Its five songs, one original and four classics that she has made her own, feature her beautiful voice—rich, strong and expressive—which carries the lyrics up and down the scales and into the Christmas heart.
The title track, “Forever Evergreen” is a song of her Christmas memories and feelings told through the story of a family Christmas gathering, written by Kelsey and Cassandra Kubinski.
“A big portion of this project was finding ways to make such classic songs sound new again and put a unique twist on it,” she said. “And we’ve done that through multiple instruments. We’ve done that through some stylistic choices. We’ve made some songs jazzy. We’ve kept some songs traditional. We’ve done that through having everything done live.”
The four classics are “The Christmas Song” from 1945, first and most famously recorded by Nat King Cole in 1946; “Let It Snow,” also from 1945, which became a Christmas hit for Vaughan Monroe that year and again in 1950 for Frank Sinatra; “Home for Christmas,” a top-10 song for Bing Crosby in 1943, recorded as a tribute to American soldiers overseas; and “Oh Holy Night,” a popular Christmas carol since it was written in France in the 1840s.
“I’ve always wanted to put out some of my own music, some of my originals, since I’m a songwriter, and doing that through Forever Evergreen has been a beautiful process,” she said.
“And it’s always been a big goal of mine to put out some Christmas music, just because Christmas has also always held a really special place in my heart.”
Kelsey has not only given them her voice, she and her team of producers, have given them touches of jazz, “The Nutcracker” and “Jingle Bells,” among others.
All have been performed by many artists, old and new, famous and not. Many of them are inspirations for Kelsey, who cites especially Ella Fitzgerald, Barbra Streisand, Adele and Kelly Clarkson.
“My identification as an artist has been shaped by all of those,” she said. “I’m truly inspired and I take my own stylistic liberties from seeing the greats that have also found success in Christmas music.”
Kelsey, finishing high school, has been developing her voice since she was 7, “training in all styles, from classical to musical theater, to pop, to jazz.”
“I’ve been knee deep in every style of music, and it’s shaped me into the artist I am. So, having the ability to bring such a variety of styles into one project has made it feel complete. It’s made it feel like my own.”
She has been singing publicly for almost as long, especially at the Saratoga Springs Senior Center, where, she said, she got her strong connection to Christmas and music. She has also been involved in musical theater.
“And I started collaborating with people around my own community around Christmas time. Being able to put out Christmas music and using this Christmas project to put my original work into the public eye for the first time, has been a dream come true.”
“Forever Evergreen,” the title track, is very much a Christmas song as well as a coming-of-age song.
“I felt like it needed to reflect all of the values that I’ve been holding close to my heart throughout this whole time in my life—having this retrospective aspect where I’m looking back on the memories of my childhood. Then, in verse two, when I say, ‘the memories that I carry with me as I build my own world,’ it resonates with every aspect of my life currently, because I truly am just getting started and having this coming of age, having this …”
She stops here, searching for the right word, and a few seconds later finds it.
“Hopeful, that’s the word,” she said, “this hopeful quality about the track. It resonates with where I am in my position as an artist so far.”
Where she goes next is open. For now, that is college. In the spring, she will begin college majoring in musical theater, which she loves, but she also wants to continue writing and putting out music.
“Being young, emotions swing all over the place. It seems like one year I’m in one phase of my life, and the next I am in a completely new one, learning everything I possibly can.”
“I’m open to everything,” she said, “being, in my own opinion, such a versatile artist.”
Listening to her sing, the versatility is evident in the power of her vocals, high and low. Her voice goes a lot of different places over the five tracks of Forever Evergreen. It is obviously a voice that will go wherever she decides to take it, and she has the talent to take it wherever she wants.
Or, as she says, wherever her artistry “wants to lead me.”
“I’m going to continue performing, continue growing as an artist, continue writing, continue working with the team that I’ve been working with. There will be more music in the future just because of how deeply it is rooted in my identity.”
As she builds her own musical world, connect to Kelsey Dodd on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
