Kevin Denney: Taking a Turn with Turnberry Records

Photo by Rebekah Speer

Kevin Denney grew up surrounded by bluegrass music. “Some of my family members, Clyde and Marie Denney, toured in a bluegrass group called The Drifting Kentuckians from the 1960s through the 1990s, so I grew up around music. I suppose it came naturally to me.”

A native of Monticello, Kentucky, Kevin began playing guitar when he was old enough to hold one. “I played banjo for a while, but the reality is that I am a guitar player.” His first memories of playing and singing in front of others besides his family were at church. “I started playing in public around town when I was somewhere between 12 and 14 years old. By the time I was 15 or 16, I was playing on stage with my parents. I learned so much from watching how they did things.” That experience also allowed Kevin to see some of his favorite artists perform. “I got to see Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, Larry Sparks, and others when I was a teenager. That had a huge influence on me.”

Seeing the artists he grew up listening to was like a dream come true for Kevin. “I’ve heard my parents tell the story of my dad listening to weekend bluegrass shows on the radio when I was very young. They said that when Larry Sparks played, they said I ran to the radio, listening to his music by standing as close to the radio as I could. I was drawn to that early on and still love it today. I remember hearing him play and thinking that’s what I wanted to do someday.”

Years later, Kevin had the honor of recording with Sparks. “I played on the song “Tennessee 1949” with him, which was recorded in Tom T. Hall’s studio. That was something very special for me.”

While growing up, Kevin would tune his radio dial to country and bluegrass music. “I listened to a little rock ‘n roll from time to time, but I was mostly drawn to traditional country and old-time bluegrass. We had some George Jones records at home, and that was also a big influence for me.”

And fast forward again, Kevin has great memories of opening for George Jones a couple of times.

While he did a few odd jobs as a teenager, he knew early on that he wanted to make music the focus of his career. “I have been fortunate to make a living primarily with music all my life.” At 21, he signed on as a staff writer for a publishing company in Nashville. “I moved to Nashville in 1999 and spent the next twenty years there. I learned from some great writers, and that led me to a publishing deal as a songwriter within a year of moving to Nashville.” Kevin says living in the music city was new, fresh, and fun. “I was young, and it was all very exciting. I caught the tail-end of the old-school writers and singers. I was so fortunate to have been a part of that. And today, I still consider myself fortunate -- I am able to do what I love for a living.”

Kevin was on Lyric Street Records from 1999 through 2004 as a country artist and had a couple of hit songs during that time. Now back in Kentucky, Kevin recently signed a deal with Turnberry Records. “I’m proud to be a Turnberry artist. I started out writing country songs when I was in Nashville, but bluegrass never left me. I’ve come full circle now, working on a new bluegrass album. That is something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid.” Kevin says everything is recorded for the album and is now in the mixing phase. He wrote about half the songs on the record; the other half are some of his favorite songs he has always wanted to record. “When I first moved to Nashville, I worked with singer-songwriter Harley Allen. He became a mentor, taking me under his wing when I was just 21 years old. Some of the songs on the album are Harley’s. I think he’d be proud to know I am using his songs.”

The album's first single to be released was “Chasing Old Memories Down,” which did fairly well. The second, “Let Me Be Lonesome,” was recently released. When the album is released, Kevin plans on playing a few festivals “when the time is right.” In the meantime, he fronts a band called Organic Country every weekend. “We have been playing together each weekend for ten years,” Kevin says. “We play about five to ten road gigs a year, then every Saturday at The Local in Nashville.”

His musical influences today include Keith Whitley, Larry Sparks, Harley Allen, Tony Rice, and George Jones. “I’ve been very fortunate to have experienced so much, all because of music. I try to be good to the music because it’s been so good to me.”