Appalachian singer songwriter musician and story teller, Derek Spencer was the featured artist during the  Woodsongs Coffee House Hour July concert. The concert series is hosted by the Gateway Regional Arts Center in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky and is the perfect intimate venue to enjoy local music and have a peek at the inspiration and process behind the songs. 
Derek wowed the crowd with his original song stories and he shared with the audience the connection those stories have to his life in Eastern Kentucky. Give the show a listen, the player and download link are posted below. And check out Derek's website for tour dates and more. 

Derek Spencer Website: ​ www.derekspencermusic.com
Derek on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/derekspencermusic/

Kickin' It On The Creek 2019 was a phenomenal experience for music lovers and artists alike who traveled to the beautiful holler on Ross Creek in Estill County, Kentucky. The week was full and overflowing with love and incredible performances.  We owe the Roberts family a huge thank you for their donation of a pair of passes for this year's festival. Also, a tremendous thanks goes to the KIOTC family. We were able to raise $600 toward a vital equipment upgrade for the station. We are grateful for the generosity of Kentucky's music community! 

Byron Roberts and his family have been hosting the festival in their front yard for five years now, and this was Pickup Country's third year in attendance. This year, Ryan and I had the most perfect camp location and as always, we were treated with the best hospitality to be found.

​During the festival, we reconnected with music scene friends and made tons of new friends who share our appreciation for great songs and sweet Appalachia. And being there is like swimming in a sea of talent - from the musicians to the craft vendors, the sound and lighting crews to the spider monkey media folks. The lineup was nearly unbeatable for any stage anywhere. But also, in every holler hideaway of Wolfpen Branch you'd find a circle of pickers jamming away and I'm pretty sure the "Wook Nook" played and howled until sunrise.

It really is one of those "you have to be there to get it" kind of things that I often refer to as a bucket list event. By that I mean that if you love music and attending Kickin' It On The Creek isn't on your list of things you must do before you die, you need to at least pencil it in there somewhere. And if my poor writing doesn't convince you, I ask you to give one of the upcoming KIOTC pre-shows a try and you'll see what I'm talking about.

As I sort through and edit the music captured for airplay, I'll be updating our blog with KIOTC highlights and additions to our library. Until then, I leave you with some memories we snapped, many behind the scenes. 

~Angela

On September 4th, 2019, our Irvine studio was officially opened in a grand way. The Pickup Country WSKV family along with our partners Alight Marketing, were surrounded by family, friends, clients and community leaders to celebrate the big day. We are still in awe of the support shown for our new endeavor and we owe a ton of thanks to everyone who made our big day so special. 

A huge thank you to the following, including (but not limited to):
Central Bank
Meades Do It Center
The Estill County Chamber of Commerce
​Estill Development Alliance
The Montgomery County- Mt. Sterling Chamber of Commerce
Steam Engine Pizza Pub
Peter Hille, Ariel Fugate and all the wonderful folks from MACED
Irvine, Kentucky Mayor, James Gross
Byron Roberts of Wolfpen Productions and host of Estill County's "Kickin' It on the Creek" music festival
Singer songwriter and musician, Lance Rogers
Photographer Lauren Rothenhauser of Illumi Studio
Ravenna Florist
And special thanks to everyone who attended!

Check out the video and photos below. 
https://www.facebook.com/macedky/videos/2337207939709807/

We wondered what that would look like too. And boy did these fellas show us! The Wooks performed on the  Kickin' It On The Creek stage for one and a half hours on Friday night and came back 'lectrified on Saturday night playing a solid two hour set! The crowd went wild over the Wooks last year and both are set to play again at this year's festival.
Wook out to your hearts content at their official website below:
http://www.wookoutamerica.com/
​Or find them on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/wookoutamerica/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1529814747032421/

We grabbed some of our favorite tracks from the 'lectrified performance to share during Saturday night's broadcast of "Kickin' It" a couple of weeks ago and thought you may enjoy hearing it as a podcast. Please, enjoy responsibly. Don't wook and drive! (Or if you do, drive safely!)

The 5th Annual Kickin' It On The Creek Season has begun and so have the pre-parties! The first was held June 14th at the Steam Engine Pizza Pub Session Room and a second was, August 30th at Country Boy Brewing's Georgetown Taproom with featured artists, the Ross Creek All Stars with special guest Geno Seale. The KIOTC pre parties are the last opportunity to get a free chances to win passes to the KIOTC Festival, and it's always a great time to gather with the Kickin' It family and get good and fired up ready to head to little Ross Creek! 

Local Veteran and Country Music artist Donnie Isaacs and "Hurricane" Jim Whitaker stopped in for an interview and to play some tunes for us during Bluegrass Breakout including the song "Duffle Bag" co-written with fellow Veteran and Estill Country native, L.G. Richardson. Donnie was recently added to this year's SOLD OUT Kickin' It On The Creek Festival and we can't wait to see him perform again live! 

Find more about Donnie here >>>>www.donnieisaacs.com/

Find more about Hurricane Jim >>>>www.facebook.com/Hurrah-kane-Jim-A-and-E-1038012209684505/

And catch the interview below:

Canadian Country Artists Blake Berglund and Belle Plaine are not strangers to Pickup Country. We've been fans for quite a while and it was such an honor that they made time to sit down with us in the studio during Bluegrass Breakout to talk about their music, their love and support for one another and for the rising new wave of country and folk music. 
You can hear Blake and Belle's songs recorded live at KIOTC 2018 during Saturday night's "Kickin' It" show and their album cuts during Pickup Country Mornings, Truckin' It Home in the afternoons and on Friday Night Backroads. 

Find out more about Blake here >>>>blakeberglund.com/ 
And on Facebook >>>www.facebook.com/blakeberglund/

Find out more about Belle here >>>>belleplainemusic.com/
And on Facebook >>>>>​www.facebook.com/belleplainemusic/

Catch the interview below:

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet • District 10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: H. B. Elkins
606-666-8841 (switchboard)
606-693-5458 (direct)
hb.elkins@ky.gov

Maple Street portion of KY 2026 in Stanton to be resurfaced

JACKSON, KY (Friday, July 26, 2019) – As part of Gov. Matt Bevin’s commitment to prioritize transportation infrastructure projects and increase economic opportunity across the Commonwealth, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has awarded $300,000 for resurfacing work on KY 2026 (Maple Street in Stanton). Resurfacing repairs address existing surface cracks, potholes, rutting, crumbling shoulders, and base failures.
“The Bevin Administration continues to focus on taking care of what we have at both the state and local level to address critical infrastructure needs that improve safety and support job creation and retention,” said KYTC Secretary Greg Thomas. “This funding builds upon existing transportation investments and allows the Cabinet to collaborate with local governments to identify projects that will have large impacts to communities.”
Powell County Judge-Executive James Anderson noted that despite being a state route, Maple Street is one that his office frequently hears concerns about.
“I am very happy to see Maple Street get some much-needed attention,” said Judge-Executive Anderson.
Sen. Albert Robinson noted that Powell County residents stand to benefit from this project.

“Through increased safety and roadway improvements, these resurfacing projects are directly impacting Kentuckians,” said Sen. Robinson. “This discretionary funding supports high-quality infrastructure for Powell County and the Commonwealth.”

Projects submitted to the Department of Rural and Municipal Aid for discretionary funding were evaluated by the KYTC district staff to assess the condition of roads and determine the most critical needs based on factors such as safety, economic impact, and traffic volumes.
“It is a privilege to be able to be a part of securing funding for this much needed project,” said Rep. David Hale. “I would also like to thank Governor Bevin and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet for making this possible.”

This roadway serves more than 60 residences, as well as businesses that generate a large amount of commercial traffic. The route also provides access to three Powell County schools and carries school bus traffic.
• Maple St. (KY 2026)— a distance of two miles

Today, we have received notification that our school district will receive a $4 Million U.S. Economic Development Administration Grant dedicated to the construction of the Estill County Area Technology Center.  The Estill County Board of Education and the entire Engineer Family wants to thank the following individuals for their steadfast support of this project and their efforts during the EDA Grant Application process. 
First of all, I have to thank Teresa Dawes and Charlotte O’Bryan for leading this grant process from the very beginning.  These two ladies deserve all of the credit in the world for their dedication to this process and they should be commended for their efforts.  Both of them would also tell you that they had a lot of help along the way and we want to recognize some of them at this time.

• Estill County Central Office Personnel
• Carhartt, Citizens & Guarantee Bank, Marcum and Wallace, Our Original Community Partners
• President Akakpo, Bluegrass Community and Technical College
• EKU and Morehead State University
• All local businesses, individuals and organizations that provided support
• Joe Crawford, EDA and Estill County Chamber
• Jeff Speaks, JBS Communications
• Bertha Partin and Pam Farmer, EDA
• Jim Codell, Codell Construction 
• Peter Fisher and Ron Murrell, Ross Tarrant Architects
• Governor Matt Bevin
• State Senators Albert Robinson and Robert Stivers
• State Representatives “Bam” Carney, David Hale and Cluster Howard
• Congressman Andy Barr
• Senator Mitch McConnell

 
After a quick review by EDA Staff, this project will go to bid during August and construction is slated to begin September 15th of 2019.  We anticipate a sixteen month construction schedule and we hope to open the facility during the Spring semester of 2021. 
 
The Moment we’ve been waiting for is finally here!  This community has talked about this facility for a number of years and this dream is now becoming a reality.  What a great time to be an Engineer!
 
Jeff Saylor, Superintendent
Estill County Schools
                

Jim and Victoria Guthrie are no ordinary fans of independent artists. This couple from Kansas City, Missouri are SUPER FANS who open their home and hearth to traveling road dog musicians, all in an effort to help those artists make their living. Jim and Victoria recently visited the area for the Festival of the Red and it was such a joy to have them stop by and share how they began the Honky Tonk Hotel and how their efforts are helping to grow their local music scene.

You can find more about Honky Tonk Hotel here >>>www.facebook.com/honkytonkhotel/

Hear their interview: