Hannah Marie Kelley and Gabriel Kelley

Every once in a while, after years around country music, you hear a voice that makes you stop and listen.

On this Once Around the Country Edition of Here’s What We Know, we welcome singer and songwriter Hannah Marie Kelley and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and producer Gabriel Kelley, a real-life country music couple creating music that does more than entertain. It heals.

Hannah shares her powerful story of growing up in poverty, surviving trauma, and finding refuge in music long before she ever imagined a career. What began as survival slowly became purpose, and songwriting became a way to make sense of pain, faith, and resilience.

This is a conversation about music as medicine, finding your voice when life tries to silence it, and recognizing undeniable talent before the rest of the world catches on.

This episode is sponsored by:

In this Episode:

Hearing a Voice That Stops You Cold
Discovering Hannah Marie Kelley
When Music Becomes Survival
“Singing Saved Me”
Music as Medicine
Faith, Pain, and Finding Purpose
Learning to Write the Truth
A Thanksgiving Day Meeting
Falling in Love Before the Music
What a Producer Really Does
Why Simple Singing Matters Most
The Power of Harmony
Reimagining a Familiar Song
Influences That Shape a Voice
Redefining What Success Means
Believing in Talent Before It Breaks
Staying on the Journey

Quotations:

“I think it’s the one thing in life that I have been confident in my whole life, consistently, is my voice and music. It’s the thing I’ve clung to forever.” ~ Hannah Marie Kelley

“Singing saved me and writing healed me.” ~ Hannah Marie Kelley

“I would connect to them. I would focus on melodies, and it would just take me to a place that was happy and comforting. And I didn’t start writing till way later on, but I always had music.

And it really did. It got me through. It kept me from going insane. It kept me from making bad choices. It was like the mother I did not have.” ~ Hannah Marie Kelley

“I might write a song that means X, Y, and Z, and this is where it’s coming from, and this is what I’m trying to get out, but somebody else might be going through something different in their life and perceive those lyrics as completely different, and it means something completely different to them than the writer intended it. I think that’s the beauty of music.” ~ Hannah Marie Kelley

Bio:

Hannah Marie Kelley is a singer and songwriter whose music blends emotional honesty with a timeless, roots-driven sound. Raised in the Appalachian tradition and shaped by lived experience, her voice carries both vulnerability and quiet strength.

Drawing inspiration from classic folk, country, and Americana, Hannah writes songs that feel intimate and lived-in, often exploring themes of resilience, faith, and healing. Her approach is unforced and sincere, letting melody and storytelling do the heavy lifting.

Gabriel Kelley is a singer, songwriter, and producer whose work is guided by a simple belief: find the music that makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.

Raised on a family farm in rural Georgia, Gabriel’s journey has taken him from music school in Sweden to songwriting rooms in Nashville and from street corners to concert halls across the country. Along the way, he developed a distinctive voice and a songwriting style rooted in honesty, restraint, and emotional connection.

As an artist, he has released the critically acclaimed album It Don’t Come Easy, with more music continuing to follow. As a producer, he is known for a hands-on approach that prioritizes authenticity and performance over polish, helping artists uncover what makes their music undeniable.