Kentucky Shine finding success, releases first EP

November 20, 2021 | 12:08 am

Updated November 19, 2021 | 6:31 pm

Kentucky Shine | Photo provided

Kentucky Shine is a local band hoping to continue their rise after playing with some big names in bluegrass this year. They held a release party Friday night for the first EP Leavin’ Town at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum.

The bluegrass band includes members JB Miller (bass), Jordan Riehm (banjo), Cody Beck (mandolin), Jordan Wood (guitar), and Steven Stewart (fiddle).

Stewart and Miller had been friends for nearly 25 years when in 2018 they started joking about forming a band. In 2019, the opportunity presented itself. 

Wood and Stewart went to the Daily and Vincent Christmas Show at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum and after the show, Stewart asked him to hang out and play some songs. 

“We recorded a video of Green River, posted it to Facebook, and we gained some attention,” he said. “In early 2020, Jordan Riehm joined us, playing banjo, mandolin, and singing some lead and harmony vocals.”

For the first couple of months, it was just the three of them playing small gigs in and around Owensboro. Then Miller joined as the bass player and an additional voice, and Kentucky Shine was born. Beck joined the band in October, rounding out the full five-piece bluegrass band. 

Last year was mostly about recording videos and posting them online in hopes to encourage people who had a rough year during the

“We got our real start this year, and our goals were big but simple,” Stewart said. “Get some festivals on our schedule, put out a CD, and make a spot for ourselves in the bluegrass scene. We were humbled by the fact we were able to accomplish all of that this year and more.”

The group said they were honored to play with, and open for, some Bluegrass legends this year including Russell Moore, IIIrd Tyme Out, and Dan Tyminski. They played at ROMP earlier this fall and won the Friday Night Fight Band Contest for Friday After 5 and got to open for the All The Cool Kids concert.

“In the midst of all of our success this year, we recorded and released our first EP called Leavin’ Town,” Stewart said. “All of the songs on this release are original, with the exception of Kentucky Waltz, which was written by Bill Monroe. In addition to being our first release, the songs we selected are special to all of us for different reasons. But the order of the songs, and how we recorded them is really what makes this EP special.”

They used twin fiddles in their version of Kentucky Waltz. The fiddle chops in the title track Leavin’ Town are meant to mimic the sound and rhythm of a running train, and Green River was written specifically about Wood’s time spent growing up in Muhlenberg County. They chose to use only two voices in Can’t Sleep to help symbolize the lonesome feeling and cry of wanting someone in the dead of night, and not being able to have them.

“If you listen to the EP as a whole, you’ll hear the story of a young person who has left home, gone on a hard journey, and found their way back to a place where they have peace of mind,” Stewart said. “We did everything we could to musically portray that journey to our listeners.”

Stewart said the band has been excited about the release party for a while and the amount of support they’ve received from the community has been humbling. 

“We’re so excited to be able to celebrate the release of Leavin’ Town with everyone,” he said. “To be able to do it somewhere as special as the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum is a blessing and an honor.” 

While the band is taking things easy during the winter, they are headed back to the studio in February and are already booking gigs for 2022. 

November 20, 2021 | 12:08 am

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