The Shocking Truth

It took a lightning bolt — literally — for Juno Award-winning singer and songwriter Kellylee Evans to learn that taking care of herself was a necessity, not a luxury 

- Ingrie Williams

AS AN OTTAWA-BASED JAZZ AND SOUL SINGER and songwriter, Kellylee Evans has toured the globe, opened for the likes of John Legend and been recognized with a Juno Award for her incredible talents. Blessed with a voice that will give you goose bumps, the single mother of three finds herself currently moved most by those outside the musical sphere.

“I'm inspired by a friend of mine who has battled back from a deep depression. I'm inspired by my kids who keep growing and changing every day, and are faced with challenges but stay positive,” she says. “And I'm inspired by our Canadian athletes, who I've been following through the recent Olympic Games and in playoff cycles, who rise to such a high level. I love watching people give their best to a goal.”

Giving your best is something Evans knows firsthand, and some of the most extraordinary events in her life have occurred off stage. In the spring of 2013 she was struck by lightning, then two years later she suffered a concussion. “What I have learned from this whole experience is how little I cared about myself. When I was hit by lightning in my house I didn’t take a break, I didn’t even go to the hospital to get checked out. If it had happened to one of my kids, or to someone visiting my home, I would have taken them right away.”

Feeling a sense of responsibility to her family, bandmates, management team and concert attendees, Evans carried on with “a big summer” of gig commitments. “To me all those people were more important than my health,” she says. So, she went right back on the road and persevered through intense physical challenges. “People pushed me in a wheelchair, I would hobble out on to the stage, and sit down on a chair. I couldn’t hold my microphone, couldn’t sign autographs, couldn’t cut my own food.”