Joe Caverlee Joins Coteau Grove Project, LLC as the Band’s Official Producer

LAFAYETTE, La., October 22 — Coteau Grove Project, LLC (“Coteau Grove”) is proud to welcome American multi-instrumentalist and singer / songwriter Joe Caverlee to the team. Joe will assume the role of producer for Coteau Grove and use his extensive knowledge and experience in the music industry to leverage the band’s expertise and professional connections. Joe supports Coteau Grove’s mission to give back to charities and is looking forward to making a difference in their communities.

Joe Caverlee stated, “I've had the pleasure of knowing the good folks in Coteau Grove for quite some time now. I've also sat in with them on several occasions which was an absolute blast. From classic rock to classic country…from R&B to "down in the crawfish mud" cajun music, this band has it covered. I was honored when they asked me to produce their upcoming EP. We are in the process of searching for songs to compliment their many talents including musicianship and tight vocal harmonies. It's a long process, but I assure you it will be worth the wait and the end result will be a project we all will be proud of.”

Grammy Award-winning, singer / songwriter, Wayne Toups, also commented, “I have been asked by my friend Keith Myers to be a special guest in the Coteau Grove Project for some very special shows. His vision has come full circle in wanting to help nonprofit organizations. And now he has added a good friend and exceptional musician, Joe Caverlee, as a producer which will definitely bring the project to another level. I am so honored to be a part of it and looking forward to the future.”

Joe started out playing guitar and piano as a small child with his family in Dayton, Ohio, but the two instruments quickly took a back seat when he discovered a violin in his grandma’s attic. After beginning classical lessons at age 10, he soon learned it was the right choice. By age 13, he was playing with a bluegrass band that toured weekends around the Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana areas. Even though he continued his classical training through high school and college, the live music scene was where Joe wanted to be. Eventually, he ended up in Nashville. Joe found steady work playing fiddle and acoustic with Ronna Reeves on the road and shortly after was hired on by Ken Mellons to play fiddle and mandolin. In the late 90’s he teamed up with the Ohio based group Yankee Grey and signed a record deal with Sony/Monument. After brief success and an ACM vocal group of the year nomination they disbanded. He then started playing fiddle and mandolin with country great Tracy Lawrence where he is still today and is currently Tracy’s band leader. Joe has featured on many well-known songs with artists such as Tracy Lawrence, Yankee Grey, David Ball, Billy Ray Cyrus, Daryl Singletary, Love and Theft, The Bellamy Brothers, Michael Peterson and The Christmas Grass, and more.

About Coteau Grove Project

Coteau Grove Project provides tight, lively music, great vocals, and mesmerizing harmonies and is unique in its mission of supporting nonprofit organizations. The band was born from some things that the members all have in common, a love for music and a desire to help people. Coteau Grove Project is made up of Chris Foreman, Larry Menard, Charlie Rees, David Varisco, Sharona Thomas, and Keith Myers.

To learn more about Coteau Grove Project or to book, visit https://www.coteaugrove.com/

For media inquiries, please contact: coteaugroveband@gmail.com

Whispering Oaks Farm Honors Don Stemmans in Feature Race on August 2 at Evangeline Downs

(Opelousas, La.) – Carroll Castille, Whispering Oaks Farm owner, chose Don Charles Stemmans as the honoree for a sponsored feature race at Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino on August 2. Whispering Oaks Farm is a thoroughbred breeding and racing operation locate in Carencro, La. The event is part of a big night of Louisiana Champion Awards, REAP Benefit, Louisiana Stallion Stakes sponsored by Coteau Grove Farms/Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association and D.S. “Shine’ Young Futurity.

“Don was the man that mentored me from my start in racing,” said Carroll Castille. “He was the one person I go to for advice about anything. He has always been here for me, and I wanted to be sure we honored him and all that he has done for our industry.”

Don was involved in the horse racing business for decades. He trained thoroughbreds, quarter horses and operated Traders Rest Farm, Inc. a full-service breeding, training and boarding facility in Scott La.  He was the starter at Evangeline Downs in Carencro, La., served on the board of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association for over 20 years board member of the Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protection Association, and operated Stemmans Horse Supply in Carencro. Don and his wife Janet started that business in 1968. He had shops in Hot Springs, Ark., Kenner, La., and Bossier, La. There were long time stores at Delta Downs in Vinton, La., and Sam Houston Race Park in Houston.

Don was famous for teaching racetrack folk how to do things the Cajun way. If someone got sick and injured, he would show them how to do a fundraiser. He wasn’t shy about asking people for help to assist people who needed it. “I think we have all lost count of the number of people Don has helped throughout his life,” said Castille. “I count myself lucky to this day that I was one of them.”

When Don returned full time to the Cajun Country, he returned to eight generations of family tradition in the horse world. He remembers his grandfather’s blacksmith shop, where you always had to wear shoes because of the hot iron. His grandfather shod all kinds of horses and mules, but he was famous for his skill in shoeing buggy horses. His father was a horseshoer, too, and Don prides himself on his own horseshoeing know-how. Before he got into retail, he would shoe horses on his days off from working on oil rigs, onshore and offshore. 

One of Don’s ventures was a bush track in Carencro. He has a charming painting hanging on his office wall at Stemmans that artist Earl Hebert captured a slice of bush-track life. The bush track he has portrayed is the same one Don ran and there are fancy women, sharp-dressed bettors, jockeys, owners, trainers, families. Don could identify many of the characters in that painting. The track was a three-quarter mile oval with good sandy loam footing. It was once right off the main road in Carencro, but it is long gone. 

Don has two daughters. Catherine is a Ph.D. and a professor of sports medicine at Indiana State University at Terre Haute, Ind. Charlotte has a degree in accounting from Tulane and, as Don says, “she is the quality control and the financial wizard behind the Stemmans shops." She is also the current Mayor of Carencro. His son Charles works as a Soil Scientist with USDA and resides in Carencro.