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Blueridge Guitar Artist

"I believe that these performers are keeping alive a form of music that is more and more becoming a thing of the past and of legend. I support any efforts to preserve folk music and bluegrass music, as is so present in the music, the performances, and the lives of both Joe LaMay and Sherri Reese."

- Adam Phillips
- WHAY 98.3 FM
- Whitley City, KY

LaMay & Reese are a touring American music duo who produce a unique blend of traditional folk and bluegrass that captures the sentiment and color of an earlier time in our rich musical heritage. LaMay & Reese are personable, talented, and excellent concert, festival and workshop participants. Their concerts are a mix of melody, harmony, and humor. With guitar, old-style banjo, and a sound rooted in the mountains and valleys of America’s southeast, Joe & Sherri offer a generous repertoire of story songs, gospel songs, and ballads which are guaranteed to entice the novice and please the traditionalist. Their fine presentation of the old songs, combined with their original compositions - which are written in the traditional style - demonstrates a seamless and pleasing transition from the preservation to the propagation of this treasured art form.

One of their favorite quotes comes from syndicated Gannett music columnist, Jeff Spevak, when he said: “LaMay & Reese range from bluegrass to traditional American folk without sounding as though a square peg is being rammed into a round hole. It’s sweet, but hardscrabble, Americana”.

As songwriters, Joe & Sherri like to tell the story of the first time they sang Joe’s Marbletown at a folk song gathering and watched as several of the attendees frantically searched through the pages of their traditional songbooks to find the song. As further testament to their writing abilities, several musicians and bands are performing and recording their songs. Most notably, The Atkinson Family Bluegrass has recorded three LaMay & Reese songs (Marbletown, Mama Put Down That Picture and Maryville); The Dady Brothers included Singing Just for Friends as the only non-traditional song on their CD “Songs of the Erie Canal”; The Mystery Mountain Boys recorded Name On A Stone (Anna) on their “Appalachian Homecoming ” CD; Rose of the Genesee has been inducted in the Livingston (NY) Historical Society Museum; and Joe & Sherri have appeared on the Cumberland Highlander’s TV Show - out of Bill Monroe’s Homeplace - singing The Old Man Has Gone.

Joe LaMay & Sherri Reese are regular monthly contributors to Bill Knowlton’s Bluegrass Ramble Radio Show (WCNY Syracuse and world-wide, “live” over the internet) - now in it’s 36th year. On the first Sunday of every month, they present a 15-20 minute segment of music recorded “live” in their home and at festivals, jams, and informal gatherings in their Kentucky home area.

In 2008, the Kentucky Arts Council selected LaMay & Reese as one of eight performing artists and groups to be added to its Kentucky Arts Council Performing Arts Directory, an adjudicated roster of performing artists. The directory aids in marketing and promoting Kentucky's performing artists to presenters and performance venues across the nation. Additionally, the Kentucky Arts Council books performers from the directory in various state-sponsored venues throughout the year.

Two-time SPBGMA DJ of the Year, Alex Leach (WDVX Knoxville), says: “Joe & Sherri know what it takes to make a ‘real’ song. You can hear it in their vocals and instrumentation. They write with feeling and put their heart and soul into what they’re doing. They are a true team, and their music is simply altogether beautiful.