Bio

Kelsey Mines is a Brooklyn based bassist, vocalist and composer that premiers new original music that seeks to intersect activism, community and art. Born and raised in Seattle, Kelsey grew up on the music made in the Pacific Northwest. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Double Bass Performance from the University of Washington, and a Master of Music in Double Bass Performance from Arizona State University. A recipient of the Holland Scholarship, Kelsey followed her passion for the double bass to the Netherlands, where she studied at Prince Claus Conservatoire before returning to the US where she has fully established herself as an important voice on the West and East coasts as both a performer and educator.

Since 2017, she has contributed to over a dozen records as a bassist; performed and toured nationally and internationally with orchestras, experimental, jazz and pop bands including Drink the Sea with Peter Buck (REM), Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age), Duke Garwood and Barrett Martin; Tito Puento Jr.; Jovino Santos Neto; Naomi Moon Siegel, Ollella (on NPR’s Tiny Desk) and more. As a band leader, Mines has been featured at the Earshot Jazz Festival, the Ballard Jazz Festival, and the Wayward Music Series. In 2025 she released her debut contemporary jazz album “Everything Sacred, Nothing Serious” on Origin Records produced by Steve Rodby (Pat Metheny Group) which won the Earshot Jazz Album of Year Golden Ear Award and Best Albums of 2025 by Washington Artists (Seattle Times). She has released three albums on Relative Pitch Records (New York) including a solo album, and two duo collaborations with Vinny Golia and Erin Rogers. Mines is described as "A free spirit with a strong, personal voice [who] can make the double bass dance playfully and rhythmically" (salt peanuts*). She held the bass instructor position at Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University for three years before relocating to Brooklyn, New York in 2026 where you can find her playing regularly at Birdland with the Latin Jazz Orchestra, teaching private lessons, and contributing to various projects around town.