Daily Inspiration: Meet Kelly McCarty

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly McCarty.

Hi Kelly, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in the middle of Kansas, in what I can only describe as an aggressively musical household. Both of my parents were music teachers, so there were always instruments leaning against walls, rehearsals happening, and records spinning in the background. Music wasn’t something we scheduled time for – it was just always there. I started out on piano, cello, and trombone, but around age 13, I picked up the bass and something immediately clicked. The bass isn’t always the loudest voice in the room, but it has this quiet power to shape everything around it. The bass is kind of like good plumbing – if everything’s working, nobody talks about it. But if it stops…

That connection led me to study Music Theory & Composition at Kansas State University with Dr. Wayne Goins, who became an incredibly important mentor in my life and career. Later, I continued my studies at Florida State University with Rodney Jordan, where I grew as both a bassist and composer. During that time, I recorded my trio project Rouxsteady and released A Periapsis Suite – a 30-minute original work for jazz quartet that gave me room to stretch creatively and explore larger musical ideas.

Before eventually settling in Atlanta, I spent several years on the road performing national tours of My Fair Lady, Hello, Dolly!, and A Christmas Story. That season of life involved plenty of hotel coffee, long drives, loading docks, and waking up in hotel rooms not entirely sure what city we were in. Eight shows a week will answer a lot of questions about your work ethic and commitment. There’s something humbling about realizing Hello, Dolly! still has to feel exciting after your hundredth show. Touring also teaches you that every city has at least one “famous local coffee shop” that somehow still tastes exactly like airport coffee.

Joining the Grammy-winning band Larkin Poe opened the door to international touring and some genuinely surreal experiences. Suddenly, I found myself playing major festivals like Glastonbury Festival and Rock am Ring / Rock im Park, and even opening for Queen. Growing up in small-town Kansas, there were moments backstage where I’d stop and think, ‘How in the world did I end up here?’ You try to act professional, but part of your brain is still quietly freaking out.

Atlanta has been especially inspiring because of the incredible cross-pollination between musical communities. I’ve been fortunate to perform and record across a wide range of genres, but most of my favorite ATL artists reside in the jazz community. There’s a really special pocket of jazz artists here creating meaningful work, and I’m lucky to collaborate with musicians like Tyrone Jackson, Robert Boone, Joe Alterman, Karla Harris, Lavahi, Dash Smith, Kevin Bales, Tony Hightower, and Lori Williams, among many others. If you want to hear what makes Atlanta special, they’re a great place to start! I also love exploring more adventurous sounds through my original project, BOOM! Trio.

Teaching is just as meaningful to me as performing. I currently teach at Morehouse College, Georgia State University, and through my private studio. Teaching has taught me patience – mostly because bass takes exactly as long as bass takes. I genuinely love helping people connect with music in a way that feels personal, creative, and lasting.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of the biggest challenges has simply been learning how unpredictable a life in music can be. When you’re younger, it’s easy to imagine a clear ladder – go to school, work hard, get the gig, and everything falls into place. The reality is much messier. A music career turns out to be less of a ladder and more of a scavenger hunt where nobody gave you the map. At one point, I was even running sound at a dinner theater in Jacksonville just to make ends meet. Nothing builds character quite like troubleshooting audio while someone nearby is eating chicken parmesan.

Patience has probably been the hardest lesson. It’s easy to look around and feel like everyone else is moving faster – especially in music, where social media somehow makes everyone look simultaneously booked, thriving, and mysteriously well-rested. You realize careers aren’t linear. Careers rarely unfold in a straight line. And honestly, imposter syndrome never fully disappears. I’d occasionally have the thought: ‘Someone should probably double-check if I’m supposed to be here.’ The trick is learning to trust the work you’ve put in and remembering that someone thought you were worth having on the gig.

At the end of the day, the challenges have reinforced what I love most about music: there’s always more to learn. Every difficult stretch taught me something, introduced me to someone important, or made me better in ways I couldn’t have predicted.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I play an unusual instrument — a 7-string bass/guitar hybrid. It’s essentially bass and guitar strings on the same neck, allowing both to be played at once. Which sounds exciting until you realize I voluntarily chose an instrument that basically requires multitasking at all times. It’s somewhere between “interesting musical challenge” and “deeply questionable life decision.” At load-in, it occasionally looks like I accidentally brought twice as much gear as everybody else.

It’s probably the most challenging thing I’ll ever do. Every time I pick it up, there’s equal parts excitement and humility because it can humble you very quickly. The instrument has a very effective way of reminding you who’s in charge.

The instrument was pioneered by Charlie Hunter, who is absolutely worth checking out – not just because of the novelty of the instrument, but because of his unbelievable musicianship and career path. I’ve been wrestling with this thing for nearly 20 years and still can’t wrap my head around some of what he’s able to do. At a certain point, you stop trying to understand and just become respectfully confused.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I’m probably the wrong (Irish) person to ask this question. I don’t totally believe in luck, and yet I spend a surprising amount of time telling friends I’m their Lucky Charm or Resident Leprechaun. So clearly I’ve built a fairly inconsistent philosophy around this!

But I *do* feel lucky to have found my fiancée, Ally Stevens, who runs the wildly successful Good Foot Productions here in Atlanta.She is doing incredible things and I am grateful to get to watch her path unfold!

Pricing:

• $100 for online lesson course (Upright Bass for New Players)
• $80/hour for private lessons

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kellymccarty.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellymccartymusic/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/boomtrio.ft.lavahi/