InTouch with Southern Kentucky June 2020 | Page 33
SUBMITTED PHOTO
After joining forces,
LaMay and Reese has
played all kinds of
venues, from house
concerts, to festivals,
radio shows, TV
shows, and schools,
and “love them all.”
she could about it.
“My dad laid the groundwork with
the Carter Family, Doc Watson, and
Flatt & Scruggs,” said Reese of her
love of music, “but I really liked
the brother duets like Jim & Jesse
and the Louvin Brothers. Their
harmonies fascinated me.”
As for LaMay, he said that,
ironically, it wasn’t the commercial
folk-revival music of the ‘60s,
such as Peter, Paul and Mary, that
sparked his interest in folk and
traditional folk music.
“It was my interest in Bob Dylan
that opened the door,” said LaMay.
“I began researching his influences
and was introduced to the music of
Woody Guthrie, the Carter Family,
bluegrass, and Appalachian roots
music.”
LaMay called Dylan “the icing
on the cake” to his early interest
in rock-and-roll, which led him to
buy a guitar in 1966 while in the Air
Force and learn how to play.
“I’ve always loved music,” he said.
“As a young boy I would camp out
in front of my parents radio and
record player and listen to songs
everyday. I would say it was the
Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and
then the Beatles and the Rolling
Stones that grabbed me, and then
there was Bob Dylan.”
After joining forces, LaMay and
Reese -- which is the name of
their act -- has played all kinds of
venues, from house concerts, to
festivals, radio shows, TV shows,
and schools, and “love them all.”
They’ve been featured monthly
contributors since 2004 to Bill
Knowlton’s “Bluegrass Ramble”
radio show on NPR, now in its
48th year out of Syracuse, NY,
but available worldwide over the
internet. And every August, the
pairs travels back up to New York to
take part in Knowlton’s festival, the
Bluegrass Ramble Picnic.
“It’s one of the bigger festivals
and we love performing there,” said
LaMay. “I would say that no matter
where we perform it’s always a treat
to meet the folks who come out to
listen and to meet other musicians
who share the same music and
lifestyle.”
The two have helped provide a
venue for music of different kinds
to be heard here in Somerset, with
3rd Friday Folk at the Carnegie.
The monthly event is modeled after
the traditional coffeehouses that
provide a performance venue in an
intimate setting where people come
to enjoy the music and spend en
evening with friends.
“We grew up performing in these
types of venues,” said Reese. “When
we moved to Somerset, we were
hoping there would be a place like
that here, but there was none. We
had been involved with music at the
Carnegie Community Arts Center in
various capacities, and when they
fixed up the basement as a bistro,
we thought this would be a great
coffeehouse setting.”
Added LaMay, “Back in 2015, The
McNeil Music Center was located in
the Carnegie, and we got together
with Bill McNeil and John McQueary
to talk about starting a coffeehouse.
It was suggested that Sherri and I
be the hosts. McNeil Music Center
helps as a sponsor, and Kasandra
McNeil provides the baked goodies.”
June 2020 In Touch with Southern Kentucky • 33