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Songwriter Kevn Kinney has spent the bulk of his career in Atlanta, Ga., logging 30 years with his alt-country/Southern rock band Drivin' N Cryin', though he retains close ties to Milwaukee. In 1978, he and David Luhrssen started the newspaper that would become the Express half of the Shepherd Express.
"From the start, he wanted to be a songwriter and a performer," Luhrssen recalls. "He was pretty raw at first as a guitarist but always had a gift for knocking out songs with memorable melodies and interesting lyrics. He gained skills as a performer and a strong hometown following in the early '80s with his first band, The Prosecutors, but had bigger ambitions. His older brother, a bluegrass musician, had already moved to Atlanta in the '70s, and I suppose that was what led him to Georgia."
This weekend Drivin' N Cryin' were recognized for their contributions to the Atlanta scene with an induction to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, at a ceremony that also honored Allman Brothers' Gregg Allman. R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, a longtime friend of the band, inducted Drivin' N Cryin' into the hall and performed with them at the ceremony.
Drivin' N Cryin' released their latest album, Songs for the Turntable, last January.