Kurt Lee Wheeler

Kurt Lee Wheeler grew up in Lathemtown, a rural community in east Cherokee County, Georgia. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1984 and served until 1989 as an Avionics Senior Systems Specialist at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina and Osan Air Base in South Korea, and was named Airman of the Quarter at both bases. While serving full-time he studied at night to earn his first degree, and with fellow airmen he formed the band Hint of Insurgence.

A self-taught guitarist, Kurt began recording his own songs reel-to-reel, then on cassette and four-track tape. His music ranges from country to bluegrass to rock, and above all he is a storyteller. He plays more than 100 shows a year, solo and with his band The Lathemtown Poets Society, including charity shows for veteran causes.

For more than 30 years Kurt taught and coached in schools in Cherokee County, retiring in 2026. He wrote the song “Cherokee County” with his mother, and the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners made it the county’s official song. He and his band also made an on-screen cameo in the Lifetime film The Secret Life of a Good Wife, playing his song “Faces”.