Dan Kelly grew up in Queensland, on the Gold Coast, attended a Catholic school, in Beenleigh, and was the second oldest of six children.

"[3] In 2000 he started playing solo shows under the name Dank Alley,[4] not wanting to trade on his famous uncle Paul Kelly's name.

In 2004 he formed a new band, Dan Kelly and the Alpha Males, with Gareth Liddiard & Christian Strybosch of the (The Drones) and Tom Carlyon (The Devastations).

The Alpha Males appeared at The Falls Festival in Melbourne and Tasmania and selected Big Day Outs.

"[3] He performed in his uncle's band, Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions, recording on the 2004 album, Ways & Means.

[4] In 2005, Liddiard and Carlyon travelled to Europe with their respective other projects, with Aaron Cupples, Dan Luscombe and Lewis Boyes joining the Alpha Males.

[7] In early 2007, Kelly announced his backing band, the Alpha Males, were to disband for an undecided amount of time to allow the individual members to focus on other projects, a pertinent example being the addition of Dan Luscombe to the line up of The Drones.

Dan Kelly’s Dream made a number of best album of the year lists, notably Faster Louder, Mess and Noise and The Age.

[9] The album was recorded over two years in East London, Northern New South Wales, Melbourne and Sydney with members of the Dream Band and long time collaborator Aaron Cupples.

[10] In 2016, Kelly embarked on the 'Australian Dreamers' national tour with Alex Gow (Oh Mercy), with both artists taking the stage together.