LUCKY PUNCH

For two days, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 18-19 music filled the air throughout Uptown Shelby.
The 13th annual "Art Of Sound" Music Festival featured a variety musical artists that provided an array of music genre indoors and outdoors. The event was presented by the Cleveland County Arts Council and artists were to be found all over town.
Shearra Miller, Executive Director of the Arts Council said: "As we move forward with this annual project, the response continues to be most gratifying and truly has become an important part of art in Cleveland County."
Making their debut appearance on the outside stage on E. Warren Street was a new Shelby group called "Lucky Punch". Shown here on stage (I to r) are Casey Hyder on bass, , Alan Keever on the drums, Cody Jones - vocals, and Jimi Jones on the guitar. The group was one of many artists who performed outside on stage.
At the Don Gibson theatre, Luke Edwards, a 1987 graduate of Shelby High School, sang and played his acoustical guitar. Luke had gone out to Los Angeles some years ago and formed a band called "Animal Bag" which made two albums for Mercury Records. While there he met his wife, Amanda Smith, who he proudly says is from Farmville, North Carolina. "I had to go all the way to California to find my North Carolina girl." He decided to give up the band scene and returned to Shelby and is now a featured acoustical guitarist.
One of the most interactive musical features of the two day event was the "Drum Circles", where people of all ages gathered and played their percussion instruments on the court square lawn. Justin Harper, shown here in the middle of the circle, is a teacher at Crest Middle School and is also director of the Crest Chorus. Everybody was invited to join in regardless of experience. The featured Djembe Drums, which are made in Ghana, are the special drums that were used, and it didn't take long for this group to begin playing together in unison. There were a total of just over 30 artists who performed over the two days.
- M. A. Andrews