The Kody Norris Show to bring “authentic, American entertainment” to Hall of Fame | Features

Ad Blocker Detected

Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.

The Kody Norris Show, the Mountain City, Tennessee based-group that is rooted in both bluegrass and folk music, will be performing on the Owensboro Health Lobby Stage at 7 p.m. Saturday at Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum.

The group, led by the namesake Kody Norris on guitar, includes fiddle player and Norris’ wife Mary Rachel Nalley-Norris, banjo player Josiah Tyree and bass player Charlie Lowman.

Though Norris admits that the group played a private party some time ago at the facility, this will be their first time performing for a public audience.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to be invited to play for them …,” Norris said. “…Back in October, Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine, which is now published by them, we were featured on the cover of that and being a magazine that I have been subscribed to since I was 7 years old — that’s kind of a full circle moment, I guess you would say.”

“We’re really excited about hosting The Kody Norris Show,” said Chris Joslin, executive director. “Kody Norris is one of those emerging artists from the current generation that is just doing great work.”

Norris said that the band has been in existence for 15 years, with a few different variations throughout and rebranded the group about seven years ago by electing to put more emphasis on creating a stage show that would not be limited to only one genre of music.

“We never want our music, of course, to be genre restrictive,” Norris said. “I think if music is good, it ought to be heard by any people in any circle.”

Nalley-Norris has been with the group for six-and-a-half years, while Tyree celebrates his fifth year in the band this week and Lowman is currently in his second year.

Norris said that the current lineup all have the same goals and objectives in mind.

“We have a good chemistry just as the four of us travel around,” Norris said. “So many times within music, you may play well together (and) sing well together, but sometimes you can’t travel together. Some people aren’t used to the lifestyle …. There’s several challenges … even along those lines. As a general rule, it’s worked well.”

Playing more than 90 shows a year ranging from Canada to Mexico, an incarnation of the group which included Nalley-Norris and Tyree released the record “When I Get The Money Made” in 2017, which was named “Bluegrass Album of the Year” by the National Traditional Country Music Association (NTCMA) and received seven nominations at the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA) Awards in 2018.

The current lineup has continued to make headway and signed with Rebel Records in December 2019, which has included artists like Blue Highway, Dave Evans and Del McCoury in their catalog.

The foursome released their second record “All Suited Up” last April and debuted in the top 10 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums chart.

And just this past weekend, the group received two wins at the SPBGMA Awards — Norris for “Bluegrass Entertainer of the Year” and Nalley-Norris took home the prize of “Bluegrass Fiddle Performer of the Year.”

Upon receiving his award, Norris asked the rest of the group to come on stage to share the achievement together.

“I’ll tell you what, that’s been the most humbling feeling I’ve ever had in my life,” Norris said. “Certainly if the fans appreciate what you do enough to vote for you and to … even just get the nomination was a wonderful, wonderful feeling. …It was really something.”

“I know that it was totally unexpected on my behalf,” Nalley-Norris said. “…Being in the category with kind of your icons and the people you’ve always looked up to …. I’m kind of still in shock a little bit ….”

While music will be an integral part of their upcoming performance, the group also hones in on creating an entertaining experience by including humor alongside colorful suits complete with rhinestones, hats and boots — in similar fashion to the 1940s and 50s era of country music.

“I’ve always been a fan of originality,” Norris said. “…Being a young artist and just new on the scene, (we) needed something to distinguish us from everybody else … (and) just the fact … to bring something different to the table.

Above all, the group wants to give the crowd a souvenir of sorts.

“They can expect authentic, American entertainment,” Nalley-Norris said.

“…When you come to a show, I always felt that it needs to be a show and my mission statement from the get-go is real short (and) sweet: I want to make a memory,” Norris said. “When people leave the show, I want them to take us with them as a very, very fond, enjoyable memory and as most of a pleasant experience as I can create.”

Joslin is looking forward to hosting the band on the Owensboro Health Lobby Stage, which just opened up last weekend with Nashville group East Nash Grass breaking it in with the audience hitting capacity, despite initial concerns from the winter storm that came through.

Joslin said that the facility works closely with Owensboro Health on initiatives related to their Arts in Healing programs and that Owensboro Health provided the additional funding to create the lobby stage to complement their continued efforts with the Hall of Fame.

Joslin hopes that the new stage can continue to keep live music “roaring” at the facility in a smaller and intimate setting.

“With (Owensboro Health) underwriting this lobby stage, it’s really an opportunity for us to create an additional venue here in the Hall of Fame and it helps us bring more diverse audiences and it helps us to be more nimble,” Joslin said. “I think here in our new reality with the pandemic for some folks, it’s really sparked a whole new wave of … innovation and creativity. And I think for us — this is a practical expression of that ….”