KC musician lost his mother, his home & his sight. Now he wants to get back his music

A Kansas City jazz and R&B musician who made his mark on the local live music scene on 18th and Vine from the 1990s through 2017 is rediscovering his passion for music, one note at a time.

Ronnie Fells, 53, slowly lost his vision after suffering several seizures and a stroke, which also caused him to lose his desire to play and some of the skills he relied on to entertain people with the music he loves. After returning home after his recovery, Fells also found himself and his mother without a home due to financial struggles — and with that came the loss of prized possessions, including instruments, family photos and memories.

In the following years, he lost even more — his biggest supporter, his mother, died after battling COVID-19.

Now, Fells lives alone in an assisted living facility in Lenexa, Kansas. In some ways, he’s been just letting the days pass by, said Nimi Parker-Asante, an old friend and former co-worker from the radio show, Kansas City After Hours.

“Going through all this stuff, it’s hard,” Fells said. “I used to go everywhere and play all the time, but now I’m just here.”

When he first came to the assisted living center, Fells said he was upset and worried everyone would forget him. It was miserable, he said, and he felt stuck and worried he’d never play live music again.

So two of his close friends and work partners, Parker-Asante and Sean Raspberry — also know as Icy Roc — came together to start a GoFundMe page for their friend to help him access an interface to record music and play with other musicians.

Raspberry hopes it will allow Fells to become productive and start finding joy again in making and playing music, in spite of his vision loss.

“He’s one of the most wholesome people I’ve ever met in my life, especially in the music industry,” Raspberry said. “I know his love for music — and I just wanted to provide him with some level of comfort.”

‘He’s really that guy’

Live music has been a part of Fells’ life from an early age. He said his mother was heavily involved in the gospel scene and his grandfather, Louis Wright, was also a well-known performer in the 18th and Vine district.

While growing up, Fells remembers taking books and pencils his mother would buy him and using them to mimic playing the drums. He said watching his mother play was always an inspiration to him from a very early age.

“I’m just soaking it all in as a little kid. I just wanted to play. I wanted to do that and I can’t remember a time where I didn’t wanna play,” Fells said.

During his live music career, he was able to play with many Kansas City bands and musicians, including Lo-Key, Reggie B, Max Groove and Baby Lee, according to his GoFundMe page.

Crayge Lindesay, a fellow musician and producer, first worked with Fells on the KC Expose album, and from there the two continued to play live in music venues together, forming a good friendship.

“He is one of those giving people, never had an problems, never had any attitude and you never heard anything negative about him throughout all the years. He was always able to deliver with his talent,” Lindesay said.

Lindesay was there every step of the way as Fells lost his vision, and helped along with other musicians to get him and his mother another keyboard after they lost their home.

“He’s really that guy — you can’t get that good with just sitting around letting time go by. He’s always been someone I’ve looked up to. I would always pick his brain on things,” his friend and colleague Raspberry said.

There isn’t any other musician quite like Fells, Raspberry said. He was always there to help other musicians, with a humbleness and work ethic that he believes is unmatched.

Darron Story, member of R&B group Lo-Key and Director of Development at the American Jazz Museum, said Fells is one of the most talented musicians he’s ever had the chance to work with. He said they first started working together in 2005 when Fells played as the main keyboardist for the band.

“The real inspiration I got from Ronnie is when he got sick he didn’t stop, when a lot of people would have stopped and succumbed to what was going on, Ron — he didn’t,” Story said.

Fells plays several instruments, but singing is yet another one of his talents, and at times he worked as a vocal coach for other artists, Raspberry said. He noted, in the studio, Fells would always want to help other artists strengthen their vocal performance, serving as both collaborator and instructor.

Fells said that ability to mentor and teach was something he learned from his mother. He said that while growing up, whenever he had a question or wanted to know how to play a certain key, his mother was always there and always had the answer.

And even when other musicians through the years credited Fells for being among the best of musicians, he would tell them, “I’m not even the best musician in the house. You gotta see my mom.”

Getting back in the groove

After losing what it felt like everything after his mother died, Fells said he found himself in a helpless state, but the reconnection with old friends like Parker-Asante and Raspberry brought back his light.

“I sat here for a while, and I was just so miserable. But music is one of those things that make me happy, so I have my bass here and a keyboard and I try to play,” Fells said.

“It’s a little bit more difficult, but once I can get in the groove I can lose myself in doing it.”

Both Parker-Asante and Raspberry shared they want to keep that motivation going, and with the funds raised with their GoFundMe, they believe it will help Fells have the option to make more music again, giving him a creative outlet and the chance to connect with Raspberry through an interface to record and collaborate on music.

“I am going to be the person behind the scene — remote into a computer and be his eyes and operate software for him while he plays the keyboard and can basically be productive, and I’m helping one of my good friends out,” Raspberry said.

The GoFundMe has received great response from friends and other KC musicians, Parker-Asante said. She hopes to also connect with live jazz venues in the area to see if they would like to contribute to the fund to help Fells get back to the live music scene.

“We talk all the time. He still has songs in his head and in his heart and he can’t really get them out,” Parker-Asante said.

The journey back to the stage is continuously on Fells’ mind, and he hopes to get to that point one day again. But now, it’s about building himself back up, and with the support of friends and other musicians, he hopes to be able to do it.

“Whenever I start feeling the walls closing in on me, like on an island by myself, I realize that I’m not. I do have people that love me and care about me and want the best for me,” Fells said. “It makes me feel good, you know, because I’ve come a long way.”