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[Audio] Lower Town Arts & Music Festival THIS Weekend!

Matt Markgraf, WKMS

Arts, music and good times abound this weekend at the Lowertown Arts & Music Festival. And we'll be there in Lowertown Paducah with the WKMS tent across from the main stage on Friday and Saturday. 

Be sure to stop by and say "Hi!", visit the over 70 artists in attendance and see main stage live music acts including Ben Sollee! WKMS Battle of the Bands Winners The Savage Radley kick off the music on the main stage Friday at 3 p.m.

Lowertown Sounds Good Conversations:

MUSIC:

Old Salt Union

old_salt_union.mp3
Old Salt Union

Tracy speaks with members of Old Salt Union Friday on Sounds Good. This band plays on the main stage Friday at 7 p.m.

Old Salt Union is a newgrass stringband from Belleville Illinois.  The band formed in 2012 and has self-released two albums as well as an EP which came out earlier this year.  They have toured extensively, playing national festivals including  LouFest, Stagecoach Festival,  Bluegrass Underground, Winter Wondergrass, Freshgrass, and more.

https://youtu.be/nwkZGgnj_U0","_id":"00000179-ebc1-d7ee-a97b-ebe1eea40002","_type":"035d81d3-5be2-3ed2-bc8a-6da208e0d9e2"}">https://youtu.be/nwkZGgnj_U0">https://youtu.be/nwkZGgnj_U0","_id":"00000179-ebc1-d7ee-a97b-ebe1eea40002","_type":"035d81d3-5be2-3ed2-bc8a-6da208e0d9e2"}">https://youtu.be/nwkZGgnj_U0

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Diane Coffee

diane-coffee.mp3
Tracy Ross speaks with Shaun Fleming of Diane Coffee

Tracy speaks with Shaun Fleming of California-based "psychedelic Motown" band Diane Coffee. They take the main stage Friday night at 8 p.m.

Fleming is the creative vision behind Bloomington Indiana based indie rock band Diane Coffee.  Fleming started his career as an actor and voice actor in projects including Jeepers Creeper 2 and Kim Possible.  In addition to his work with Diane Coffee, Fleming is the drummer for the psychedelic pop band Foxygen.

https://youtu.be/nRnPD","_id":"00000179-ebc1-d7ee-a97b-ebe1eea50000","_type":"035d81d3-5be2-3ed2-bc8a-6da208e0d9e2"}">https://youtu.be/nRnPD-KW-0M">https://youtu.be/nRnPD","_id":"00000179-ebc1-d7ee-a97b-ebe1eea50000","_type":"035d81d3-5be2-3ed2-bc8a-6da208e0d9e2"}">https://youtu.be/nRnPD-KW-0M

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Ben Sollee

ben-sollee.mp3
Tracy Ross speaks with Ben Sollee

Ben Sollee is a musician and activist born and raised in Lexington Kentucky.  Sollee’s primary instrument is the cello, which he uses to craft a unique mix of folk, bluegrass, jazz, and rock. He has played with The Sparrow Quartet alongside Bela Fleck, Abigail Washburn and Casey Driesen, and has released an album with fellow Kentuckian Daniel Martin Moore.  Sollee is a passionate activist, especially concerning the issue of mountaintop removal in coal mining.

Ben Sollee plays on the Main Stage Saturday night at 8 p.m.

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Vandaveer

vandaveer.mp3
Tracy speaks with Mark Charles Heidinger of Vandaveer

Mark Charles Heidinger talks about his project Vandaveer, an alt-folk group from Washington D.C. Vandaveer closes the main stage Saturday night at 9:30 p.m.

Heidinger is singer and songwriter for the alt-folk band Vandaveer, which has recently moved back to Kentucky after several years in the Washington, DC area.  Vandaveer has released five albums and one EP since 2007.

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ART:

Patricia Hooper

pewter-artist.mp3
Austin Carter speaks with artist Patricia Hooper

Patricia Hooper is a pewter artist coming to the festival. Her work ranges from household items to personal items with designs inspired by mythology and folklore. See her work

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Chad Balster

chad-balster.mp3
Tracy speaks with Chad Balster

Chad Balster is a Louisville based glass artist specializing in hot blown glass, functional wares and decorative one-of-a-kind works. He has his own line of mobile glassblowing equipment. See his work

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John Chumack

We'll meet John Chumack of Galactic Images Friday on Sounds Good. Chumack specializes in deep space photos developed at the Chumack Observatories. See his work

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More about the festival

Tracy started working for WKMS in 1994 while attending Murray State University. After receiving his Bachelors and Masters degrees from MSU he was hired as Operations/Web/Sports Director in 2000. Tracy hosted All Things Considered from 2004-2012 and has served as host/producer of several music shows including Cafe Jazz, and Jazz Horizons. In 2001, Tracy revived Beyond The Edge, a legacy alternative music program that had been on hiatus for several years. Tracy was named Program Director in 2011 and created the midday music and conversation program Sounds Good in 2012 which he hosts Monday-Thursday. Tracy lives in Murray with his wife, son and daughter.
Matt Markgraf joined the WKMS team as a student in January 2007. He's served in a variety of roles over the years: as News Director March 2016-September 2019 and previously as the New Media & Promotions Coordinator beginning in 2011. Prior to that, he was a graduate and undergraduate assistant. He is currently the host of the international music show Imported on Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
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