MEM Music Industry Council

 

June 2023—Anna Kline was invited to be a part of MEM’s Music Industry Council. The Council is comprised of music industry professionals from outside the city – many of whom are Memphis expats or have some close tie to, or affinity for, the city – who provide advice to MEM staff and board, make connections to industry opportunities for our artists, and serve as our eyes and ears in key markets around the country. Read more about the Industry Council Members on the MEM Export Memphis website.

 

IBMA Names New Business Development Director

 

Certified Community Scholar

NASHVILLE (March 7, 2022) – The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) welcomes Anna Kline as Business Development Director. Read more here…


 

The Kentucky Arts Council’s Community Scholars Program trains members of a community in documentation, interpretation and dissemination of their unique local cultural resources and traditional art forms. Training consists of several sessions and occurs twice a year in different communities across the state. Certification as a Community Scholar opens up many opportunities for future research projects.

Anna earned and completed her certification as of October 2018.

Photo courtesy of Mark Brown, Kentucky Arts Council.

Photo courtesy of Mark Brown, Kentucky Arts Council.

KET Documentary

Jim Ford: Big Mouth USA


In August 2018, Anna and The Local Honeys’ Linda Jean Stokley performed the song, Big Mouth, USA, in a KET Kentucky Life segment about eastern Kentucky songwriter, Jim Ford. Many thanks to Travis Kitchens of Emperor Records for spearheading this project!

Click this link and watch the episode that premiered May 4, 2019.

Photo credit: Tom Thurman. August 2018.

Photo credit: Tom Thurman. August 2018.


Homecoming Notes by Will Parsons

Mountain Workshops

Mt. Sterling, the seat of Montgomery County, calls itself the gateway between the mountains and the Bluegrass. At Western Kentucky University’s 43rd annual Mountain Workshops, visual journalists from around the world told its stories.

We had the privilege of being involved in the 2018 Mountain Workshops week project. “Homecoming Notes” by Will Parson, tells a part of our story. Will birthed such an incredible piece. We are always open to sharing John’s story, even if it helps just one person find peace in his or her struggle with addiction. Many thanks to Will and to Mountain Workshops for their continued dedication to the yearly gathering of stories from local communities in the state of Kentucky.

John Looney's attempts to beat an opioid addiction brought him back to where he started. Mt. Sterling native John Looney counts at least five friends lost to the opioid epidemic. John himself escaped eight years of addiction by leaving the town in which he grew up. Rehab in Jackson, Mississippi, gave him time to play guitar with the same focus that has helped him stay clean. He taught his creative and romantic partner Anna Kline that "you have to slow down to speed up" when it comes to learning music. The two made a leap of faith together and became full-time musicians, starting a journey that brought John back to his hometown a different man than when he left.

Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern

aug 1 zimmern collage.jpg

In April of 2017, we received an invitation to appear and perform on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. The crew came to explore the Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail which runs through Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. We are YUGE fans of the show and it meant a lot for us to be a part of highlighting Kentucky culture.

We spent the entire day on set at Whitetail Heaven Outfitters in Nicholasville, watching folks cook and watching folks film...and then got to eat said food and be a part of said filming. Andrew and his crew were really cool and, they are big music fans, so we had a big time!

You can read more about the experience on our Grits & Soul blog. Be sure to look on your local listings to find out when and where it airs on the Travel Channel.


MPB: The Choctaw Journey

Researcher for MPB

A special edition of Mississippi Roads, The Choctaw Journey explores the paths the Choctaw Indians have walked on their journey to achieve self-reliance and cultural preservation. The documentary airs Thursday, February 17 at 8:30 p.m. on MPB TV. http://www.mpbonline.org/ http://www.choctaw.org/

Barefoot Workshops: Peaches Restaurant

Short Documentary: filmmaker, editor

Mississippi Development Authority, Division of Tourism

A film by: Carol Andersen, Anna Kline & Diane Williams Produced by: Barefoot Workshops Instructors: Alison Fast & Chandler Griffin Funded by: The Mississippi Humanities, The Mississippi Film Office & The Mississippi Arts Commission. This short documentary was created during a one week workshop in June of 2010. Staff members from the The Mississippi Film Office, The Mississippi Arts Commission and The Mississippi Humanities came together to learn the craft of documentary filmmaking with the goal of creating short three minute videos that could be shared on multiple online platforms.