Berklee Riffs: Kelly Bartley Alfresco
Kelly Bartley plays outdoors with her band, Up Yonder.
Photo by Brenda Pike
Bartley was joined by her band for the first half and performed an acoustic set for the second.
Photo by Brenda Pike
"Baby Beluga" was a hit with the stroller set.
Photo by Brenda Pike
Imagine a sunny day, lush grass, a warm breeze, and live music. No, this isn't vacation; it's lunch at the Pru. Every Tuesday through July, Berklee students and alumni performed in the Prudential Center's courtyard as part of Berklee's Summer Concert Series.
July 20 featured singer/songwriter Kelly Bartley. The professional music major played a mix of covers and originals for a lunchtime crowd made up of nearby office workers on their lunch break and moms and kids taking a break from the stroller. Attendance for the series has steadily grown as word has spread.
A native of Santiago, Chile, Bartley covered a wide range of styles: from country tune "Stand by Your Man" to folk song "Brand New Key" to her own Southern rock and folk originals. She even played to the children in the audience with the Raffi song "Baby Beluga."
"It's a little windy, but I like playing outdoors," said Bartley. Good thing—she plays again at Harvard's Longwood campus August 25.
Berklee Riffs offer snapshots of day-to-day life at the college.