A free concert on St. Patrick’s Day will feature two acts with ties to the area opening for a country music singer-songwriter.
Dave and Whitney Campbell are originally from Seymour and Hanover, respectively, but now live in Nashville, Tennessee, while Kayla Griffen is from Scott County.
The opening acts will start at 7 p.m. Thursday at Mac’s Hideaway, 1636 Slate Run Road, New Albany. They will be followed by Priscilla Block performing as part of the UPSJobsKy.com Q’d Up Concert Series sponsored by Q103.1 and presented by Kavanaugh Outdoor Supply Co. and Coyle Automotive Group.
Dave and Whitney recently performed in Dave’s hometown at The Brooklyn Pizza Co. and hope to draw some of that crowd to New Albany.
“It will be great to warm up the crowd for (Block) and meet Kayla,” Dave said. “There is so much great talent in our area. We have been working on some new tunes, so if you are able to catch an upcoming show, you will be able to hear some of the new material.”
The Campbells introduced their first national studio recording, “Alibi,” as Dave and Whitney in 2015. According to their website, it entered the Music Row charts and gained more than a quarter million plays on Spotify.
When they rebranded under the name Midnight Noon, they toured and shared the stage with country music artists Sara Evans, Randy Houser, Eli Young Band, Florida Georgia Line and Dustin Lynch, to name a few.
Now, they are back as Dave and Whitney.
“As far as being super active in the music scene, I can’t say we have been lately because we’re just soaking up all the moments we can with our daughter, Harmony,” Dave said. “She loves music and dancing, so we have been trying to do the shows that she can come along.”
The Campbells plan to return to Seymour in the summer for an outdoor concert at Harmony Park. That will feature their full band.
“Shawn (Malone) is always getting great artists to stop by right here in Seymour,” Dave said. “It’s awesome to be a part of the mix.”
Griffen is a singer-songwriter who lives in Scottsburg. She has been singing since she was 3 and began playing guitar at 5. She grew up on gospel music along with her father, who has been a major inspiration in her music career.
Her love for country music grew as she began to write original songs in her early teen years. In 2020, she opened for country music artists Gabby Barrett and Jimmie Allen. She recorded in Nashville with Luke Bryan’s band members, Kent Slucher and James Cook, for three of her songs that she wrote and recently released.
Block gained notoriety recently when her first full-length debut album, “Welcome to the Block Party,” was released and she was nominated for ACM New Female Artist of the Year.
She’s originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, and moved to Nashville to pursue music shortly after high school after being encouraged by her mom to pick up the guitar when she found one in the attic of the house she shared with her four siblings, according to her website.
Her song “Just About Over You” went viral on social media and went to the top of the music charts.