American blues pianist, singer and songwriter Kelley Hunt has performed all across the world and her home state Kansas but had never played at the C.L. Hoover Opera House until Friday night.

Hunt said that she looked forward to performing at the C.L. Hoover Opera House because Junction City is in her home state, “It’s in my heartland.”

“I was born in Kansas City but I grew up in Emporia and I’ve had family that’s in the service at Fort Riley, and had been in Junction City and all over the state,” said Hunt. “When my band comes in, who are not from Kansas, they’re from Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis, it’s fun for me to kind of show this off a little bit, and I’m really proud of what they’ve done here (the Opera House). This is a big undertaking and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

Not only was Hunt excited to be in Junction City but Brenda Bandy of Manhattan has seen Hunt play at least four other times and was equally excited to see her again in Junction City.

“Absolutely, I drove in specially for this, actually I was in Wichita for a meeting and I made sure I was back in time,” said Bandy.

Hunt’s skills with the piano is what Bandy loves the most.

“The piano, and her singing, and the way she engages the audience, but really her piano playing, yeah just amazing.”

In 2006 Hunt was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame. She has produced album titles ranging from “Inspiration” to the “Beautiful Bones,” the latter released in 2014.