Sonic Fest

Mellow Matt's Music and More is Bowling Green Kentucky's premier independent record store, specializing in new and used vinyl records and CD's. The store's founder and owner is Matt Pfefferkorn, a staple of the Bowling Green music scene since 1980. A WKU alum, Pfefferkorn's first job was at Record Bar, inside Greenwood Mall, and he worked at various record stores before founding Mellow Matt's in 2013. With a special section for local musicians and an emphasis on community, Mellow Matt's is a beloved institution in Bowling Green - and we are excited to have Matt spinning records and showcasing local tunes!

Tommy Johnson - Lead guitar and vocals
Shane Johnson -  Guitar and vocals
Graham Hudspeth -  Bass, Irish bazouki, and vocals
Phillip Montgomery - Steel guitar andvocals
Webb Hendrix - Percussion

The Songfarmers are a roots/Americana group from the Bowling Green, Ky area. They play primarily original music written by Tommy Johnson. Shane Johnson and Graham Hudspeth also contribute of their original songs. They have one CD titled Bonafied, which Jack Montgomery called "a melodic mix of contemporary music called Americana which musically blends modern folk, bluegrass and country into an infectious and delightful cornucopia that has worldwide appeal."

Jonell began singing at a young age, inspired by her mother’s love of jazz and Big Bands. She was particularly drawn to male voices, like Otis Redding, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, and Dan Fogelberg. She eventually performed jazz in Louisville piano bars. 

Jonell moved from Louisville to Bowling Green to attend WKU, where she met Texas singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt in 1978 or 1979. She started playing with local musicians, then playing full-time with the Ken Smith Band at venues such as the Golden Branding Iron, Michael’s Pub, the Iron Skillet, and Picasso’s. She also played in the band Yo’ Mamma, with Anne Meyers, Kathy Stamps, and Kathy Mac.

In 1996, Jonell released her debut album, a compilation of Townes covers called Around Townes. This brought her to the attention of Bonnie Raitt producer Don Was, who put a band together with Jonell as the lead singer; members included guitarist Mark Goldenberg, keyboardist Benmont Tench, and drummer Ringo Starr. Named the New Maroons, they recorded seven songs and played two gigs before the project was shelved. Jonell then signed with MCA and began recording in Nashville and Los Angeles. Her version of “Stop in the Name of Love” was used in the 1998 film, Hope Floats.

Jonell continued to record and publish records in the 2000s, in between raising her sons. She also became part of the Freedom Singers, who perform songs that were once banned or censored. 

Eddie Pennington is a native of Nortonville, Kentucky, who was inspired by his father - a coal miner and fiddle player who exposed him to songs about the hard life of miners. Pennington began playing guitar at age 11, and devoted himself to the thumb-picking style after hearing Merle Travis play. He learned the style from Mose Rager, and continued developing his talent - playing both acoustic and arch-top electric guitars - while making a living as a funeral director and county coroner. Pennington  is a two-time national champion and a recipient of the National Heritage Award, the nation’s highest honor bestowed upon traditional artists by the Library of Congress.

Eddie's son, Alonzo "Zo" Pennington, began playing at the age of 7. Learning from his father and the 2-20 guitarists often found in the Pennington house, Alonzo became a natural performer. At age 13, he discovered Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn and, as he said, "the blues took ahold of me." From then on, Alonzo pursued a blend of thumpicking and blues, playing guitar, fiddle, and mandolin alongside his father and other musicians, at venues from country bars to the Grand Ole Opry, and becoming a semi-finalist in the International Blues Challenge.

Caleb Coots, grandson of Eddie Pennington, is based in Bowling Green. He began playing fiddle and drums at age 5, and guitar at age 10, learning from his grandfather. He is a national and international thumbpicking champion, and has been inducted into the National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame - all before reaching the age of 20.

Michael Gough learned to play music from his mother and formed his own badn in middle school. He played his first professional gig at age 19, eventually playing with Robert Phillips, Jeff Smith, Alonzo Pennington, and Tommy Johnson as a blues musician. He has also played Blues competitions in the area. He takes inspiration from the musicians around him and the history of the music in the region. 

John Martin earned degrees from Western Kentucky University and Austin Peay State University. He is currently director of guitar and music technology studies at Western Kentucky university in Bowling Green Kentucky. He has appeared in Guitar Player magazine, and has made concert appearances with artists such as Al Martino, Norm Crosby, Tinsley Ellis, Clint Holmes and Red Buttons. Along with teaching at Western, he is currently very busy as a freelance musician for several groups including his own jazz trio. The John Martin Trio's first CD was released in November of 2002.

Songwriter and recording artist Bill Lloyd grew up in Bowling Green with parents who were both musically inclined and encouraged that. Inspired by both a pianist mother and semi-pro drummer father, Bill was also influenced, like many his age, by the pop culture of the times including local radio stations of varied formats. He began writing songs and forming bands as early as grade school.

Known primarily as a drummer in local bands, he also began playing solo with guitar in local restaurants and bars. Along with fellow songwriter, David Surface, his earliest recordings were with bands that wrote their own material and played regionally: Southern Star in the mid-1970s and a few years later, Sgt. Arms, which included Marc Owens and Ernest Raymer. In 1982, Bill moved to Nashville, but he also kept his Bowling Green bandmates close and played with them often. He signed a publishing deal in 1985 with Mary Tyler Moore’s MTM and a solo record in 1986 on the independent label Throbbing Lobster out of Boston. Writing partnerships with Radney Foster and Beth Nielsen Chapman were forged in those MTM years that proved to last far beyond.

In 1986, Bill and songwriting friend Radney Foster were signed to RCA Records, and the band they put together was composed of his long-time Bowling Green musician friends, including Marc Owens, Byron House, and Kyle Frederick. Foster and Lloyd had nine charting singles over three albums in the next four years including  their first single that went to number one. They appeared regularly on the CMA Awards and travelled internationally. In addition to his performing work in bands such as The Sky Kings, his songwriting credits included other nationally notable artists such as Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Sara Evans, Hootie and the Blowfish, Poco, New Grass Revival and Cheap Trick.  Since 2004, The Long Players, a band he put together of Nashville area players, have taken classic albums and performed them live and in sequence to sell out crowds.

Kyle Frederick has spent decades working on the creative and business sides of the music industry. Growing up in Kentucky, Frederick began playing guitar at the age of seven. He started working as a professional musician in his early teens, and played lead guitar in a popular regional rock act.

When the band broke up, Frederick headed to Nashville, landing gigs with artists such as Joe Sun, Earl Thomas Conley and Foster & Lloyd. His recorded work with Sun and Conley found him playing beside legends like Randy Scruggs, Steve Scruggs and Jim Horn. National television appearances included “The Tonight Show,” “CBS This Morning,” “Nashville Now,” “Hee Haw” and four episodes of “Austin City Limits.”

Frederick recorded “In This House,” a solo album of originals produced by Byron House, in 1991. He toured with a major country act before moving into management, handling multi-platinum artists and their associated charities. He also worked in public relations, aiding Liz Thiels impressive efforts supporting the grand opening of the new Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. But making music was never far from his mind, and he continued to write songs.

Frederick returned to recording in 2008. In 2012, he signed a publishing and production partnership deal with Doug Howard, owner and president of Vandermont Music Group. The rootsy “Eventide” reunited Kyle with Byron House, who recorded and co-produced. An impressive list of guest appearances included Emmylou Harris, John Cowan, Gordon Kennedy and Kim Richey. Frederick’s successful production partnership with House continues to this day.