Musical Guest performs at Muskingum Starlight Industries

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- Members of the Muskingum Starlight Industries were treated with a special guest on July 5th.

A Licking County Musician, Jake “Barefoot” McCoy, performed various classic rock songs from the 60s and 70s to an enthusiastic audience at starlight. McCoy explained his unique name originated from a small town in Kentucky.

“There were two friends specifically, a woman named Gale Row and then the Mayor of the town who they call Chief Harold Rainwater, he was a Cherokee man, and those two gave me the nickname “Barefoot Banjo McCoy” because I would spent the summers like not wearing any shoes and playing in these bands and then when I started to performing more on my own I just decided to keep the name “Barefoot McCoy”.

Customer Guide Operations Manager of Muskingum Starlight Industries, Ritta Saylor, says music like McCoy’s is crucial for individuals with disabilities.

“They take it as a soothing, relaxing. It helps some seizure people or people who have epilepsy or autism. That it helps them to be able to relax and control their environment that they are in even through it may be chaotic. So music is a very important part of a lot of people’s lives that we serve here.”

McCoy hopes to return in the future to share his love of music with those at Starlight.