The Makers Mill offers a downtown Somerset experience like no other
BOB FLYNN Contributing Writer
Over the past few years, downtown Somerset has seen a variety of bars open up where folks looking for a fun night can enjoy their favorite adult beverages with friends in a relaxed atmosphere.
But only one of those has taken that experience to a whole new level.
The Makers Mill, located at 402 E. Mount Vernon Street in the old Lay-Simpson Furniture building, has set itself apart from the other nightlife establishments by offering weekly live musical performances showcasing both local and regional talent.
The Makers Mill opened four years ago as a place where local artists and artisans could showcase and sell their works.
Along with its focus on art, the business also included the Makers Mill Bar and a stage where they hosted open mic nights and occasional live music.
Over the next couple of years, owner Todd Clayton said he began to notice that the bar and music side of the business began to become more and more popular, which spawned an“ a-ha " moment.
“ I was running the bar at the time and over about a six month span, I started noticing that the energy surrounding the music and the bar just kept growing," he said, " and I started to re-evaluate what we were doing.”
Todd, himself a long-time musician, said that over the years, he has evolved from just a musician to also becoming an artist and master woodworker and recognized that his business needed to change if it was going to survive.
“ We had vendors but sales for this size building never justified it," he said. " If something isn’ t working you are left with the choice of just packing it up and moving on or trying something different and evolve. So we evolved."
The first step in making Clayton’ s vision of turning The Makers
Mill into a music venue was to get the word out about the new musical focus.
To do that, Clayton, who still plays in the band T. A. Clayton and the Soul Miners, tapped into his circle of friends from his music past to get the ball rolling.
“ I’ ve been a musician since my early 20s, first in Cincinnati then down to Lexington and I made connections all along the way," said
Clayton. " So I originally started reaching out to my friends and said, ' Hey, I’ ve got a venue. Spread the word.'”
Knowing that the quality of talent available in the local community was deep as well,
Clayton said and he wanted to feature it prominently as well so he also reached out to the people who made the Master Musicians Festival one of the best and most successful in the state.“ The Master Musicians Festival circular vortex of energy, if you will, those people who are currently involved, and the ones who started it is a very strong, connected group, so we reached out to them quickly," said Clayton. " They recommended talent that I didn’ t know that we reached out to and brought them in here as well." Thanks to the help from those people Clayton was able to quickly line up bands and individual artists to appeal to every musical taste to perform at The Makers Mill.
And with acts such as Elvie Shane and
Hollerhead, Sydney Adams, Jarley Young, The Vibrolas, The Creekers, Smilo & the Ghost Girl, Codey Lee Meece and Hancock & Shouse, The Makers Mill soon attracted music lovers from across the region.
“ Our music is very varied," said Clayton. " That’ s the best word to describe it. We have everything from punk, rock, jazz, country, bluegrass, singer / songwriter to folk music.
" Our main floor, the vibe is organic and yet something that feels high scale. It feels eclectic; it feels like something that you would see in the arts district of any metropolitan city," he added. " We’ ve had some incredible acts here right before they go big.”
The Makers Mill also hosts open mic nights on the first and
Previous page: The band CD Club performs at The Makers Mill, and two of the shops inside Makers Mill are pictured. Above: Makers Mill owner Todd Clayton.
Photos by Bob Flynn
June 2026 SEKY- Southeast Kentucky Life • 15