Logansport HS teacher leads Grace Scott Band onto county fair stage Thursday night

Jul. 13—When the Grace Scott Band takes the Cass County Fair stage Thursday night, it will do so with some new accomplishments. The band recently released a new song, "Float Trip," and also earned a nomination for a Josie Award.

The Josie Awards honor independent musicians who are not signed to a label. Scott was nominated alongside her husband, Wes, for their song "Flowers" in the Song of the Year (Traditional Country/ Multiple Songwriters) category. The award ceremony takes place at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on Oct. 22.

"I was really shocked," Scott said. "I sent a text to (bandmember Steve Isaacs) and my husband and said 'I'll be darned.' I was very shocked."

Scott said when they wrote "Flowers," they wanted it to have a traditional country feel so they used a pedal steel guitar.

The Grace Scott Band is a country band. But anyone who loves music will find something to love in the band's songs even if country isn't their genre of choice. There's the face melting guitar solo at the end of "Conversation." The soft drum beats that open "Flowers" sound like they could be introducing a somber '90s song that Isaacs enjoys. "Float Trip" bounces with summer fun and Scott carries each song with a confident country voice that could have Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire and Shania Twain nod their heads in approval.

"With the songs we have recorded, I feel that each one kind of falls into a genre or niche of country music," Scott said.

"Everything we write, we try to write in a modern country context," said Isaacs.

With their new single, "Float Trip," the band wanted a summertime groove.

"Shortly after Wes and I got married in 2005, we started having a huge float trip with all of our friends on the Eel River," she said.

Float tripping involves enjoying a summer day with a convoy of friends while drifting across the water on rafts and tubes.

She said stories have grown out of those trips. People fell in love and got married.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Isaacs' son, then a high school senior, would come to the Scott house and sit on the porch and play his guitar. He came up with a guitar riff at that time that he said sounded like summer.

From that riff, Scott was inspired to write about those summer experiences. She wrote the first verse before giving the lyrics to Isaacs who added the music, looking to make the song feel like a beach.

Isaacs said the band has tried to play all over Indiana and beyond since the beginning.

"When it started out, you take what shows you can get. But at this point, we can travel from city to city," Isaacs said.

"We've been so blessed to have so many places to play in Cass County with our very vibrant local music scene," said Scott. "Our very first paying gig that we played was at the State Theatre. I'm forever grateful to Kevin Burkett for plugging us in there."

Scott said the Logansport community appreciates music and actually listens to the band when they do a local show. Sometimes, they travel to a different city and become background music for bar conversations.

"Here, people really engage with you," she said. "I appreciate that."

"Some places we've played, people just want to hear covers. But in Logansport, we can play our original songs and people appreciate it," Isaacs added. "You go to places like Bonus Pints and there are people playing their own songs all the time. People appreciate it here."

Scott, a teacher at Logansport High School, has seen her students show up to cheer the band on as well.

"A lot of them are like 'I don't like country music but you're alright, Ms. Scott," she said.

So, being able to play the Cass County Fair in front of family and friends will be a special moment for the band.

"It's where we started," Isaacs said. "We were playing with our church there and then one year we said 'why don't we try to do this as a real country band?' For me, it's kind of what got us going in the first place."

"We started playing together at church and Steve said 'hey,' and we came together on the same day," Scott said. "It was something I dreamed about my whole life but had never put into words."

Scott said the fair brings the community together better than any other event, and her own family has a passion for 4-H. She said playing the fair is a great experience because it's one of those moments where little kids can watch them perform and they dance through the show.

"I'm usually really exhausted by (the time we perform) because I've been taking care of cows and pigs and kids all week," she said. "But it's worth it."

Scott said those who have never seen the band perform can expect a show with a high level of musicianship, energy and Isaacs swaggering around the stage. She also said those in attendance will hear original country music along with some covers ranging from the 1990s to modern hits.

"We just want to bring light and joy to people," she said. "Bringing people together and creating moments through music—music is that connector, bringing people together for a shared bond. We want to move people with our music."

The Grace Scott Band is scheduled to perform at the Cass County Fair from 7:30-10 p.m. Thursday.