Randy Westbrook is a central Kentucky pianist/keyboardist and author who serves as the executive director of the Richmond Area Arts Council and as host of Discovering Central Kentucky Music. His first solo album was released in June 2026.

Born in Lexington, KY and raised in Richmond, KY, Westbrook started taking classical piano lessons at the age of five but moved into improvisation by age nine learning to play along with recordings by blues, rock, and soul artists. His high school musical experiences were based around concert band, choir, and classical piano studies, but he also began to play with groups at local talent shows and other events. Westbrook attended Murray State University as a music major continuing to study classical music on piano, organ, and harpsichord, and he also built up a strong interest in improvisation and electronic music during his undergraduate years forming jazz ensembles and classic rock bands that played throughout western Kentucky. He was the pianist for the Murray State University Jazz Band from 1994-1999.

After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Music, Westbrook moved to Tennessee for graduate school at the University of Memphis. He immersed himself in the legendary blues, rock, and soul music that the city is known for, and he was playing regularly on Beale Street less than two months after his arrival. During his six-year stay in Memphis, Westbrook played with various groups at venues including the South Main Arts Festival, Memphis in May, The Peabody Hotel, the “Live at Nine” morning show on WREG, and at almost every major club located in midtown, east Memphis, and on Beale Street. Westbrook performed on Beale Street four nights a week from the summer of 2001 through the fall of 2004. He was fortunate to play with two groups that opened up for B.B. King, once at a show in Indianola, MS and another time at B.B. King’s Blues Club. Westbrook was also fortunate to play shows with legendary Memphis performers during this time including Earl “The Pearl” Banks, Leroy Hodges, Howard Grimes, and Teenie Hodges from the Hi Rhythm Section, Elmo Lee Thomas, Mickey Gregory and Tommy Lee Williams from the Isaac Hayes Movement, Larry Lee (guitarist with Jimi Hendrix and Al Green), Eric Gales, Corey Osborn, documentary film maker Robert Allen Parker, Public Enemy guitarist Khari Wynn, and Hope Clayburn. Westbrook recorded extensively in Memphis appearing on albums such as Ninety Years of Making Music in Memphis: The University of Memphis, The instrumental Memphis Music Sampler Vol. 2, Earl “The Pearl” Banks’ Why Don’t You Do Right, Solstice Live: Beyond the Galaxy with Khari Wynn, Robert Allen Parker’s self-titled debut solo album and From the Crossroads to Beale Street, the Broken String Records Sampler, Blue Memphis with Elmo and the Shades, and an album of original material entitled Light, Sound, And Motion by soul-jazz group Full Circle for which he wrote or co-wrote all of the songs. His keyboard work was also often heard on a jingle that he recorded with legendary Memphis blues group The Fieldstones for The Memphis River Kings (“River Kings Rock”), a minor league hockey team that existed at the time. He earned a Master of Music in Music History and a Ph. D. in Musicology from the University of Memphis, and he taught part-time in the Music Department at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN during the final year of his doctoral studies.

Westbrook returned to his hometown of Richmond, KY after finishing his academic studies and he soon formed the jazz-funk-instrumental soul-based Westbrook Trio while also teaching part-time in the music departments at Eastern Kentucky University and Midway College. The Westbrook Trio performed at many central Kentucky events including EKU Jazz and Fall Crawls, the Summer Music Series at Richmond Centre, Richmond Area Arts Council events, Madison County Public Library events, the Irvine-McDowell Park Summer Concert Series, the Spoonbread Festival, the Taste of Richmond, the Jazz on the Porch Series at Talon Winery, the Jazz: Live at the Library series presented by Jamey Aebersold Jazz, and many clubs throughout central Kentucky. Westbrook spent a year as the staff accompanist at Kentucky State University from 2009-2010 working with longtime choral director Dr. Carl Smith before taking a job as the staff accompanist at Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Lexington in 2010, a role he held until 2018 when he became the staff accompanist at First Baptist Church in Richmond. He later returned to Ashland Avenue Baptist Church as the staff accompanist in early 2020 and has remained there ever since.  By 2011 Westbrook added Bluegrass Community and Technical College to the list of schools for which he taught as an adjunct professor.

Westbrook began researching the legendary local central Kentucky band Exile in 2010. After interviewing the current members of the group and most of the previous members, Westbrook published the book 50 Years of Exile: The Story of a Band in Transition on Acclaim Press in 2013. This led to an extended period promoting the book during which Westbrook performed with and/or appeared at book signings with various current and former members of the group including Paul Martin, J.P. Pennington, Sonny LeMaire, Marlon Hargis, Bernie Faulkner, Billy Luxon, Mike Howard, Lee Carroll, Steve Goetzman, Buzz Cornelison, and Mack Davenport. In 2017 Westbrook wrote the forward for Action Unlimited: The Band of Gold, also on Acclaim Press.

Westbrook joined well-known central Kentucky R&B/events band Superfecta in 2013 and was a member of the  group until 2018 performing with them at events such as the Horsey Hundred Party at Georgetown College, the Children’s Advocacy Center Fundraiser, Thursday Night Live, Pumpkin Mania at Transylvania University, the Lawrenceburg Summer Concert Series, the Jesus Prom at Southland Christian Church, the Kentucky State BBQ Festival in Danville, the Run for the Bluegrass party in Lexington, the Derby Eve party at the governor’s mansion, New Year’s Eve performances at The Campbell House in Lexington and French Lick Resort in Indiana, the Bourbon Gala in Bardstown, the Midway Furlong Event, the Annual Pizza Cookoff in Lexington, Marrikka’s Halloween celebrations, 4th of July celebrations at the State Dock in Jamestown and at Lake Reba in Richmond, the Williamsburg Block Party, the Shindigs and Shenanigans fundraiser in Scott County, the Midway Spring Festival, the Thoroughbred Club of America’s 85th Anniversary Party, and at various weddings and private events at venues including The Andover Country Club, The Danville Country Club, Fasig-Tipton, The Carrick House, Spindletop, Keeneland, The Red Mile, Buffalo Trace, The Botherum House, Bowman Field, Hillary J. Boone Center, Signature Club, Gardencourt, Whitehall in Louisville, the Mellwood Arts Center, the Cardome Center, The Grand Reserve, and the Martin Castle in Versailles. During this time Westbrook continued performing with The Westbrook Trio and playing solo piano events for various events including the Making Noise for Toys Fundraiser in Richmond, the Kentucky River Keeper fundraiser, guest appearances with local public schools and universities, the University of Kentucky School of Design Banquet, the Eastern Kentucky University Society of Foundation Professors event, and  Baptist Health Richmond events. The Westbrook Trio recorded an album entitled Postmodern Man at the EKU Recording Studio in 2015 and it was released the same year.

In 2018 Westbrook moved into arts administration when he took on the role of executive director for the Richmond Area Arts Council. In this role, he oversees the organization's mission to provide performing and visual art programs, educational opportunities, and cultural development for the Richmond and Madison County community. Westbrook has developed several new programs at the Richmond Area Arts Council including the Blues, Soul, and Bar-B-Que event, A Celebration of Flamenco, The Sights, Sounds, and Tastes of India event, a Celebration of Japanese Arts, tributes to Loretta Lynn and Kris Kristofferson, Mardi Gras celebrations, speakeasy events, and a mystery dinner theater show, as well as building upon traditional events such as the Arts Gala, the Derby Brunch, the American Musical Salute, Celtic festivals, and various holiday events. Several well-known bands and musicians from central Kentucky and Memphis have performed at these events. Westbrook also serves as the accompanist for the Richmond Area Arts Council’s Madison Singers adult community choir. 

In 2020 The Richmond Area Arts Council partnered with the NAACP of Richmond/Madison County to develop the Evening of Elegance event which honors African American musicians and artists from Kentucky. Westbrook and Dr. Kathy Bullock, former chair of the Berea College music department, organized the program. Following the pandemic, the event continued in 2023 eventually moving to the EKU Center for the Arts in 2025 as the name of the event changed to An Evening of Togetherness. Westbrook received a citation of appreciation from the Kentucky House of Representatives in 2024 for his efforts in arranging the event.

Westbrook became the event coordinator for Richmond Centre in 2020. His primary roles are to organize the lineup for the Summer Music Series at Richmond Centre and to develop holiday events. The summer music series features many local bands and performers in a wide variety of styles including rock, country, soul, jazz, world music, folk, bluegrass, pop, Americana, soft-rock, folk-rock, indie rock, funk, and hard rock.

In 2025 Westbrook began hosting the video series Discovering Central Kentucky Music with Randy Westbrook. He conducts deep-dive interviews with guest musicians to discuss their origins, career milestones, and contributions to the local music scene. Episodes usually conclude with a live performance by the guest, showcasing their specific genre, which ranges from bluegrass and gospel to soul and rock.

In 2026 Westbrook finished recording his first solo CD at Long Island Recording Studio in Lexington, KY. The album is titled One Week in October, and it was officially released in June 2026. Westbrook describes the CD as “an instrumental rock album or the soundtrack for a non-existent film – or my life.” Listen here!