A Folk-Laden Reckoning with Illusion, Loss and Finding Home
North Garden, VA (August 15, 2025) — Blending unflinching vulnerability with Americana warmth, multidisciplinary artist and trauma-informed story work coach Lora Kelley releases “Man Behind the Curtain” today, a song that peels back the myths we create about others and ourselves, to find truth and belonging.
With “Man Behind the Curtain,” Lora invites listeners to walk a yellow-bricked path of grief, awakening and self-reclamation. The second single from her forthcoming album, the track distills her signature narrative voice, both tender and incisive, into a reflection on what happens when the stories we believe about someone unravel.
“There is a moment that comes for many of us,” she shares, “when you realize that who you thought a person was—and who they actually are—are not the same. It’s a disorienting grief. Who were you? Who was I? What do I do with what I thought I knew? What is left when I'm forced to face this reality?”
Written in a single evening in the dead of winter, while a fire burned in the hearth, the song emerged as Kelley and her husband wrangled their three children at bedtime.
"I called out to my husband: I have a song. I need to write it! He went about helping everyone get to their beds, teeth-brush, pajamas on, and all the things, and when they were done, I played it for him, and he said: This feels like you," said Lora.
Cover art for “Man Behind the Curtain." Image by Amy Cherry.
“Man Behind the Curtain” draws imagery from The Wizard of Oz, evoking Dorothy’s realization that the powerful figure she sought for help was only smoke and shadow.
"As I imagined Dorothy at the end of the Wizard of Oz," Lora shared, "I thought - what does it feel like to wake up to having been sold (by the wizard and then from everyone else) that The Wizard was powerful, only to realize he wasn't who he said he was, and he wasn't who anyone said he was. His posture was one of exploitation, a structure of power, an idea and a fabrication. In fact, nothing that was offered by him to Oz or to her about him was true, real or helpful. Now what?"
At its core, “Man Behind the Curtain” is a meditation on the fragility of trust and the courage it takes to reclaim one’s voice and homecoming. The lyrics weave a narrative of awakening:
What do I do with the friends that I’ve gained / This courage that I found, along with my heart and my brain / At the end of this yellow road will I have to leave them all behind? / Just to keep the man behind the curtain satisfied
Photos by Amy Cherry
The single leans into earthy acoustic textures and understated yet stirring instrumentation, echoing the melodic sensibilities of artists like Nanci Griffith and Natalie Merchant. Produced by Jeremy Casella, the track features a stellar lineup: Matt Stanfield (piano), Josh Hunt (drums), Jacob Lowery (bass), Nate Duggar (guitar) and Mike Payne (guitar), with Evan Redwine engineering.
Much of my work involves walking with survivors of trauma—people untangling harm that was caused by those who were meant to protect them. That’s the core grief this song sits with: what happens when your source of safety, or love, is also your greatest source of pain? How do you grieve what you never fully had? How do you find home again, within yourself?"
Lora Kelley
About Lora Kelley
Rooted in the themes of resilience and gentle honesty, Lora's work is deeply informed by her background in narrative-based trauma care, including her studies with the Allender Center. Her music stands as a testament to the beauty of brokenness, offering not platitudes, but presence — a hand to hold in the dark. Raised amid the liminality of faith and living today on a conserved farm in Virginia with her partner, children, and a lively menagerie of pets, Lora crafts songs that feel lived-in, earthy, and unflinchingly honest. Her upcoming album, releasing November 7, will continue to explore the emotional terrains where suffering and hope coexist — a body of work poised to resonate with those yearning for deeper connection and sacred honesty.