Clemens Fine Arts Center
Stage Sessions
The CFAC is preparing for its first-ever Stage Sessions series, featuring local singer-songwriters and regional favorites presenting music and original theatrical performances
We will have links to the performances beginning October 3.
Participating artists are:
Fate McAfee is an independent singer-songwriter living in Murray, KY. His Stage Sessions
performance is a preview of his forthcoming album, True Love in New Rome, and features
unreleased songs that explore romance, politics, and finding humor in the current
age.
Award-winning singer/songwriter Wil Maring and virtuose guitarist/fiddler Robert Bowlin
have been combining talents for the last 15 years to create beautiful original acoustic
music which straddles the fence between bluegrass, folk and country music, with jazz
and pop elements thrown in. They've been guests on the Grand Ole Opry and NPR's Whaddya
Know program. Robert is a 2-time National Guitar contest winner and has accompanied
legendary artists like Bill Monroe, Maura O'Connell, Kathy Mattea, Tom T. Hall, Ray
Price, and many more.
Daniel Morrow is a local guitarist that has performed solo and with several area ensembles
for over 30 years. Through traditional technique, unorthodox approaches and electronics,
he is constantly pushing the guitar forward from its traditional context into an ever
expanding auditory horizon. His solo performances weave a unique mix of sonic textures
into soundscapes suitable for exploring distant solar vistas, yet equally suited to
accompany the cooking of a fine meal.
Brenda J-Yazd is an actress, director, and writer. Although she has been inactive
since her retirement from working with battered women and children, she continues
to use her voice by writing about social issues. She currently works with the Arts
Ministry at her church. “ATONE” was inspired years ago by a group of women who had
an issue with women ministers. Although there has been changes in the women minister
arena, it is my prayer that “ATONE” inspire a new dialog or a conversations on our
service to our creator.
The Cuttin Jessie’s are a two piece folk-rock duo featuring Steven Phalen on guitar
and Vocals and Luke Taylor n banjo and vocals.
Hailing from Metropolis, IL, The Cuttin Jessies combine their love of the Avett Brothers, Tom Petty, and Deer Tick to bring you a fun, toe-tapping musical experience! Enjoy!
Pep Talk is a five piece rock band from Paducah, KY consisting of Luke Taylor (Vocals/Guitar)
Jacob McCallon (vocals/guitar) Weslan Banks (vocals/bass) Zack Winding (keys) and
Ethan Banks (drums). This recently formed outfit of exceptional locals’ love for groovy
bass lines, cinematic progressions, and catchy melodies converge to create heartfelt
rock with incredible pop sensibility. Sharing interests of bands such as The Beatles,
Wilco, and The Cars, this is a band that promises to entertain and leave you with
a smile.
J.D. Wilkes is an artist and musician living in Paducah, Kentucky. He has recorded
harmonica for acts like Merle Haggard, Hank Williams III, John Carter Cash, Mike Patton,
Shemekia Copeland, Sturgill Simpson and others.
Wilkes is perhaps best known as the founder of the Legendary Shack Shakers, a rocking “hillbilly blues” band formed in the mid-90s. The group recently appeared in their own episode of PBS’s Sun Studio Sessions.
Fans of Wilkes’s work include Stephen King, Robert Plant, Billy Bob Thornton and former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra. Rolling Stone named Wilkes as the “best frontman” at the 2015 Americana Music Association Festival for his performance with the band.
He is the author of Barn Dances and Jamborees Across Kentucky—a history of traditional music get-togethers in the Bluegrass State—and the novel The Vine That Ate The South, a book praised by NPR as "undeniably one of the smartest, most original Southern Gothic novels to come along in years.”
