Featured Performer: Cheryll Kent

The beautiful voice of Cheryll Kent is featured in Hickory Wind.  Cheryll has been performing in Northern California for several decades, and her clear and strong voice and sensitive songwriting bring a stellar quality to the music of Hickory Wind.

Cheryll was raised around the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain lumber towns of southern Oregon and northern California in a family that loved singing. She sang her first solo for the extended family at six years of age. She sang at church and enjoyed piano lessons throughout her grade school years. During high school, Cheryll’s clear pure voice shined and her knack for picking out harmony parts developed in the several choral groups with whom she performed.

Cheryll Kent, Lead vocal sand guitar

While raising two young girls as a single mom and training as a medical assistant, her love for music and singing drew her to the guitar in her mid twenties. In the coastal communities of the Bay Area, Cher, as she was called at the time, started her professional singing career as a folk singer soloist. Other local groups sought after her talents. The bluegrass group “Sunny Monday” was built around her natural country style vocals and rhythm guitar. The group played widely around the Bay Area and even hit the radio live from the “Orphanage,” a local San Francisco club.

In the mid 70’s, Cheryll returned to her roots in the Sierra Foothills, where she took her music to the local venues. Again her vocal talents were sought after for various solos and duos. She joined with other talent in a folk/pop style band Windstrum Mountain Symphony for a year and then a rebirthed Sunny Monday as a mellow country/folk four piece. Sunny Monday “morphed” into a five-piece country “outlaw” style band (before outlaw country came into vogue) playing the state/county fair circuit as well as local clubs from Lake Tahoe, and the foothills, to Sacramento and the Bay Area. Her singing style was inspired by the music of Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Crystal Gayle as well as Willie Nelson, the Eagles, Loggins and Messina, and Hank Williams.

In the late 70’s early 80’s, Cheryll remarried, brought three more beautiful girls into the world, and experienced a spiritual awakening which changed the direction of her life and music. At a country church in the Sierra foothills, the church of her youth, she started singing and playing with a new purpose; to share the truth and love of God. Within a year Cheryll and the Echo of Light band were traveling northern California churches, rodeo chapel services, and other Christian venues. Built around Cheryll’s vocals, this five piece had the unusual instrumental combination of rhythm and lead guitar, bass, flute, piano, and trombone. The group recorded a well-received album “Dusty Road” which consisted of originals, standards and contemporary Christian music.

A job change relocated the family to the redwood coast of northern California. Her music focused in the local church and at home until the mid 80’s when the family moved back to the Sacramento area. Cheryll attracted other local quality musicians and performed as the KGB (Kent Gospel Band) around the area. KGB was known for its tight harmonies and a country/bluegrass gospel sound. In the mid 90’s she collaborated with two other excellent female vocalists as Threefold Chord on a Christmas project “Heirlooms.” This album featured custom holiday season music with tight harmonies.

Songwriting is one of Cheryll’s continuing interests; she wrote the title track of her popular CD “Mama Loves the Old Hymns.” This album takes one back to a simpler time, of beautiful and moving church hymns.

Cheryll is excited about the “Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band” sound of Hickory Wind. She adds that the combination of  talent and energy in the group provides the opportunity to create quality, entertaining and fun-loving music sets that reach a variety of listening interests.

A new show, Cheryll Kent and Midnight Silver with Bob Woods is a musical journey from Nashville to LA, from Boulder to Birmingham; honoring the music of three women who changed the course of country music: Patsy Cline, Linda Ronstadt  and Emmy Lou Harris and the Hot Band. Cheryll and Midnight Silver bring the music from these times of transition in the world of country rock music to life.