The Local Honeys

Many artists are defined by place, but only a handful of artists come to define the places they’re from. The Local Honeys are Kentucky and Kentucky runs through their veins like an unbridled racehorse. When a master songsmith like Tom T. Hall calls an artist “a great credit to a wonderful Kentucky tradition” it’s time to pull up a chair and pay attention. As it pertains to The Local Honeys he was right on the money. For almost a decade the duo, Linda Jean Stokley and Montana Hobbs, have been an integral part of the Kentucky musicscape.

They’ve paid their dues, garnering countless accolades and accomplishments (tours with Tyler Childers, Colter Wall, praise from the New York Times) and have become the defining sound of real deal, honest-to-God Kentucky music. With their self-titled debut on La Honda Records (home of some of today’s most gifted songwriters, including Colter Wall, Riddy Arman, Vincent Neil Emerson), the duo have set forth on a journey to create something true to themselves while pushing the envelope within the traditions they hold dear. Carefully crafted vignettes of rural Kentucky soar above layers of deep grooves and rich tones masterfully curated by longtime mentor Jesse Wells, Grammy nominated producer and musician (Assistant Director at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State).

The songs on The Local Honeys speak to a new generation, the people who understand the beauty, the struggle and the complexity of contemporary Appalachian life. The Local Honeys come from a long line of storytellers, a lineage of strong Kentucky women who aren’t afraid to tell it like it is and their self-titled La Honda debut is proof it’s in their bones. The duo have mastered the art of telling a good story. The narratives and landscapes they weave into song, the deep understanding and love they share for old time traditions, their undeniable charisma and charm, and their blatant disregard to follow the rules make it clear the duo is poised to become not only the defining voices of their home state of Kentucky but the defining voices of a new Appalachia.

Fiercely proud of their home state, the influence of Kentucky – both musically and culturally – is all over this wonderful album, which is a rootsy country recording with strong folk leanings – Lonesome Highway

Their sound starts stripped down and rooted in their Kentucky and Appalachia roots, but then is enhanced with electrification when the mood is called for, all spirited forward with exquisite harmonies and a blue collar attitude – Saving Country Music

An Appalachian-rooted duo who effortlessly sway between the genres of Americana, old-timey folk, and alt country – Ranchlands