SKyPAC announces regional Walk of Fame, seven inaugural inductees
Published 3:37 pm Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Cage the Elephant singer Matt Shultz performs on Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018, at WKU’s South Lawn.
(Daily News File)
Bowling Green’s own Cage The Elephant and renowned artist Joe Downing are just two of the seven inaugural inductees to the Southern Kentucky Walk of Fame, a new attraction coming next year to the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center.
SKyPAC announced the attraction on Tuesday. Like the well-known Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, the one in Bowling Green will pay tribute to those who have made impacts in the film, television and musical arts, along with visual arts. All of those inducted will be from the southcentral Kentucky area.
“My plan has always been that SKyPAC be more than just a place that for someone to come see a a show, but more of a cultural center, and so this is one of the first steps towards that goal,” SKyPAC head Jeff Reed told the Daily News.
Names of inductees will be set into brass and terrazzo plaques at SKyPAC’s Doris and Robert Burr Family Plaza. The venue stated in a press release that the walk will honor the region’s artistic heritage while providing “a new cultural landmark for residents and visitors alike.”
Along with Downing and Cage, the first class of inductees will include:
- Ernest Hogan, a pioneering African-American entertainer born in Bowling Green in 1865;
- Larnelle Harris, a Western Kentucky University alumna and Grammy-winning gospel singer;
- John Carpenter, the legendary filmmaker and ex-Bowling Green resident behind favorites including “Halloween,” “The Thing” and “Escape from New York;”
- Annie Potts, the Franklin-raised actress known for cinematic role in “Ghostbusters” and television roles in “Designing Women” and “Young Sheldon,” and;
- New Grass Revival, a progressive bluegrass group with ties to Bowling Green that revolutionized the genre by incorporating rock and jazz elements.
“We wanted to have a significant first class of inductees, and I think we we do,” Reed said.
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Selections were made by an anonymous committee of local and out-of-town citizens and artists who have experience in the performing arts.
SKyPAC plans to open the walk in the spring of 2027 with an inaugural ceremony, and more inductees are expected to be selected for the walk as the years go on.
About Jack Dobbs
Jack covers city government for the Daily News. Originally from Simpson County, he attended Western Kentucky University and graduated in 2022 with a degree in journalism.
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