As we continue on the journey of live music every night at The Cove, we keep stumbling across all kinds of interesting artists that find us on their journey! Kentucky has become a local musical force who seems to have boundless energy, both spiritually, and physically for the stage. He will be playing every Monday in October as part of our Monday musical residency series, but before then, he will be playing at The Cove Inn this Tuesday, August 27 from 5 to 8 pm on the patio (web link).

Seamus Cowan: I have only been following you for a little while but in that short time I have noticed that you have a buzz about you. You seem to have a lot of energy for what you do. Where does that come from?

Kentucky: Well, I am very thankful to be alive. And because I am, there is a joy that comes with it. I suppose I'm living that joy both onstage and off, and maybe that's how it comes across to people. I also receive deep fulfilment from both my family and from the music that I make and, almost bizarrely to me, they really go together, feed each other, and are symbiotic. I think that where my thankfulness and my feeling of fulfilment meet, a great force is generated within me. And then, thank God, I seem to be ready and able to put that force to good use. And, just in time.

Q: I know you’ve just come to the area recently. Set up in Almonte, what’s it like having a small town like that as your musical home base? Refreshing?

Kentucky: My musical home base is inside of me. And I know that because no matter where I go, and especially presently in Almonte, it keeps coming out to play despite my clumsy efforts to suppress it over the years. Physically speaking, Almonte is a wonderful place to be and I am very lucky that I ended up here. I have been accepted, encouraged, and helped (in that order) to become Kentucky by many people in this little town. I get a lot of respect, a lot of support, a lot of space, and a lot of good humour. I could go on for a long time and in a good way about a lot of people in Almonte, but I think the best way to see and hear it is to watch my latest music video for my song "Wonder". Almonte is the star of the picture, and she is beautiful.

Q: I’ve noticed that you talk about your music in the stream of consciousness kind of way. Do you consider any of this style in an improvisation sense?

Kentucky: Yes I do, and it's born from my feeling that life is essentially a vast improvisation. I want to communicate as clearly as possible both onstage and off, and I find the best way for me to do that is to share my inner world directly, without a filter, and definitely without thinking. Performing in this fashion, and there are many fashions, also allows me to not feel "time". I can stay in the moment, the present, which is the only place that the audience and I can possibly be, and yet I can access the gifts of both the past and the future without trying to be in either of them.

Q: You have really hit the road hard, and recently have been playing wherever you can around this area of the world. It must be liberating to be solo and going from place to place! Does this inspire your show?

Kentucky: It can! This is my first time in my life performing as a solo artist, and although I have the energy of a band both in my heart and while onstage, performing solo is causing me to learn a lot about myself both onstage and off (once again). Being alone and travelling through this seemingly endless and beautiful land evokes a lot of things...loneliness, boldness, exhaustion, mystery, wonder, imagination, dreams, fears...and all of those things and many more can make for a great show in the hands of a great audience and performer.

Q: I have a have a feeling that all of this road work and creativity combined with collaboration, with other artists is going to be culminating in some sort of release. Am I off in that thinking?

Kentucky: You are on with that thinking, thank you. I've released a number of singles and music videos in the past 12 months, and after a few more I'll be releasing my first album in 2025...and hopefully my second album too right at the end of next year. In the past two years I've written enough music to last more than the careers of all but the luckiest artists, and my sincere hope that I say out loud nearly every day is that I just hope I live long enough and get the help I need to put it all out into the world. Thanks for asking. Posted: Aug 26, 2024 Originally Published: Aug 23, 2024