If you were to find yourself cruising down Interstate-75 in the Renfro Valley area of Kentucky you may feel inclined to take a detour at exit 62 and head on down to the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. A caveat at the current time would be that you may find some time to kill upon your arrival, as the said attraction will not reopen until September. That aside, within its hallowed walls are inductees aplenty including the likes of The Everly Brothers, Loretta Lynne, Bill Monroe, Merle Travis and Ricky Skaggs. Continue reading “Ten Americana artists from Kentucky”
Tyler Childers self-released his first album ‘Bottles and Bibles’ in 2011 aged 19. A bit rough around the edges maybe, but that release offered a glimpse of the potential that the young Kentuckian had. It also demonstrated a determination and single-mindedness that has not been eroded with the passage of time. Childers’ second and breakthrough album, 2017’s ‘Purgatory’ was produced by Sturgill Simpson and David Ferguson and not only garnered widespread critical acclaim but also won Childers the ‘Best Emerging Artist’ Award at the 2018 Americana Music Association Awards. 
Tickets for this Celtic Connections show sold out almost as soon as the gig was announced with both artists noted as the up and coming guys to watch. Wall’s debut album was helmed by the current in vogue producer Dave Cobb while Childers’ debut is produced by a man who has benefitted from Cobb’s studio craftwork, Sturgill Simpson. With both men playing solo sets it was instructive to see their very different approaches to country and folk music and while Wall was the headliner it was Childers who folk were talking about afterwards.