InTouch with Southern Kentucky June 2020 | Page 32

we met urged them to move to
Kentucky. One of the performers
was Russell Wilson, of the Wilson
Brothers bluegrass/gospel band
from Science Hill. LaMay and Reese,
a married couple, took their advice
and moved to Somerset in April of
2004.
The two perform music with a
folk-leaning, Americana style -- they
also host the 3rd Friday Folk event
at the Carnegie Community Arts
Center in Somerset on a monthly
basis.
“I’m not an instrumentalist,” said
LaMay, who knows his way around
a guitar nonetheless. “My songs are
all about the lyrics and the melody.
It’s almost impossible to write a
song without some homage to the
songs of the past.
Reese described her own style as
“a mixture of traditional bluegrass,
classic country, some traditional
folk, and of course Bob Dylan.”
She added, “Harmony is my heart
and soul and I will try anything. The
song has to make sense lyrically,
and tell a story. I heard Emmylou
Harris around 1976 and really
loved what she did with the Louvin
Brothers songs.”
The two started making beautiful
music together after meeting at
a folk music organization song
gathering in Rochester in February
of 1998. Individually, however,
they’d led melodious lives for a long
time before finding harmony with
one another.
“There was always music in the
house,” said Reese. “My dad played
guitar but wasn’t a teacher. A
roommate taught me chords.”
Reese’s parents got her a guitar
for Christmas in 1971 and Reese set
about teaching herself everything
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Joe LaMay and Sherri Reese started making beautiful music together
after meeting at a folk music organization song gathering in Rochester.
in February of 1998.
32 • In Touch with Southern Kentucky June 2020