WILLIAMSBURG — Tunes in Town is an occasional series that catches up with some of the local musical talents that call Hampton Roads home.
This week, meet Celeste Kellogg ahead of her performance at Williamsburg Live.
Kellogg, a Hampton Roads resident, recalls her early days in music.
“I sung in the children’s choir at my church and I loved it from a young age. It was something that really tugged at my heart. When I would go to leave after we did a church musical, my parents would tell me it was time to go and I just wanted to stay on stage,” Kellogg said.
When she was 12, Kellogg auditioned for a spot amongst local kids who would open for Radio Disney acts when they would come for a concert. Kellogg ultimately ended up being one of the seven kids chosen.
“Our first performance was for our family and friends at a local mattress store that was a sponsor, and then when we opened for Raven-Symoné, we played at the Ted Constant Center in front of 11,000 people,” Kellogg recalled.
Traveling to and from Nashville, Kellogg had the opportunity to sit in on songwriting sessions with various artists. From there, she began writing her own songs.
Kellogg’s original, “Country Swagger,” debuted in 2016.
“What I wanted to do with that song was kind of tell the story of where I grew up. It represented this area. What’s really cool about Hampton Roads is that you can drive down some back road and see a bunch of cornfields and a lot of nothing, but at the same time, you’re not too far from a big military hub, and I wanted to represent both the country side of country swagger but also America,” Kellogg said.
The music video for Country Swagger was filmed on the Battleship Wisconsin.
Kellogg will perform in Williamsburg on June 21, opening for The Band Perry at Williamsburg Live.
“It really means something to me that I’m able to open up for somebody that I look up to in country music. They are so unique in their sound, they bring that little bit of Mississippi to their Nashville sound and I think that’s really cool. I love their energy, I feel like we fit very well in the realm of that we have this country music connection, but we also have that side of rock and pop that we bring to the atmosphere of country music,” Kellogg said.
Kellogg hopes to use the local show as a way to connect with her hometown fanbase.
“Williamsburg is one of my favorite places in the world because I love history. I grew up going to Colonial Williamsburg and walking through the streets, and it always felt like a real-life history book. To be able to perform in Williamsburg at such a unique venue, I’m really looking forward to coming back and seeing the familiar faces in the crowd,” Kellogg said.
Kellogg is also working on a full album set for release in early 2026.
To learn more about Kellogg, visit celestekellogg.com.