“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 much 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. Personable and talented, they are excellent concert, festival, and workshop participants. Their concerts are a mixture of melody, harmony, and humor. With guitar, old-style banjo, and a sound rooted in the mountains and valleys of America’s southeast, LaMay & Reese offer a repertoire of story songs and ballads guaranteed to entice the novice and please the traditionalist. Their presentation of the old songs combined with their original compositions - written in the traditional style - demonstrates a seamless 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”. Joe & Sherri like to tell the story of the first time they sang Joe’s Marbletown at a song gathering and watched as several attendees frantically searched through 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”; Rose of the Genesee has been inducted into the Livingston (NY) Historical Society Museum; The Mystery Mountain Boys have recorded Name On A Stone (Anna) on their “Appalachian Homecoming” CD; 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 35th year. On the first Sunday of every month, they present a 15-minute segment of music recorded “live” at festivals, jams, and at informal gatherings in their Kentucky- Tennessee home area.
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.”
Kentucky old-timey banjo legend Uncle Dave Dougherty says: “I first met Joe and Sherri at the 2002 Jerusalem Ridge Festival in Rosine, Kentucky. They sang us some songs they had written and I was especially impressed with Joe’s The Old Man Has Gone, a song about Bill Monroe. I intend to record this song myself! This year (2003) I had the opportunity to hear them “in concert” for the first time. They are great! You’ll hear very good original and traditional music mixed with a killer humor and a warm, easy to listen to sound. They are a delightful addition to the bluegrass genre because they do not sound like anyone else but, at the same time, their music is firmly rooted in old time and bluegrass. I would recommend them to any promoter putting on a show.
