Nellie McKay at The Kentucky Center

Nellie McKay arrives with her first CD of original music in four years. She has opened for Lou Reed at Carnegie Hall, sung Woody Allen movie songs at the Hollywood Bowl, performed on A Prairie Home Companion, duetted with Eartha Kitt and Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, done Brecht on Broadway, played Hilary Swank’s sister on the big screen, and released three wildly acclaimed albums of original music. Her music is as tuneful and clever as the best of the Great American Songbook – part cabaret, part sparkly pop. But beneath the charming melodic surface are a wit that cuts and a sharply tuned social conscience.