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Backstage Pass

performance at the clemens fine arts center

Our stripped-back live music series that connects you with the artist in an intimate listening room space. We celebrate the rich local and regional community of singer/songwriters by making each performance a unique sonic experience for both viewer and performer.

Fate McAfee Photo Fate began his music career with a pick-worn guitar he bought from a pawn shop, busking the sidewalks of Denver, Austin, New Orleans and Nashville and working side jobs when he could. One day a laborer, the next a carpenter, the next a valet. He spent time as a deckhand on the lineboats that took him up and down the Mississippi River. Equally restless and observant - Fate was always mindful of his interactions with everyone he met, who came from all walks of life. Their lessons, wisdom and experience spilled into the songs that became Diesel Palomino the follow up to his 2017 self-released record, Little Bill and the Late Fees.

Recorded at Loud and Clear Studios in Paducah, KY with the help of Shelby Preklas and S. Knox Montgomery and backed by Paducah group, Leonard the Band (Brian Rader, Zack Winding, Adam Rader, and Taylor Rader), Diesel Palomino has already drawn comparisons as diverse as work of Wilco, Nick Drake, and The War on Drugs.

Expansive beyond its seven tracks, the new album also shares tales of personal tragedy, loss, growth and inner reflection. At times a dark interpretation of a contemporary Mid-South existence, his sharp witted vignettes are often autobiographical, based on events from his turbulent childhood and formative teenage years. From the sun-beaten car carrying strung out, heartbroken characters across the desert (“Stars of Tucumcari”) to a coquettish encounter with a religious woman (“Preacherwoman Blues”), Fate draws on life experiences that seem enriched and testing beyond his 26 years.