Westwend brings local roots to Summer Sessions
Wendy and Johnathan Maness of Clinton make up the duo Westwend which has performed both locally and overseas. (photo:Submitted )
Wendy and Johnathan Maness perform in the neotraditional country duo Westwend, which Wendy said they named after their love of traveling west to Nashville and her first name.
Wendy sings, writes songs, and plays guitar and mandolin, while Johnathan plays guitar and dobro.
“We both realized early on that you have to love music to do it,” she said. “It is not an easy road when you try to do it for a living, so the love of music kept us in it.”
Wendy Maness said their “little bit bluegrass and a little bit country” style is best compared to Alison Krauss.
“I like the songwriting, but I also like how the music can either be complex or simple but reach a broad audience,” Maness said.
She said she likes to write songs that relate to her life experiences.
Maness said she started singing at a small church in Mississippi and continued in choirs throughout high school and college.
Her interest in music led her to East Tennessee, where she performed at Dollywood before starting Westwend.
Johnathan grew up in a musical family and learned to sing in church. He taught himself to play guitar and later majored in classical guitar.
Wendy said the duo’s two tours in Eastern Europe, covering eight countries each time, were rewarding, and she enjoyed performing with friends in the Czech Republic.
“One of the most memorable moments was playing for a crowd of around 6,000 people in Slovakia,” she said. “Experiences like that really stay with you.”
But they also appreciate the friends they have made in the United States and Tennessee, including Erick Baker, who also performed May 2 as part of Summer Sessions.
Apart from the European tours, some of Westwend’s biggest stages have been festivals such as the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion and the National Cornbread Festival. But Maness said playing for the Clinch River Antique Festival in Clinton also means a lot to them.
When not performing, Johnathan is a professor of audio engineering at Pellissippi State Community College, and Wendy serves on the Clinton City Council and works as a youth prevention coordinator for Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County.
“We are really thankful for the support we have in this area,” Wendy Maness said. “It’s easy for a big-name musician to come in and have a lot of support, but it means a lot more to local artists.”
