J.D. Wilkes

J.D. Wilkes is a Bayton, Texas native (b. 1972) and Paducah transplant who relocated to the Jackson Purchase Area to pursue a bachelor's degree in Studio Art from Murray State University. Wilkes is credited with founding the rockabilly and blues band Legendary Shack Shakers in the 1990s as lead vocalist and harmonica player. Wilkes is a dynamic stage presence and the band's dark Southern gothic sound counts as fans horror novelist Stephen King and Led Zeppelin legend Robert Plant. Wilkes' Grammy-nominated song "Swampblood" was featured on the soundtrack for HBO's fantasy horror drama True Blood.

His comic strip "Head Cheese" ran from 2005 to 2008 in Nashville's RAGE/Metromix. Wilkes also illustrated Spookiest Stories Ever (2010) for the University Press of Kentucky, then wrote two books, Barn Dances and Jamborees Across Kentucky (2013) and The Vine That Ate The South (2017).