All About Acoustic Pie

The Radio Station

Acoustic Pie is a hobby run wildly amuck. I have a completely inexplicable drive to share the music I love with other people. Maybe that makes it a passion rather than a hobby. At any rate, it all began selfishly enough back in 2002 when I started a little 3-hour looping Internet radio stream so that I could listen to my favorite music while I worked. Today, Acoustic Pie Radio is the #1 Singer/Songwriter station on the Live365.com network with over 8000 listener hours per month from all over the globe and a 30-hour playlist. Acoustic Pie Radio is hosted at Live365.com, the world's largest Internet radio network. The name Acoustic Pie is a nod to Don McLean's American Pie which, as a child, was the very first album I bought with my own allowance money.

The Music

Acoustic Pie is all about singer/songwriters. The song arrangements flaunt mostly acoustic instruments and the songwriters featured range from the classics (such as Don McLean, James Taylor, Jim Croce, and Paul Simon) to the stars of today's contemporary folk arena (such as David Wilcox, Patty Griffin, Nanci Griffith or Ellis Paul) mixed in with up-and-coming independent artists and topped off with some of San Diego's finest yet-to-be discovered talent.

The San Diego Scene

Discovering house concerts in San Diego (there's no better way on earth to listen to music!) and other acoustic venues plunged me headfirst into the local San Diego singer/songwriter scene. So many talented artists, and the scene just keeps getting better and better. Locally, the calendar of recommended shows, "Acoustic Pie Picks" (begun in January 2004), is the most popular page on the web site.

What About Kelley?

My family is from southern Illinois but my dad was an Air Force pilot and we moved every 1-3 years. When I was five years old, in Hawaii, my mom couldn't keep me away from the teenager's piano next door so my folks found a piano teacher and I studied classical piano until I was 18. Like a lot of people, I never kept up my skills but I could still probably pull out a Mozart sonata if an emergency of that sort were to arise and I know a moderate amount of music theory. I went to high school and college in Norman, Oklahoma and moved to San Diego in 1984. My main interests outside of singer/songwriter music are English and French literature ~ the older stuff like Henry James, Jane Austen, and Proust. I met my husband Rob Farber (San Diego's finest piano technician) when he came to tune my piano and we've been married since 1994. He plays keyboards, harmonica and trumpet.

The Low-Down

Acoustic Pie is, ultimately, a fan site for people who love the singer/songwriter genre as much as I do. It doesn't generate revenue but I feel more than ably compensated when I get an email from an excited listener in Boston or Japan discovering a new singer/songwriter or a sweet thank-you note from an artist who appreciates what I'm doing.

Anything else?

If you still feel like reading, the December 2006 issue of the San Diego Troubadour had a lovely article about Acoustic Pie.

Thanks for visiting!
~Kelley