Courtesy photo

Paul Thorn (left) and Corey Hunley

Courtesy photo

Corey Hunley, who grew up in Franklin County, now lives in Roanoke.

The past couple of years have been remarkable ones for Roanoke singer-songwriter Corey Hunley.

He has opened shows for Darrell Scott, Paul Thorn and Chris Knight. Hunley opens again for Knight tonight at Kirk Avenue Music Hall, in a show that is part of the Down by Downtown festival.

And next week, he'll open for John Hiatt and Thorn at the May 7 Down By The River concert.

Hunley is, understandably, psyched.

"Every time I have to talk about John Hiatt to people, I just say, 'He's a legend. The songwriting legend.'

"He knows how to put a cool vibe together, and whether he's solo or he's got his band backing him up, it's awesome. I love it. I'm definitely looking forward to this. This is going to be the coolest thing I think I've done in my career."

Hunley's own singing, songwriting and guitar playing makes him a good fit for such bills. Kirk Avenue Music Hall's Gary Jackson and Jefferson Center's Dylan Locke have taken notice and booked him for those dates. As Scott performed his song "It's a Great Day to Be Alive" at Jefferson Center set in November 2008, he called out for Hunley, in the audience, to sing along.

"That was a great day to be alive," Hunley said. He said he was especially glad that all of his shows with Scott have sold out.

"Whether they were there for Darrell or for me, they took time for me, which was very cool," he said.

Plenty of folks have come to those shows especially for Hunley, a Franklin County native who for years has played around the Roanoke Valley. He writes easily relatable songs about his friends and loves ones. In barroom shows, Hunley plays plenty of cover tunes. But he realized he was becoming a good songwriter when people started requesting his originals.

"When you hear somebody yell out one of your songs instead of 'Freebird,' it's a really cool thing," he said. "I think that's the magic moment where you go, 'Oh, that's awesome. Somebody did take time to listen to one of my songs.'

"If I'm in a bar or wherever and I'm playing, if I can see two people or one person mouthing the words to one of my songs, that's golden."

Hunley, who works at Kelley's Music when he's not performing or spending time with his family, used to have an internal battle about whether he should make songwriting and performing a full-time job. Ultimately, he decided he wanted a family. He is married to Shelly DeMoines Hunley and has two "awesome" step-daughters.

"I don't want to say I got stuck in a small town," Hunley said. "I think I got glued to a small town that worked.

"I've been playing in this town for so long, but I still have people that come out and see me play, people that support me, people that listen to what I do. And that's everything."