Is it just us, or is that whole thing about building KFC Yum! Center so we could get top music acts kind of disingenuous?
We have Uncle Slaytons, Headliners Music Hall, the Brown Theater, The Palace and the smaller venues at the Kentucky Center for the Arts. And they seem to be bringing in bigger and better acts all the time, if not Lady Gaga.
Cases in point: Singer-songwriter Maia Sharp (“John Q. Lonely”) and Louisville’s own Leigh Ann Yost.
They’re playing Friday night at Uncle Slayton’s in a concert sponsored by 91.9 WFPK.
Here’s the publicity down-low on Sharp:
Produced by Grammy award winning studio legend Don Was, MAIA SHARP’s most recent release, Echo, heralded her ascension into the spotlight after being embraced by Bonnie Raitt, Carole King, the Dixie Chicks, Art Garfunkel, Keb’ Mo’, Cher, Trisha Yearwood, Edwin McCain, Lisa Loeb, Kim Richey, Kathy Mattea, David Wilcox and many others who have recorded her songs and treasured her talent. From this point, the secret is out and Sharp stands on her own – a uniquely gifted singer, writer and multi-instrumentalist whose peers are the most discerning artists in the business but whose music on Echo reaches out toward the wider world. Promotion for her upcoming album, Change The Ending, has begun in earnest: She and one-woman-band mate Linda Taylor are hitting the road and radio stations throughout the country, including a stop at Louisville’s own WFPK for their ‘Live Lunch’ broadcast day of show.
Sharp started early on the journey that led ultimately to Echo. She had barely hit her teens when she started performing on piano, guitar and saxophone. Following the example of her father, Randy Sharp, a highly respected songwriter/producer/musician, she played in local Los Angeles clubs and kept her ears open not only to contemporary folk and rock but also to jazz and classical elements. She won significant critical notice and radio airplay with her albums Hardly Glamour (Ark 21), 2002’s self titled Maia Sharp (Concord), which earned a nomination for Triple-A radio’s Artist of the Year, and 2005’s Fine Upstanding Citizen (KOCH). That same year Sharp was 1/3 of the exquisite collaboration with Art Garfunkel and Buddy Mondlock on Everything Waits to Be Noticed (EMI/Manhattan) produced by Billy Mann. Between touring and writing, Maia has been producing other artists including platinum selling singer songwriter, Edwin McCain and Canadian Idol finalist Donny Anderson.
The concert is an over-21 event, with tickets $10 and $13.
Is it just us, or is that whole thing about building KFC Yum! Center so we could get top music acts kind of disingenuous?
