ONEONTA, Ala. – “The most romantic, beautiful country ballad I’ve heard in so many, too many years…and perfect for Kelly Clarkson to sing,” said a bluegrass fan from Jefferson County on Saturday, Oct. 12, at the Alabama Covered Bridge Festival in downtown Oneonta.
The crowd roared its swooning support as powerhouse performer Adam Duke (from West Point) premiered “The Kiss on Clarkson Covered Bridge,” a song he composed to lyrics by Georgia Hendrix Shockley (from Fairview). The song was masterfully produced by Charles Baker of Baker Productions in Cullman.
Several hundred festivalgoers and scores of vendors filled the Blount County town under a cloudless, blue October sky. Many in the neighboring county that proudly boasts four historic covered bridges were surprised to learn Cullman County had a preserved example of this architecture.
“The Kiss on Clarkson Covered Bridge” may well elevate awareness of Cullman County’s jewel. Locals have a renewed appreciation for the romantic tourist destination since Shane Bailey, Cullman County Commission staff, his extended family and the Cullman County Master Gardeners made upgrades to the landscape at the bridge and rental cabin in 2023.
Kelly Clarkson fans at the Alabama Covered Bridge Festival eagerly signed a “request to consider” sheet which will be given to the American country/pop legend with a music CD of “The Kiss on Clarkson Covered Bridge.” Additional signatures are being collected in the West Point community, proud home of Clarkson Covered Bridge, and in other Cullman County locations.
Duke, nationally popular at bluegrass festivals and concerts from Portland, Maine, to the Florida Panhandle, thrilled the audience in Oneonta, playing guitar and banjo saluting Alabama’s Hank Williams with the Pine Mountain Bluegrass Band.
Kelly Clarkson, please check your mailbox, “The Kiss on Clarkson Covered Bridge” is on its way from Cullman County, Alabama.
