RiverPark will be filled with music this weekend

Mar. 10—The RiverPark Center will offer a variety of sounds this weekend — from jazz and swing to country and Southern rock.

New York-based group Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox will play Cannon Hall at 7 p.m. today, March 10, followed by a joint concert with Grammy Award-winning band The Kentucky Headhunters and Grammy-nominated group Confederate Railroad keeping the momentum alive starting at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Starting out in Queens in 2011, pianist and arranger Bradlee was looking to recreate modern pop hits as classic and vintage-sounding pieces reminiscent of Frank Sinatra, Bessie Smith and more.

In the past 10 years, the group — which has featured a number of collaborations with guest artists on YouTube and additional media — has played a number of live shows on six continents, playing venues such as Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, and the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado, while records like "The Essentials," "Historical Misappropriation" and "Twist Is The New Twerk" became top-five albums on the U.S. Billboard Jazz Albums chart.

The group's YouTube channel has close to six million subscribers and over one billion overall views.

Originating from Edmonton in Metcalfe County, The Kentucky Headhunters started out in 1968 as Itchy Brother before breaking up in the early 1980s. The group returned under its current name in 1986.

The group released its debut album, "Pickin' on Nashville," in 1989, which became a top-50 album on the U.S. Billboard 200 Albums chart and peaked at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The album earned the group a Grammy for "Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal."

The record included singles like "Dumas Walker" and a cover of Don Gibson's "Oh Lonesome Me," with the latter becoming a top-10 country hit.

Georgia-based Confederate Railroad found success with its self-titled debut album in 1992, which became a top-10 country album and eventually went double platinum, while songs like "Jesus and Mama" and "Queen of Memphis" became top-five country hits.

The group was also nominated for a Grammy for "Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal" for the 1993 single "Trashy Women."

Richard Young of The Kentucky Headhunters said he and the group have had fond experiences playing in Owensboro and are looking to put on a good show.

"Man, we're really excited," he said Wednesday. "Owensboro has been a place that the Headhunters played quite a bit (at) the Executive Inn .... I kind of miss that place, it was a really cool place."

Young said the group performed most recently in Owensboro last fall for a private event for the Kentucky Broadcasters Association.

"This is actually the first time that we've gotten to come to Owensboro in many years and play, what we call, a Headhunters show," he said. "... It's going to be a hoot."

Young said the vibe for Saturday's show may come off as "unpredictable" and that "no two shows" from the band are the same.

He also looks forward to playing the tunes that have kept the band going for over 50 years.

"We've always tried to play for ourselves and what we love," he said. "We hope that it rubs off on the audience."

And Young wants people to feel happy about seeing live music again, especially after what he called "this whole COVID mess we've dealt with for so long" when artists and fans couldn't rejoice in-person.

"I think that's the one thing a lot of people think about and how they've missed doing that," he said.

Tickets for both shows can be purchased at riverparkcenter.org.