INTERVIEW: Finding Your Tribe with Kelly Romo

HAIM meets Halsey in this "alt-gay grief rock" outfit

Kelly Romo at The Masquerade (Photo by Mikey Smith)

Before the holidays kicked into high gear, fans braved the cold and ventured to Purgatory at The Masquerade to see Kelly Romo, a rising queer rock outfit out of Atlanta. Helmed by Kelly Romo herself (vocals/rhythm guitar/keys), the band consisted of Trae Berry (guitar), Julien Dorothy (bass), and special guest Sam Horwitz (drummer). Openers included 80s-synth squad Montage and punchy folk favorites Okay Kenedi.

Romo has coined the perfect label for the band’s sound: alt-gay grief rock. Guitar-heavy, woman-led acts like HAIM, boygenius (KR: “The gays really had a moment with that band”) and Halsey are clear influences. “Halsey made me think I could write music,” Romo laughed while explaining her decision to include a cover of “honey” in the set. “I was like, she’s on Tumblr, she’s gay, and she’s writing music.”

The band’s performance was stellar. Every member played with such heart, and it was truly a delight watching them work together. The set opened with my personal favorite Kelly Romo track, “Kitchen Sink,” and included a myriad of released and unreleased tunes. For the final songs, friends and fellow musicians Seth Radman (saxophone), Laura Wilson (vocals), and Ben Again (bongos) hopped onstage to join the act. It was a joyous, laughter-filled symphony, encapsulating the kind of magic that can only be found through live music.

The band has definitely found their home and hit their stride, but this genre wasn’t originally on their frontman’s radar. While attending the University of Georgia, Romo fell in love with the DJ scene. “My family lived overseas at the time,” she explained. “When I graduated, I was like, ‘I want to be a DJ, I don’t want to move home.’” She managed to build a “hot and heavy” career in that world for several years, but COVID shut down the party scene. The more she learned about production, the more Romo realized her heart was in other genres. Whilst finding her footing as a solo artist, the act soon “blossomed” into the group it is today. Berry worked with several bands in Athens and Atlanta before starting a studio, an endeavor that introduced him to Romo. Dorothy’s always played music, but this is her first “serious” venture. “I’ve been in this room staring up at the stage, watching shows dozens of times in the past 10 years, and I’m finally getting to play here,” she smiled proudly.

Lyrically speaking, the bulk of Kelly Romo’s music focuses on mental health. This topic is not merely a source of inspiration, but something much deeper. “[How does it] influence my art? I think it’s the reason I make it,” Romo clarified. Writing was a helpful coping mechanism as she faced these struggles, but it was a journey to overcome fears about others’ reactions to her art. “I think it’s a funny time where some people are like, ‘Oh, don’t make mental health your whole personality,’” the singer shared. “But sometimes, it’s the biggest thing in the room, you know? It’s really hard to get past that.”

As she gained confidence and began putting out music, Romo noticed she had entered an unfamiliar flow: “Once I opened myself to the idea of this community existing for me—having come from a really restrictive background—I feel like a lot of doors opened as soon as I was able to lean into the local community.” Horwitz, who was filling in for Kelly Romo’s usual drummer Asher Mouat, exists as the perfect example of how the music community overlaps. Many moons ago, she played with one of the night’s openers, Okay Kenedi, and she used to be in a band with Berry before meeting Romo. “I don’t want to call it incestuous because that has bad connotations,” Horwitz joked, sparking laughter from the group. “But [the local scene] is very close-knit and overlapping.” She’s not wrong—somehow, everyone is connected. Dorothy expounded on this idea: “The Atlanta scene is the perfect size. It’s big enough that there’s a lot of diversity in music and people and perspectives, but it’s small enough that it’s like two or three degrees max of separation.”

Before heading to the stage, Kelly Romo took the time to shout out some artists they’re currently digging—mostly ATL-based acts part of “the tribe,” as Berry called it. Dorothy’s been grooving to queer and/or women-led acts, such as Ash Tuesday and Split Silk. Berry’s been loving Kid Fears, CDSM, and Wieuca (check out our coverage of the latter two’s show HERE). The band also praised Recess Party, Hotel Fiction, and neo-jazz wave-makers Solar Plexus Super Punch, Lastly, though Horwitz is just a temporary member of the Kelly Romo crew, the band supports her numerous other acts—they’re hoping to play with Perfect Animal in the first quarter, and Romo proudly proclaimed that she “never misses a Gritters show.”

After closing out the year on a superb performance, Kelly Romo is taking time to rest before hitting the ground running come January. The band plans to release an album song-by-song in 2026, with their first single mere weeks from release. Having heard the fantastic unreleased tracks they played at the Purgatory show, it’s safe to say their new music can’t get here soon enough.

Article by Olivia Smith. Photos by Mikey Smith. Please credit @mts2.photo or @art.seen.atl if reposting on social media.