Ceolsige, [pronounced see-ole-sidge] an old English variant of the name “Kelsey,” is the rock n’ roll alias of Michigan songwriter Kelsey Detering. It also loosely translates to “ship’s victory,” which makes the name even more fitting for a body of music that is equal parts elegant and raw.
Ceolsige’s self-titled debut EP is a succinct package of autobiographical, universally relatable rock songs with stadium-ready arrangements. Detering may not throw public shade on the popular fascination with computer-birthed music, but she harbors a fierce and resilient fascination with music made by and for a band of people using their hands and throats. The chime and growl of bad-tempered guitars fuse with pounding drums to lend focus to the centerpiece: Detering’s pristine, unaltered, razorblade-accurate vocals.
Within this four song collection, Detering’s offerings range from windows-down summer love anthems (The Wait, Come on Over) to unbridled rage at the nation’s seeming ambivalence to school shootings (World on Fire). The heart-wrenching West-Coast-rock closer Sundown puts the listener in the passenger’s seat of a lonely highway drive away from lost love and into the melancholy and brightness of new unknowns. Lyrically, sonically, and vocally, this is a power-house debut that is destined to make a mark on the Midwest’s brilliant and earnest music scene.
Ceolsige is a frequent flier of some of Michigan’s most beloved rooms and festival events, including Chelsea Sounds & Sights, Royal Oak Arts Beats & Eats, Ann Arbor Art Fair, and more.