson County Snow, which included guitar work from frequent Greg Brown and Lucinda Williams collaborator Bo Ramsey plus contributions from Pardekooper’s own Devil’s House Band; the album also contained “Fly on the Wall,” later heard on HBO’s True Blood. He next teamed with guitarist Teddy Morgan on House of Mud, tracked in Florida during fall 2001 and issued in spring 2002, before relocating to Nashville to record 2005’s Haymaker Heart.
After another move, this time to Madison, Wisconsin, where he married and took jobs as a housepainter and newspaper ad salesman, Pardekooper retained a dedicated European audience and continued recording. Signing with Sonic Rendezvous Records in the Netherlands, he delivered his fifth studio album, 2007’s Brand New Bag. Further roots-oriented releases followed, among them 2011’s Yonder and 2014’s Milk in Sunshine. The latter’s title track gained wider exposure via Netflix’s Virgin River, while the album also featured “Tell Me You’re the One,” placed in FX’s Sons of Anarchy. City at Night arrived in 2016, captured inside a former Bloomington, Indiana church with producer Paul Mahern.
Early in 2021 Pardekooper relocated once more, settling in Las Vegas after his wife accepted a position there. During the COVID-19 pandemic he focused on new material, resulting in his tenth studio album, 2022’s Autumn, again produced with longtime associate Teddy Morgan and featuring Wilco guitarist Pat Sansone.
Raised in Iowa City, Iowa, Pardekooper first connected with music through his parents’ record collection, which held classic LPs by the Beatles, the Kinks, and Neil Young. During his teenage years and time at the University of Iowa, he found additional guidance from regional songwriters such as Bo Ramsey, Greg Brown, Joe Price, David Zollo, and others. At age 32 he issued his debut, the spare 30-Weight, on his own Leisure Time Records imprint. Trailer Records, an independent Iowa City label, then partnered with him for his follow-up, 2000’s Johnson County Snow, which included guitar work from frequent Greg Brown and Lucinda Williams collaborator Bo Ramsey plus contributions from Pardekooper’s own Devil’s House Band; the album also contained “Fly on the Wall,” later heard on HBO’s True Blood. He next teamed with guitarist Teddy Morgan on House of Mud, tracked in Florida during fall 2001 and issued in spring 2002, before relocating to Nashville to record 2005’s Haymaker Heart.
After another move, this time to Madison, Wisconsin, where he married and took jobs as a housepainter and newspaper ad salesman, Pardekooper retained a dedicated European audience and continued recording. Signing with Sonic Rendezvous Records in the Netherlands, he delivered his fifth studio album, 2007’s Brand New Bag. Further roots-oriented releases followed, among them 2011’s Yonder and 2014’s Milk in Sunshine. The latter’s title track gained wider exposure via Netflix’s Virgin River, while the album also featured “Tell Me You’re the One,” placed in FX’s Sons of Anarchy. City at Night arrived in 2016, captured inside a former Bloomington, Indiana church with producer Paul Mahern.
Early in 2021 Pardekooper relocated once more, settling in Las Vegas after his wife accepted a position there. During the COVID-19 pandemic he focused on new material, resulting in his tenth studio album, 2022’s Autumn, again produced with longtime associate Teddy Morgan and featuring Wilco guitarist Pat Sansone.
Albums
