Kentucky Gentlemen w/ Julie Williams

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Harvester Performance Center

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Kentucky Gentlemen

In both music and life, Brandon and Derek Campbell have been nearly inseparable since birth. These twin brothers from Versailles, Ky., got their first public singing experience in a church choir, but when they weren’t learning worship songs, they were foregoing their classical piano practice time to perform to keyboard beats with their older brother Quentin or singing along to Disney Channel songs in their bedroom.

“I remember us never having to practice sounding good together,” Derek recalls. “We just sang together, and it worked.” Still, it took the Campbells some time apart to realize both that music, specifically, was what they were supposed to do with their lives, and that they were supposed to do it together.

Brandon moved to Chicago and Derek to Bloomington, Ind., for college, and while they call that separation “probably the best thing that happened to us,” they also didn’t feel quite at home in their new cities. “I think we needed that time away to be individuals for the first time in our lives,” Brandon reflects. “We needed that to come back and bring what we each had to the table, instead of bringing the same thing.” Separately, the Campbells chose to move home, but together, they decided Nashville was where they should be — and when their mother offhandedly referred to them as “my Kentucky gentlemen,” they knew they’d found their duo name.

The Kentucky Gentlemen’s sound draws inspiration from the ‘90s country and R&B they favored during their childhood, which combine in “Whatever You’re Up For,” their sultry, yet upbeat single. The duo teamed up with multi-Grammy nominated producers to produce this fresh record.

The Kentucky Gentlemen know sharing their more serious personal experiences is just as important as showcasing their fun side. “Unless we call it out, we can’t fight it,” says Derek. “Showing up as your most authentic self over and over and over again will, with time, release so much weight off your shoulders and will start opening doors. It can be hard at times, but it's so much easier than wasting time not being true to who you are.” “People put you into boxes for their comfort, not yours,” Brandon adds. “We hope people see these two guys who just keep showing up as themselves,” Derek continues. “We understand the importance of where we’re going and what that means to people like us. We want to be the same folks that we wish we had always gotten to see on the main stage.”

Julie Williams

“Making waves with these waves”

Fearlessly forging ahead down country roads, CMT Next Women of Country singer-songwriter Julie Williams carries her mixed-race heritage proudly, just as she carries her tunes. Raised in Florida, Julie is turning heads in Nashville’s country music scene with the soft but powerful songs that capture the soul of growing up as a mixed-race child in the South.

Music has always been a part of Julie’s life - honing her singing talent in church and beach bars and belting national anthems before packed stadiums. She grew up listening to everyone and everything, from The Chicks and James Taylor, to Gladys Knight and Michael Jackson. Even though she was drawn to the storytelling of country music, she never quite found the sound that spoke to everything she was: Black, white, Southern, a woman, hopeful, truthful. So naturally, it was up to Julie to make this sound. “My music is mixed like me,” is how she describes it, “I want to tell the stories that need to be told.”

Julie started sharing those stories, and the people listened. A student at Duke University, Julie was signed to Small Town Records whose alumni include Mike Posner and Delta Rae and sang as a vocalist for the Duke Jazz Ensemble. In April 2019, she released her debut EP, Lovecycle, earning a feature in People of Duke Arts in 2019. After graduating with a public policy degree in 2019, she moved to Nashville, where she became a regular host of The Song Suffragettes, Nashville’s premier collective of female singer-songwriters, and performed her upcoming single Southern Curls at the State of Tennessee’s 100th anniversary celebration of the 19th amendment. She was named in Rissi Palmer’s Color Me Country Class of 2021 and featured on She Wolf Radio’s Ones 2 Watch list. In April 2021, she was featured in a PBS NewsHour special on Black women in country music.

“People want to hear black voices, black stories,” Julie always says. “I was nervous about how my songs would be received by Nashville - but people want honesty. They want honest songs about real life, and for the artists they follow to take a stand.” Julie´s upcoming single Southern Curls embodies this - making waves with her soulful lyrics about the struggles of growing up mixed in the South, aiming for the heart and striking true. Her fans responded by raising over $5000 in only one week to fund the song´s music video that was brought to life by an all black creative team. The single and music video, released in March 2021, covered by Billboard, CMT, World of Country, and numerous music publications. 

Julie has begun touring the country with the Black Opry Revue, a showcase featuring Black artists in country, blues, folk, and Americana music, and performed at their CMT-sponsored anniversary gala in April 2022 that was covered by NBC News. Julie took the stage with the group at CMA Fest in Nashville in June 2022 and followed this performance with her first solo tour that brought Julie and her songs across the country and globe - with performances in London, Nashville, and across the East Coast. After her Americana Fest debut at the Country Music Hall of Fame, Julie hit the road again over the fall with a mix of Black Opry and solo performances across the Midwest, West Coast, and Northeast.

Julie was inducted in the CMT Next Women of Country Class of 2023 in January 2023, joining, Kacey Musgraves, Margo Price, Brittney Spencer, Lainey Wilson, Lauren Alaina, Madeline Edwards, Maren Morris and Morgan Wade. 

Julie released a new single, “Wrong Mr. Right” on February 10 that captures the hurt of a long-term partnership ending, through her poignant lyricism and vulnerable vocal performance. Julie is releasing her self-titled EP, “Julie Williams” on June 2nd followed by a coast-to-coast tour this summer.