The music of singer/songwriter Janis Pruitt has been called, by turns, heartbreaking, sassy, and hopeful. Now living in Louisville, she released her first full-length album, Streets of Rome, in 2005.

Janis’ father, a Baptist minister, instilled a love and deep appreciation for music in his daughter early in life. As a young woman, Janis impersonated Elvis Presley for friends and family. She listened to early rock ’n’ roll, the Beatles, and Eddy Arnold. Then in the 1980s and ’90s, she hosted two radio shows that featured traditional acoustic and bluegrass music. (One of them, Music Front Porch, still airs live today on Murray State University’s WKMS 91.3 FM.)

Later, Janis developed her writing skills in Nashville, becoming a featured writer at the renowned Bluebird Café Writer’s Night. She also started playing in bands and duos, first in Nashville and then in Rome and Macon, GA. She and her husband moved to Louisville in 2000. Since then, she says, the city has embraced her, and everything has begun to fall into place musically.

Program 723

Husband-and-wife folk artists Ronald and Jessie Cooper from Fleming County, the Leeds Center for the Arts in Winchester, and music by Louisville singer/songwriter Janis Pruitt. (#723)

Program 737

Husband-and-wife folk artists Ronald and Jessie Cooper from Fleming County, the Leeds Center for the Arts in Winchester, and music by Louisville singer/songwriter Janis Pruitt. (#737)

Program 810

Louisville author Wanda Johnson-Hall, the work of Transylvania University art professor Louise Calvin, and nature photographer Bruce McElya. Musical guests include singer-songwriter Janice Pruitt and guitarist Richard Goering. (#810)