While the folk label is frequently applied to instrumentation rather than content, LaMay & Reese truly are folk artists. With an affinity for traditional American folk and bluegrass in all its simplicity and storied beauty, this duo is as important to the idiom as the music itself.
Frank Deblase, music columnist

Every now and then an act appears out of the back roads with a sound and song list that touch at the very heart of what makes the American music tradition so powerful. LaMay & Reese have combined their songwriting, folk/bluegrass style, and unique harmony into a sound that is reminiscent of a more peaceful time and place in the American experience. Called the real thing and world-class Americana, the musical traditions they are helping to preserve are very dear to their hearts.

Influenced by the old-time music of the Appalachians and traditional country, their music has taken on a unique blend of folk and bluegrass styles. LaMay & Reeses arrangements of the old songs, as well as their original compositions, carry with them the sound of the ages. One of their favorite quotes comes from syndicated Gannett music columnist, Jeff Spevak, when he said: LaMay & Reese range from bluegrass to traditional American folk without sounding as though a square peg is being rammed into a round hole. It is sweet, but hardscrabble, Americana. Joe & Sherri like to tell the story of the first time they sang Joes Marbletown at a song gathering and watched as several attendees frantically searched through their traditional songbooks to find the song. As further testament to their writing abilities, several musicians and bands are performing and recording their songs. Most notably, The Atkinson Family Bluegrass has recorded three LaMay & Reese songs (Marbletown, Mama Put Down That Picture and Maryville); The Dady Brothers included Singing Just for Friends as the only non-traditional song on their CD Songs of the Erie Canal; Rose of the Genesee has been inducted into the Livingston (NY) Historical Society Museum; and Joe & Sherri have been taped for the Cumberland Highlanders TV Show - out of Bill Monroes Homeplace - singing The Old Man Has Gone.

Joe LaMay & Sherri Reese are regular monthly contributors to Bill Knowltons Bluegrass Ramble radio show (WCNY Syracuse and world-wide, live over the internet) - now in its 34th year. On the first Sunday of every month, they present a 15-minute segment of music recorded live at festivals, jams, and at informal gatherings in their Kentucky/Tennessee home area.

Two-time SPBGMA DJ of the Year, Alex Leach (WDVX Knoxville), says: Joe & Sherri know what it takes to make a real song. You can hear it in their vocals and instrumentation. They write with feeling and put their heart and soul into what they are doing. They are a true team, and their music is simply altogether beautiful.

Kentucky old-timey banjo legend Uncle Dave Dougherty says: I first met Joe and Sherri at the 2002 Jerusalem Ridge Festival in Rosine, Kentucky. We commenced talking and I quickly found them to be very nice, friendly people. They sang us some songs they had written and I was especially impressed with Joes The Old Man Has Gone, a song about Bill Monroe. I intend to record this song myself! We had a great time at Rosine. This year (2003) I had the opportunity to hear them in concert for the first time. They are great, and here is why. When you go to most bluegrass festivals you hear the same tunes over and over and over and over. If you go to a festival, you will hear Orange Blossom Special and What Have They Done to the Old Home Place done by every single band on the show. Not so with Joe and Sherri. You will hear very good original and traditional music mixed with killer humor and a warm, easy to listen to sound. They are a delightful addition to the bluegrass genre because they do not sound like anyone else but, at the same time, their music is firmly rooted in old time and bluegrass. I would recommend them to any promoter putting on a show.

LaMay & Reese perform in concert as a duo, and also with their band: Kevin Amburgey (mandolin), Lonnie Osborne (fiddle), and Mike Morgeson (bass).