by William Oliveaux
Hours before any of the 1,000 ticketholders have breached the venue, one of Knoxville’s
most high-profile bands are already sound checking for one of the biggest nights of their career. Connor Kelly & The Time Warp are just kicking off the latest leg of their tour, but tonight the 4- piece rock outfit will be playing at Knoxville’s prestigious Mill & Mine for the second time. Last year, the band made their Mill & Mine debut opening for Moon Taxi; this time, they are opening for successful southeastern rockers The Stews alongside The Band Solstice.
Landing a coveted slot at the Mill & Mine was no short-earned feat for Knoxville native Connor Kelly; he has released three studio albums since 2018 and has toured consistently, sharing bills with major names in the indie rock scene and making his way onto prominent festival lineups. Earlier this year the band made their international debut, embarking on their first European tour as well as more US touring ahead of the release of their third album, This Egg.
Joining lead vocalist and guitarist Connor Kelly are his brother Ben Kelly on lead guitar,
Leo Faillace on bass and synthesizers, and Daniel Ryan on drums. Following their soundcheck, the band has dispersed backstage, but I find Connor Kelly in the green room. The singer is affable, with an unusually relaxed demeanor for an artist about to give one of his biggest performances yet, but his excitement ahead of the night becomes evident as I catch up with him about touring in the US and abroad, the making of the latest album, and the art of a good protest song.
Off the bat, I ask him to tell me about his first-ever international tour. “It was incredible.
Every day was like unlocking a new country.” Their stops included multiple dates in Germany, France, Austria and Czechia.
“Stuttgart, Germany might’ve been my favorite,” Kelly reflects. “It’s one of those places
that you probably haven’t heard of before, and ahead of the show you’re like, ‘Where is this?’ But then it was awesome. Being closer to the French border, it reminded me of Paris. The city was beautiful and the venue was great. I had a blast at the show that night. ”
Mentioning Paris, Kelly is reminded of one of the most unforgettable nights of his tour.
“Paris was an emotional rollercoaster for me. David Lynch is one of my favorite filmmakers, and he had just died, so visiting Paris reminded me of his work and his ties to the city. Then out of nowhere, my girlfriend and her family came to the show and surprised me! They had flown in from the States to see me, and it was just one of the greatest nights ever.”
For Kelly, being an American band on the road in Europe was no escape from the state of
international affairs and how the world views the US during a time of political upheaval. “There was some animosity being Americans in Europe. One of the sound techs in Germany told us, ‘Have a great show – just no Donald Trump!’”
Upon returning to the states, Connor Kelly & The Time Warp hardly stopped to catch
their breath before hitting the road again for a string of dates on the West Coast. Kelly’s personal highlight from this leg was at Treefort Music Festival in Boise, ID. “Treefort Fest was awesome. Again, Boise is one of those places where you’re not expecting much, but then the festival was incredible.”
He compared the event to the Big Ears festival in Knoxville, noting that it was “a
little more mainstream.” This stop was another big moment for the band, playing alongside several prominent artists including Remi Wolf, Shaky Graves, and Richy Mitch & The Coal
Miners. This summer, Connor Kelly & The Time Warp have begun their latest tour in the
Southeast, including a current run of shows supporting the Stews.
All of this touring served an important purpose for the band: promoting their third studio
effort, This Egg. This album is a departure from previous works by the band; moving away from the funk-inflected Informal Conversations (2018) and the layered art rock of Distant Forest (2022), This Egg (2025) is driven by subtle instrumentation and elevated by atmospheric textures, wider dynamic range, and more introspective lyrics.
The band brought on legendary producer Paul Kolderie of Radiohead and Pixies fame to handle the mixing duties and assist Connor with production. He recalls the impact Kolderie had on his writing and recording process: “I was on the phone with him every day. He helped me to not get too stuck, as I was recording a lot of it myself at home. I’d do 100 takes of a guitar part, and Paul would be the one to tell me ‘Take 2 was the best one,’” Connor chuckled. “But it really helped me focus on completion. This album ended up being more of a time crunch. Working that way is helpful – otherwise, you can get stuck with writer’s block and focus on one thing for too long.”
The album’s lyrical themes are inspired by Kelly’s own life experiences and the people
around him. The title track of This Egg “was a pretty introspective one,” according to Connor. “It’s about myself, and my family, and how chasing a certain expectation of freedom in life can really blind you and trap you in an unenjoyable lifestyle.” Imitation Gold was written when Kelly was messing around with an alternate tuning, and features a sparse yet uniquely rich mix featuring a mellow slide guitar.
“For some songs, it helps for me to pretend it’s for some side project and that it doesn’t really matter. Otherwise, you can end up taking things too seriously and question everything,” Kelly said. Enemy was the most topical track on the album. “This song is about what’s going on in the world right now – seeing my tax dollars fund death and destruction in Palestine, and that feeling of outrage when it feels like you’re in a powerless position.”
Kelly notes that people’s responses to artists addressing political topics can vary, and
that while some perceive it as virtue signaling, using any existing platform to put pressure on this issue takes a higher priority. I tell him it’s much harder to make a protest song in 2025 than it was in the 60s – the internet seems to devalue them and write them off. “But if I see something that I just can’t ignore, I will use this platform for what it’s worth – If I believe in something, I will say it.”