Oxford musician Kell Kellum made a move five years go that he hoped would help his music career take off.
The 26-year-old Greenwood native, who had been playing the guitar since the age of 12, branched out in 2009 by learning the pedal steel guitar — a type of electric steel guitar that is built on legs or a stand and is fitted with foot pedals that adjust the sound of the instrument.
“I was going through a country-rock phase, and (Greenwood’s) Andy Hackleman was into pedal steel and suggested it for me,” said Kellum, who will graduate from Ole Miss on May 10 with a degree in Southern studies. “I didn’t know anyone one else playing it, so I figured it might be a good way to find extra gigs.”
Expanding his musical repertoire paid off big time.
Kellum has played the instrument on about 10 records with artists he doesn’t normally play with. The most recent came a few weeks ago when Grace Askew — a country/blues artist and former contestant on the hit television show “The Voice” — reached out to him to play pedal steel on three songs on her new album.
The recording session took place at the famous Sun Studio in Memphis — opened by rock pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Ave. on Jan. 3, 1950.
“It was super cool, super weird and super intimidating playing in the very spot where rock ’n’ roll was invented, playing in the same place where the likes of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and so many more had played,” Kellum said.
The 2005 graduate of Pillow Academy used to play with Jimbo Mathus, a blues and Southern rock singer and founder of the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Kellum no longer plays regularly with Mathus but is featured on pedal steel in his latest two albums, “Blue Light” and “Dark Night of the Soul.”
Kellum, whose parents, Bill and Kim Kellum, still live in Greenwood, credits his work with Mathus for opening doors to other recording jobs. Now Kellum is playing lead guitar and pedal steel guitar in Bella Machine, a band he helped form last summer. He describes the band’s music as rock ’n’ roll with an alternative edge.
The Oxford-based, four-piece band performs a lot in Oxford and recently had what Kellum calls a “successful gig” in Jackson. The other members of the band are Ethan Frink on bass guitar, Timothy Burkhead on drums and Daniel Pate Russell on vocals and guitar.
Kellum is excited about the future of the band, which plans to release its first album this fall. He remembers believing the group had something special from the start.
“The first time we came together as a group to play some of Daniel’s original songs, we were halfway through the first one, and everyone was looking around at each other like, ‘Wow, this is pretty special,’” he said.
Bella Machine will perform at 2:30 p.m. Saturday as part of a jam-packed musical lineup for ’Que on the Yazoo in downtown Greenwood. Bella Machine is one of five musical acts on Saturday.
Kellum is excited about getting a rare chance to play in his hometown.
“It’s been over a year since I’ve played music in Greenwood,” he said. “I am really looking forward to seeing a lot of friends and family down there, people who normally don’t get a chance to see us play.”
• Contact Bill Burrus at 581-7237 or bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow on Twitter:@Bill_Burrus.
