Artist: Kim Kelley

Upcoming show: Downhill Ryder at Crux Fermentation Project, 4 p.m. Saturday

Featured song: “This Side of the Tracks”

Kim Kelley is lead vocalist and guitarist for the roots-rock quintet Downhill Ryder. She also performs with the duo Kim Kelley Unit and Oh Sister, an all-female group centered around Kelley and fellow local songwriter Linda Quon. The song “This Side of the Tracks” was originally released on Kelley’s 2015 solo album “I Stand.”

Q: What’s the story behind this song — how was it written, recorded, etc.?

A: My songwriting process is twofold. I’m part of a songwriting group that really keeps me honest and solid. We write and meet once a month and critique each other’s songs. We’ve been together almost seven years, so it’s a really safe, cool group. And then I usually write on Sundays; I have protected time, and so I spend that time writing. And songs can come from a word I heard or a melody I heard or an idea I have or a conversation I’ve had. So my songs are kind of drawn on all different kinds of experiences.

Q: What’s the story inside this song — what’s it about?

A: The song is about, really about adversity, so part of it is my own history, but it’s also hopefully a universal theme of just overcoming hardship and creating the life that you want.

— Brian McElhiney, The Bulletin