Local vocalists record inspiring song video

Published 11:26 am Friday, May 8, 2020

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We will get through this together.

We have heard Gov. Andy Beshear has used those words to reassure us in coping with the coronavirus, and now they’re the chorus of a song recording and video by Kentucky vocalists and musicians who want to offer a message of hope in a time of uncertainty and unease.

What better way to reach people in social isolation than through social media?

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“One thing we all have in common is that we’re all isolated at home, so there’s this whole social disconnect taking place … and I thought of how strange and different that is, so this whole concept of getting through this together kind of stuck with me,” Jeff Everman of Georgetown said, describing how he came up with the idea. 

Everman, originally from Winchester, reached out to some friends, mostly ministers, including Nate Jackson and Erika Gaines of Winchester and Bob Stamper of Richmond, also a Winchester native, and together they thought about how they could turn the idea into a song. 

“What we wanted to do with this was encourage everyone and promote unity and goodwill,” said Jackson, worship leader at Mount Zion Christian Church, who participated as a singer, songwriter, keyboardist and publicist.

The friends brought in more than 20 musicians and vocalists from the region, who came together online from their homes and recorded the song and video, which went up on YouTube and Facebook this week under the name Kentucky As One.

Stamper, a touring singer and guitarist, and Jackson did the audio editing and engineering, and Winchester filmmaker Jason Epperson and Zachary Sutherland of Eppic Films handled the video editing.

Others from Clark County involved in the project were Trish Torline, Bryan McKinney and Stephanie Jackson.

Other singers, songwriters and musicians are from Richmond, Rineyville, Louisville, Bloomfield, Elizabethtown, Nicholasville, Hodgenville, Radcliff, Fort Knox and Lexington.

Stamper said response to the video has been “fantastic.” It went up on Facebook at 6:30 p.m. Monday, and by Wednesday at 8 p.m., it had more than 21,100 views, and at least three radio stations had played it. The musicians said they would like for the governor to use it in his daily televised briefings.

Jackson said the group’s goal is for the video to be seen by as many people in Kentucky as possible to offer encouragement.

Stamper said people will be able to buy the video online at www.kentuckyasone.com, and for 99 cents, they get multiple versions, including a “karaoke” track they can sing along with and make their own recording. Or they can play their own instruments and do anything from a bluegrass to a hard rock version.

The songwriters hope people in other states across the country will copy the concept and do their own.

All the money raised from the sales, Stamper said, will be evenly divided between two charities, the Team Kentucky Fund and the Bluegrass Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Fund.

More information is available on the Kentucky As One website and Facebook page or by emailing info@kentuckyasone.com.

About Randy Patrick

Randy Patrick is a reporter for Bluegrass Newsmedia, which includes The Jessamine Journal. He may be reached at 859-759-0015 or by email at randy.patrick@bluegrassnewsmedia.com.

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