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TAYLORSVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) – When JD Shelburne featured on the cover of The Kentucky Travel Guide in March 2020, things couldn’t have been better for his career in country music. For months, the Kentucky native had been hosting calls and booking shows from Kentucky to Las Vegas, and everywhere in between.
“I was so overwhelmed with booking calls for about three straight months. I was like, ‘How am I going to do this one? Let’s do this one, let’s do this one. “
But suddenly JD didn’t have to feel so overwhelmed. The pandemic hit the pause button for JD and nearly every musicians, producer and performer in Nashville. Festivals and fairs have fallen apart. The future looked uncertain. While JD had saved up and prepared for any kind of downturn, it was unprecedented.
“I’m losing gigs left and right, literally. I’d see the email with the subject line, ‘Sorry, but we’re canceling the gig.’
JD Shelburne explains how COVID-19 impacted the country music industry
But what do they say about each dark cloud? First of all, a whole new audience found JD online.
“My fans would contact me a lot like, ‘Hey, what are you doing? Hey, we’re bored, you should do Facebook live. So I started doing Facebook lives every night around 7pm, I did 60 to 70 and had over a million views. “
Fans are even starting to tip online. But the real silver lining was in the house for most of his wife’s pregnancy. They shared long walks, cooked healthy meals together, and then celebrated in September when their whole life changed again, this time for the better.
JD Shelburne reflects on spending more time with family thanks to new baby COVID-19
“I can’t tell you how many fans mailed him (Jax). He has his own PO box in Nashville. He gets more fan mail than I do. It’s been such a big change in our lives. “We’ve had a great life. But Jax is just the icing on the cake,” Shelburne said.
Now that things are picking up for the music industry and for JD, he wants to share these blessings. He will play his new album, “Straight From Kentucky,” at a free, family-friendly concert Saturday night in downtown Taylorsville. This will be the first time he’s played his entire album with a full band, but not the last time JD has considered giving back to his community, which is also set to celebrate a rebound.
“What better place to do that than where I was born and raised, where I cut my teeth playing music, was in the town square when no one knew who I was”, Shelburne said.
JD and his team are grateful that the Covid restrictions were lifted on June 11, helping to make this gig possible. The opening acts begin on Main Street in Taylorsville at 7:00 p.m. The concert is free and open to everyone. There will be a food court for fans to enjoy.
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