Thanks to a fluke vehicle breakdown on I-75 last summer, a rising star on the national country music scene will soon release an album featuring one song about Bluffton.

That rising star is Sal Walker and his band April Shortbread.

Late Sunday evening last July 21, Derek Dukes stopped to help a group traveling in a Tuscany Thor Motor Coach stalled on the southbound exit 140 ramp. 

Assessing the situation, Dukes drove to the Beaverdam travel center. There he explained the breakdown problem to a mechanic who returned with Dukes and repaired the stranded vehicle.

It turns out that the band was on its way to a recording session in Nashville. The quick-thinking response by Dukes made it possible for the musicians to make their recording appointment.

One of the songs recorded in that session, ”This Will Be Fun Until Mom Comes Home,”  has since moved up on the country charts and this week should hit number 12.

Dukes, who admitted that he had forgotten about the entire incident, said that Walker called him last week, identifying himself as the “stranded motorist,” noting the band’s appreciation.

“I had no idea who was in the motor coach last summer,” Dukes told the Icon. “Sal told me that the van breakdown was a turning point for the band.”

He said that Sal recorded a song about Bluffton that will be in the band’s next album called “Just Off The Interstate.”

Prior to the recent nationwide ban on live concerts, Sal and April Shortbread had hoped to perform on stage at the South by Southwest Music Fest, Austin, Texas. 

“The best part of this story,” said Dukes, “is that the band may perform at Southgate Lanes this coming summer. We can’t wait to schedule it.”

For more information on the band read below:

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