When you think of country music there's several regional pockets of sound that come to mind — Nashville, Texas, Carolina, California and Kentucky — to name a few. The latter has been at the cutting edge of country and bluegrass music for over a half century dating back to artists like Tom T. Hall, Loretta Lynn, Keith Whitley, Dwight Yoakam, The Judds, Bill Monroe and others and extending to the present day with folks like Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers and Carly Pearce, among others.
Helping drive the state's musical success has not only been its widespread talent, but the supportive and familial feeling of the larger creative community they're a part of that has pushed the artist's within to the limit of their creative potential.
"There's a lot of times where artists feel like they're competing with each other, but you don't see that here," says Hunter Flynn. "People are supportive of each other. Whenever someone gets an important gig or starts to blow up on social media you see an outpouring of support from surrounding artists. It feels a lot like a family, which has to do with the upbringing of leaning on a tight knit community to lift you up because you don't often have everything at your disposal."
To celebrate the impact that Kentucky has had on country music, Wide Open Country spoke with 10 artists including Grammy award winner Carly Pearce, Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame Class of 2023 nominee Darrell Scott, 2023 Americana Honors & Awards Emerging Act Of The Year nominee S.G. Goodman and more, about how the state has impacted them both as musicians and people.
Carly Pearce
Grammy, CMA and ACM winning singer-songwriter, 2022 inductee into the Kentucky Music Hall Of Fame, Grand Ole Opry member, current single: "Country Music Made Me Do It"
""The rootsy, raw, mountain sound of traditional Kentucky music taught me from an early age what it means to be a real singer".
Hunter Flynn
Country singer-songwriter, debut EP 'Appalachian Soul' released May 12, next single "Eileen" out Aug. 31
"There's an air about growing up here that people can relate to. If you're from here you know it. You can hear it in the music and feel the emotions when somebody's singing about home. I've been fortunate enough to travel all over the country and see some beautiful places, but every time I'm gone for two or three days I start to miss the hollers and hills of Kentucky. There's no place like it in the world."
S.G. Goodman
BK Portraits
Singer-songwriter, nominee for Emerging Act Of The Year at the 2023 Americana Honors & Awards, current single: "Take It Away"
"A lot of people don't believe Kentucky is as diverse as it is, and even the landscape shows that... Right there in Murray you have plants like pink lady's slipper and pipsissewa that I try to squeeze into my music and how I talk about the state as much as I can.
The music here is just as diverse as the landscape. A lot of people don't associate Kentucky with having one of the most influential post punk bands of all time, Slint out of Louisville. We've got rock'n roll, rap, bluegrass, folk, country and more. We also are home to some of the best writers out there like Silas House, Wendell Berry, Bell Hooks, Barbara Kingsolver, Hunter S. Thompson, Harriette Simpson Arnow... Kentucky produces a lot more than just crops and horses."
Abby Hamilton
Alysse Gafkjen
Country singer-songwriter, current single: "#1 Zookeeper (of the San Diego Zoo)"
"There's nothing else like it geographically or culturally. I feel like I am a daughter of it and am honored to be part of the family... It's been a massive welcoming experience that's allowed me to grow and feel connected to home constantly. There's not been a show we've played — even Fairwell Fest in Oregon — where I've not seen someone from Kentucky, which is really cool. It makes me feel like I'm a part of something greater than just myself and what I'm creating."
Grayson Jenkins
Country singer-songwriter, current single: "Little Things" (feat. Abby Hamilton)
"I've not met too many Kentuckians that don't have some stories to tell, and usually with colorful ways of telling them. I find that my songwriting is heavily influenced by those stories and turns of phrases, plus the natural landscape itself. It's a gorgeous place.
I'm from Muhlenberg County (where Merle Travis and the Everly Brothers are from), and then Bill Monroe's birthplace is just one county over. Tom T. Hall and Keith Whitley are two Eastern Kentucky legends that are huge influences for me. Then there's the deep Bluegrass and old-time tradition out east as well. It's a melting pot nowadays, with today's Kentucky artists taking bits and pieces from each pocket to make their own sound."
Nat Myers
Jim Herrington
Country-blues singer-songwriter, latest album 'Yellow Peril' released on Easy Eye Sound, made Grand Ole Opry debut Aug. 11, current single: "Pray For Rain"
"We're really lucky in terms of the population versus how much good music comes out of Kentucky. There's a lot going on here that makes me very proud to be a part of that general voice."
Sydney Adams
Country singer-songwriter, current single: "One More Night With Him"
"I don't think it's possible to be an artist from Kentucky and not have it shape you in some way. Certain memories stick out more than others, like hearing coal camp songs from my great grandmother Ruby, whose siblings and husband worked in Harlan and Bell county mines, to making the drive from Corbin to Newcomb, Tennessee every Sunday to see mamaw and catching the first half of Casey Kasem's American Country Countdown on the radio... Every single thing I think of about my upbringing is uniquely Appalachian and has made me who I am as an artist."
Darrell Scott
Courtesy of artist
Country singer-songwriter, Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame Class of 2023 nominee, current single: "Kentucky Morning"
"Kentucky is not only my cultural background, but a number of greats like Tom T. Hall. As a writer, it simply does not get better than him. Then there's people like Ricky Skaggs — how do you get a better player and singer than that? Kentucky music has been unbelievable for decades, and I'm fortunate to drink from that same water. Kentuckians are rural, hard-working and honest, almost to a fault. They'll just tell it like it is, which ultimately is what I'm trying to do with my songwriting."
Brit Taylor
Sarah Cahill
Country singer-songwriter, latest album 'Kentucky Blue' co-produced by Sturgill Simpson, current single: "Ain't A Hard Livin'"
"Had I been born anywhere else in the world I think that my life would have turned out very different because I didn't grow up in a musical family. My parents never played, but luckily I grew up along the Country Music Highway where people have such a love and understanding for all music, not just country music. I got involved playing with the Kentucky Opry Jr. Pros at an early age and fell in love with music that way. Had it not been for that, I don't think I'd be on the path that I am now."
Phoebe White
Christina Davis Grace Photography
Country singer-songwriter, made Grand Ole Opry debut on Aug. 2, honorary exhibit for her opened inside the Kentucky Music Hall Of Fame & Museum on Aug. 12
"I'm so proud that Kentucky is my home. The natural beauty of our state, the horse capital of the world, has helped shape my music because my favorite genres are country and western music. I also love exploring the rich musical heritage of Kentucky from it being the Birthplace of Bluegrass to the Country Music Highway, each of which has affected my song selections and instrument choices. I love learning about the musical history of Kentucky and learning from music pioneers who have gone before me. So many of them were original, different and unique, and that's inspiring to me."
