In this episode of 'Exposition', we speak with the well-established Keith Sykes—he's the first featured performer of the 2025 Tunes at Twilight event held annually by downtown Old Town Cape.
All performances for 'Tunes at Twilight' are at the Ivers Square Gazebo at 44 N. Lorimier in Downtown Cape Girardeau, on Fridays from 7 to 8 pm. The event opens with Keith Sykes on Friday, May 9, and runs every Friday until June 13 for the Spring Series.
Keith's musical career started in the summer of 1967, when Keith Sykes hitchhiked to the Newport Folk Festival and saw Arlo Guthrie perform “Alice’s Restaurant.” In the fall of that year, he got a copy of the album, learned the whole song, and sang it at a Holiday Inn in Charleston, South Carolina. They hired him on the spot for a regular gig playing music in the hotel. Now he joins us to sing some of his classics at Old Town Cape's Tunes at Twilight on May 9th, 2025.
It’s pretty perfect that such a rambling tale should be at the start of Keith’s own rambling tale – in the more than 40 years that followed, he would become a troubadour and storyteller; he is currently writing his own memoir, a collection of stories and memories from his career in Music.
Keith Sykes is a massively successful songwriter with more than 100 songs recorded by artists as diverse as Rosanne Cash and George Thorogood. He would tour every corner of America and play in just about every conceivable kind of venue, appear on Saturday Night Live and Austin City Limits, and host songwriter nights on Memphis’ legendary Beale Street with many of music’s most talented songwriters. He would join Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, tour the country, and record the Volcano album – the title track for which he co-wrote with Jimmy.
To date, recordings of Keith’s songs have sold more than 25 million copies worldwide. With 13 full-length albums released and great success with his own publishing company, credited with signing John Kilzer to Geffen Records and the discovery of Todd Snider, Keith Sykes has proven to be nothing short of prolific.
