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Kentucky Shakespeare Makes Music With Local Artists

Courtesy Kentucky Shakespeare

Aaron Bibelhauser of the bluegrass band Relic -- he also hosts "Sunday Bluegrass" on our sister station WFPK -- has written music for film and TV before. For those projects, he sometimes has collaborators.

But this summer, Bibelhauser is co-writing music with someone pretty well known -- William Shakespeare (well, technically).

Bibelhauser is scoring Shakespeare’s 400-year-old lyrics in “As You Like It,” one of the Bard’s most musical works. This production is part of Kentucky Shakespeare’s 2019 season, and it will be set in post-Civil War Kentucky.

“And that’s where the roots of the music that I’ve been involved in for the last 20 years are all at as well,” Bibelhauser said. “That Eastern Kentucky, Appalachian, folk, bluegrass music.”

This isn’t the first time Kentucky Shakespeare has utilized the talents of local musicians to score its productions.

For example, you may recognize this piece by Wax Fang’s Scott Carney:

It was featured in “Henry IV, Part 1” last season and will be re-upped for this year’s “Henry IV, Part 2.”

Producing Artistic Director Matt Wallace said investing in the work of local musicians is important to him -- and to the city.

“We want to keep good artists living and working here, and having a life as artists,” Wallace said.

Kentucky Shakespeare’s season begins May 29.