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June 7, 2023
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Article and photos by Ethan Nahté
Lum & Abner Festivities
Pages 11-13
BFI Scholarships
Laurel Taylor is a crossover country pop artist, who performed onstage Friday evening for the Lum & Abner Music & Arts Festival. She did not stick to country music… or even to music as she played the soundtrack to her life in a way. “I grew up listening to oldies with my dad,” which became evident during her performance of The Beatles’ “Come Together” as part of her storytelling when she wove a tale of how she got her start in Nashville after packing her bags and leaving Ala-
bama to move to the “Music City” at age 18. She began her performance with her rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” the first song she had to perform as part of a Nashville audition. Her style fit right along with some of the programs where a performer will take the audience on a journey and tell a story, be it their own tale or someone else’s, with a bit of comedy thrown in as she described some of the people she met along the way. It may even harken back to the days of bards and troubadours. Taylor’s journey extended beyond
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Special Olympics Fundraiser
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(Ethan Nahté/ Pulse)
See TAYLOR continued on page 14
Lum & Abner Music & Arts Festival had plenty of both Article and photos by Ethan Nahté The 46th Annual Lum & Abner Music & Arts Festival has come
and went. Besides the bounce houses and other inflatable rides, as well as the gyroscope that made plenty of its riders dizzy, paddleboats, and the Canines in the Clouds performance, there were the food and drink vendors, not to mention the vendors selling their arts and crafts. Blacksmiths were showing how they do their magic with metal, wood artisans had everything from signs and fancy bowls and plates to a carved life-size statue of guitarist. See FESTIVAL continued on page 7