Performer Page

For Wichita-based, Texas-raised singer/songwriter Keo, making music is as much about what one creates and the songs one writes as it is about making deeper connections with the other people partaking in an artistic journey. From the unique flavors, perspectives, and performances they each contribute, Keo finds the “Them” that brings her project Keo & Them full circle. First formed and conceptualized by Keo in 2017, the collective consists of Keo and a revolving door of musicians and collaborators, each of whose contributions would leave an indelible mark on the project’s ever-adapting sound that merges the worlds of 70’s pop and R&B with the moody glow of contemporary neo-soul and beyond. For Keo, previously the project’s sole constant member, the fluid line-up allowed her to become immersed and acquainted with a Wichita music scene she was completely new to and overwhelmed by. Through meeting, jamming, and performing with the Kansas town’s tight-knit and eclectic music scene Keo found something akin to a family, with the “Them” of Nathan Harrison (guitar), Cece Raheb (bass), and Dexter McCoy (drums) crystalizing into a permanent fixture of the band from its breakthrough EP, Don’t Say and onward. In fact, This Time Around, Keo & Them’s second EP of 2023 was concocted at the same time as the band’s prior release. Although the recording process between the two albums shared a number of similarities, the emphasis on eclecticism in "This Time Around highlights the band’s metamorphosis that is now defined as much by the “Them” as it is “Keo”. What results is easily the band’s most conceptually ambitious, fully released, and stylistically varied outing to date with tracks that span a vast spectrum of sound and genre, from the moody neo-soul vibes and sense tickling percussion of “Sijui”, the funk and nu-jazz grooves of “Fool Me Once”, and the explosions of fuzzed-out guitars that accentuate the hook of “Anxiety”. Even as a thoroughly collaborative effort, it is still Keo’s lyrics and storytelling that act as the glue keeping This Time Around, if not the band as a whole as cohesive as it is. Based on her own lived experiences, the stories depicted on This Time Around are as personal as they are applicable to insecurities that people from all walks of life struggle with, be that anxiety, one’s self-esteem, and self-worth. But as the name This Time Around implies, Keo words on each track are meant to empower, addressing these themes from the perspective that even if things aren't going well, you’re still going to be okay at the end of the day.