For King & Country to Perform at 2016 State Fair of West Virginia
LEWISBURG, WV (02/22/2016)(readMedia)– Fair Officials have announced that Christian Pop duo for King Country with Special Guest Matt Maher will perform on Sunday, August 14, 2016, at 7 pm at the State Fair of West Virginia! Tickets for this show go on sale Friday, February 26 at 10 am.
“For King Country and Matt Maher are going to add a great sound to our 2016 grandstand lineup,” State Fair CEO Kelly Collins stated. “This is the third show we’ve released for the upcoming State Fair, and with less than six months until the gates open we are getting excited!”
Ticket prices and details on how to order can be found at www.statefairofwv.com. Tickets will only be available via Etix at www.statefairofwv.com or by calling 1-800-514-ETIX (3849) Monday through Friday 9 am – 6 pm or Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets will not be sold at the State Fair Box Office until later in the spring.
For King Country
Soaring melodies, driving rhythms, theatrical instrumentation and personal themes are the heartbeat of for KING COUNTRY’s sophomore album, RUN WILD. LIVE FREE. LOVE STRONG. The duo, comprised of Australian brothers Joel and Luke, has accomplished several notable feats on their new record. Perhaps the most remarkable is that the award-winning rock/pop duo has achieved the unexpected.
Not only have they ventured into new musical territories with some of the highlights being a collaboration with hip-hop artist Andy Mineo, their continued creative partnership with artist/producer Aqualung and their discovery of new soundscapes with producer Tedd T. (MuteMath), but for KING COUNTRY also managed to surpass the bar that the brothers had set for themselves with their debut album. They raised expectations tremendously with the release of 2012’s Crave and a win for New Artist of the Year at the 2013 GMA Dove Awards, where they received six nominations. Billboard also named them as one of the New Artists to Watch for 2012 and American Songwriter called them “Australia’s answer to Coldplay.”
“A really thrilling component of this new album is that we stepped into it with 300-plus shows under our belts,” Joel says. “We have five band members on the road with us. After spending countless hours in 15-passenger vans and performing on stage together, a deep creative bond formed. We made many discoveries along the way-our love for rhythm, our enthusiasm for theatrics and the beauty of how a lyric can touch someone’s heart. These experiences have been an excellent springboard into a new and more developed version of for KING COUNTRY.”
The ultimate result of all of this is a body of work that lives up to the band’s powerful name. for KING COUNTRY is a reflection of standing and fighting for something greater than yourself, a mission statement that directed the duo from the first words penned for this project until the last note was recorded. “Our goal was to continue that theme of writing honestly and authentically about life,” Joel says.
The album also serves as the musical journal documenting the last three years of the brothers’ lives, a life-changing time of growth, transition, revolution and revelation. In addition to their professional success, Joel got married and Luke became a father during this time. But Luke also faced a life-threatening illness that forever altered his perspective. By experiencing great depths of pain and fear, he now has more joy and hope than ever before.
The album’s most gut wrenching and moving track is “Without You,” which unexpectedly features Luke’s wife, Courtney, on vocals and is also the most difficult song Luke has ever written. When he was at his worst, his wife feared that she could lose him, so she told him, “Luke, you just can’t leave me here.” Luke says, “The lyrics gave me the vision and the hope for what is to come. I know that I have today but I don’t know if I have tomorrow, so in those moments, I am going to laugh, and I’m going to dance if I can. If this illness was to take me, it would take me as a very hopeful man.”
The philosophies of hope and love were instilled by their parents, who raised their seven children in Sydney, Australia, before relocating to Nashville in 1991. Their father worked as a music promoter, so the boys often accompanied him to shows. In their teenage years, they also sang background vocals for their sister, gospel artist Rebecca St. James. When Luke was 19 and Joel 21, the two formed a band and began the journey of writing and recording music.
Coming from that rich family heritage, the brothers also carry with them a mantra of sorts, speaking to a woman’s worth as well as encouraging themselves and other men to step up and stand out to proclaim that chivalry is not dead. “Part of the DNA of for KING COUNTRY is this idea of respect and honor in relationships and women being priceless,” Joel says. “What we’ve both found in our beliefs as men is that people are made equal. No one is a commodity and everyone deserves to be loved and loved well.”
To Joel and Luke, remaining focused on what truly matters is crucial to succeeding musically. “The best legacy I can leave is if I am a good dad and good husband. If my family environment was out of whack, I don’t know if I’d even be able to write songs anymore,” says Luke. “A lot of my passion and zeal for life is because I have a wife who counts on me and a son who looks up to me and says ‘Dada.’ I can’t believe how much love he has in his eyes when he says that word. I can see the complete trust and safety that my son feels when he is with me. When he began to walk, I often thought, if I could run wild like a one-year-old does and live a life that embraces adventure in that way, I think I would see life entirely differently.”
And therein lies the phrase that has ultimately become not only the title of their sophomore album, but also a statement of what it means to truly be alive. Joel sums it up this way, “RUN WILD. LIVE FREE. LOVE STRONG. is a statement of reclaiming our birthright as humans, to live a life that is for others, and in that find what it truly means to run wild, live free and love strong.”
Matt Maher
The front cover of Matt Maher’s latest offering, All The People Said Amen, is a menagerie of old tour posters, handwritten lyrics from songwriting sessions, live and candid shots with fans, even his own wedding photos. No image is random. Each piece was placed purposefully by Maher. Every item has a story behind it and has played a significant role in Maher’s songwriting over the past seven years.
“This record is a musical collage. I think most of our lives look like that, this jumble of a bunch of different stuff,” Maher offers. “Hopefully, when you take a step back, you realize something that might seem a little chaotic close-up, farther away, actually is a work of art that God’s slowly creating. These songs are created out of living as a community of faith firsthand, and it’s my desire to remind listeners that we are all His work of art.”
All The People Said Amen showcases Maher’s storied career thus far. The songs read more like chapters in his autobiography than a typical album track listing. Produced by Paul Moak (Third Day, Mat Kearney) and Maher, the album breaks the barriers a studio can provide and allows fans to see Maher as not only the gifted songwriter they have come to cherish but also a fervent worship leader and skilled teacher. Maher’s theology is as solid as his songwriting, his heart as pure as his melodies.
The 2016 State Fair themed “Capture Your Memories”, is a 10-day Fair scheduled August 12-21, 2016. The State Fair of West Virginia, with a $13.8 million dollar economic impact on the state of West Virginia, is a 501 © 3 non-profit corporation committed to the traditions of agriculture, family entertainment, and education. For more information, please visit www.statefairofwv.com, or follow fair events on Facebook and Twitter.
State Fair of WV Welcomes Travis Tritt and The Charlie Daniels Band
LEWISBURG, WV (02/08/2016)(readMedia)– State Fair of WV Welcomes Travis Tritt and The Charlie Daniels Band
Officials have announced that Travis Tritt and The Charlie Daniels Band will perform Friday, August 19, 2016 on Lottery Day at the 92nd Annual State Fair of West Virginia!
“Both of these acts are legends in the music industry and to have them on stage together is going to make a great show,” CEO Kelly Collins stated. “We still have several announcements to make in the near future, but we are already very excited for the 2016 State Fair of West Virginia!”
Ticket prices and details on how to order can be found at www.statefairofwv.com. Tickets will only be available via Etix at www.statefairofwv.com or by calling 1-800-514-ETIX (3849) Monday through Friday 9 am – 6 pm or Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets will not be sold at the State Fair Box Office until later in the spring.
Travis Tritt
No sky is bluer, no air crisper, no leaf greener than after a storm, and Travis Tritt is adding a musical addendum to that list with the release of The Calm After. Part metaphor and surprisingly literal, the title is reflective of a fresh and focused start for one of the most successful and acclaimed musical creators of his era.
“I feel so humbled and blessed to be where I am right now,” says Travis, who will release the album on his own Post Oak Records. “My voice has never been stronger, I’m constantly playing and working to become a better guitar player, banjo player, vocalist and songwriter. I am honestly as excited about the creative process and performing now as I was the day I signed my first record deal.”
The highly abbreviated Tritt timeline has the Georgian incorporating lifelong influences in Southern Rock, blues and gospel into his country during a honky-tonk apprenticeship that led him to Warner Bros. His 1990 debut Country Club and its succession of hits put him in the vanguard of the genre’s early ’90s boom, dubbing him as one of “The Class of ’89,” which included Country music superstars Garth Brooks, Clint Black and Alan Jackson; all whom dominated the charts in the early ’90s. At the same time, his conspicuous lack of a cowboy hat and musical aggressiveness set him apart. The next eight albums and scores of hit singles led him to amass more than 25 million in career album sales, two Grammys, three CMA Awards and a devoted fan base that filled venues coast-to-coast. He’s also become
a force in Atlanta sports, performing at the 1996 Olympics, two Super Bowls, a World Series Game, the opening of the Georgia Dome, the final Braves game at Atlanta-Fulton Country Stadium and, in 2013, the NCAA men’s basketball championship.
A 2006 recording session for a Sam Moore album proved fateful when producer, musician and American Idol judge Randy Jackson complimented Travis on his vocals. The meeting led to co-production collaboration on Tritt’s next album, which would eventually be titled The Storm.
Fast forward several years, and Tritt discovered that if the perfect duet partner doesn’t materialize, you can always grow your own. On a family car trip, the unreleased track came up on his iPod. “My 15-year-old daughter Tyler Reese, who had never heard the song, started singing along in the backseat. When it ended she had me play it again five or six times. I was listening to her sing it and I was impressed, but I didn’t say anything. When we got home, I told my wife that I thought she could really do a great job on this song. We agreed, so I took her in the studio last year and had her sing the female parts. I know I sound like a biased parent, but she really did nail it and the proof is in the track.”
As his daughter’s voice takes wing, Travis Tritt finds his own career enjoying a new spring. He already has plans to follow the initial release with a variety of music projects, including a new, mostly acoustic project with former No Hats Tour chum Marty Stuart. “We’ve got four tracks done on sort of a throw-back project that is on the exact other end of the spectrum from The Calm After …, which is very heavily produced,” Travis explains. “I’m playing acoustic guitar, Marty is on acoustic and mandolin, there’s an upright bass, keys, light percussion and that’s it.”
Tritt had a busy 2013 with a full-band production tour in 2013, following three years of well-received solo-acoustic shows, and 2014 proved to be just as busy. Celebrating the 25th anniversary of his music career, Tritt is toured the U.S. and Canada promoting his new album.
Through it all, music is still what gives him joy. “I turned 50 years old this year, strictly going off the date my mother told me that I was born,” he laughs. “I need to go back and check my birth certificate, because I don’t feel that old. In my head, I still feel like I’m 28-years-old. I have the same energy, the same amount of love for live performance and for working in the studio that I had when I was first getting started.”
“The odd thing is, and I can’t explain this, but I think I’m singing better than I did in my 20s and 30s. I know it’s not supposed to be that way, but there’s just a control that comes with maturity. Plus, I’ve got a higher range now than I had when I was in my early 30s. And since we started doing the acoustic shows, people come up to me commenting on my singing or, more often, my guitar playing.
“I get that a lot. In fact, that’s how I ended up working with Randy Jackson. After I came out of the vocal booth on that Sam Moore session, Randy looked at me and said, ‘Man, I had no idea that you had that blue-eyed soul thing going on.’
“”At 50, to still have a career and be able to surprise people with music – I’m humbled and very thankful. It’s a God given gift.” Which is another way of saying that for Travis Tritt, it’s nothing but clear skies, open windows and dry pavement ahead.
The Charlie Daniels Band
From his Dove Award winning gospel albums to his genre-defining Southern rock anthems and his CMA Award-winning country hits, few artists have left a more indelible mark on America’s musical landscape than Charlie Daniels. An outspoken patriot, beloved mentor to young artists and still a road warrior at age 77, Charlie has parlayed his passion for music into a multi-platinum career and a platform to support the military, underprivileged children and others in need.
Raised among the longleaf pines of North Carolina, Charlie began his career playing bluegrass music with the Misty Mountain Boys. After moving to Nashville in 1967, he began making a name for himself as a songwriter, session musician and producer. Elvis Presley recorded a tune Charlie co-wrote titled “It Hurts Me,” which was released on the flip side of “Kissin’ Cousins.” He played on such landmark albums as Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline and tried his hand at producing on the Youngbloods’ Elephant Mountain and Ride the Wind.
His own unique voice as an artist emerged as Charlie recorded his self-titled solo album in 1970 for Capitol Records. Two years later he formed the Charlie Daniels Band and the group scored its first hit with the top ten “Uneasy Rider.” Since then the CDB has populated radio with such memorable hits as “Long Haired Country Boy,” “The South’s Gonna Do It Again,” “In America,” “The Legend of Wooley Swamp” and of course, his signature song, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” which won a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group in 1979 as well as single of the year at the Country Music Association Awards.
The CDB will perform 100 concert dates this year including performances on the Grand Ole Opry. The band’s latest release, “Off the Grid – Doin’ It Dylan,” features 10 Bob Dylan songs by the CDB, and is their first CDB studio release since 2007.
“I love what I do,” says Charlie of his 50-plus years in the music business. “I look forward to entertaining people. When show time gets here, I’m ready to go, ready to go play for them. It’s a labor of love. I just thank God I make a living at what I enjoy doing.”
The 2016 State Fair themed “Capture Your Memories”, is a 10-day Fair scheduled August 12-21, 2016. The State Fair of West Virginia, with a $13.8 million dollar economic impact on the state of West Virginia, is a 501 © 3 non-profit corporation committed to the traditions of agriculture, family entertainment, and education. For more information, please visit www.statefairofwv.com, or follow fair events on Facebook and Twitter.
Alabama Returns to State Fair of West Virginia
LEWISBURG, WV (01/18/2016)(readMedia)– State Fair officials have announced that country music super-group Alabama is returning to the 92nd Annual State Fair of West Virginia on Saturday, August 13, 2016, at 8 pm.
Tickets for this show will go on sale Friday, January 22, 2016, at 10 am.
“Alabama put on an amazing show for a record crowd at the 2015 State Fair of West Virginia,” State Fair CEO Kelly Collins stated. “Tickets sold out quickly for last year’s show, so I recommend getting your tickets early this year. You don’t want to miss this show twice!”
Ticket prices and details on how to order can be found at www.statefairofwv.com. Tickets will only be available via Etix at www.statefairofwv.com or by calling 1-800-514-ETIX (3849) Monday through Friday 9 am – 6 pm or Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets will not be sold at the State Fair Box Office until later in the spring.
It’s been 40 years since a trio of young cousins left Fort Payne, Alabama, to spend the summer playing in a Myrtle Beach, South Carolina bar called The Bowery. It took Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook six long years of tip jars and word of mouth to earn the major label deal they’d been dreaming of, but then seemingly no time at all to change the face of country music.
ALABAMA is the band that changed everything. They have had 43 #1 singles including 21 #1 singles in a row, a record that will probably never be equaled in any genre. They brought youthful energy, sex appeal and a rocking edge that broadened country’s audience and opened the door to self-contained bands from then on, and they undertook a journey that led, 73 million albums later, to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Of the early days and their humble beginnings, Jeff says, “I don’t think we thought too far ahead. We were more concerned with paying our bills at the end of the week playing music.”
The Bowery was a chance to get established outside their home turf, where they’d played a nearby theme park, opening for national acts like Bobby Bare.
“We believed we had something pretty special from a vocal standpoint,” says Teddy, “and we were looking for the opportunity to prove it. There were a lot of times when we wondered whether we might be better off going back home and getting jobs, but we just kept rehearsing and writing songs, trying to get better and believing we could do it.”
“I went to see them at The Bowery,” legendary producer, Harold Shedd says, “and the sound that these three guys could create together was just really something. I saw the crowd reacting to music they’d never heard before as though they had. They were doing some covers, but a lot of the ALABAMA show at the time was original material, including stuff that wound up on the first three albums we did together.”
The band was revolutionary in more than one sense.
“We were renegades in sneakers and T-shirts,” says Teddy. “We had long hair and played loud and some of the country folks resisted us for a while. But then of course they did accept us and then after that, our success made it lots easier for other bands to try it in country music.”
The fact that some of the heirs of that legacy–Eli Young Band, Rascal Flatts and Florida Georgia Line–were among the stars paying tribute on Alabama Friends, their most recent release, is part of their legacy as surely as the awards and plaudits they’ve earned through the years. And those, of course, have been legion. They include more than 150 major industry nods, including two Grammys, the Minnie Pearl Humanitarian award, Entertainer of the Year awards three times from the CMA and five times from the ACM, as well as the latter’s Artist of the Decade award. They earned 21 Gold ®, Platinum ® and Multi-Platinum ® albums and were named the RIAA’s Country Group of the Century.
But awards are only a part of a legacy that finds its most important home in the hearts of listeners everywhere. Some of those are superstars in other genres, as Randy found out not long ago.
“I was part of a benefit concert at the Ryman,” he says, “and I look over there’s Jon Bon Jovi. He walked over and said hello and it turns out he likes our music.”
Many more, of course, are everyday country fans.
“A lot of fans will start a conversation with, ‘I don’t want to bother you,'” says Jeff, “but what they don’t understand is that everything that’s happened to us, every one of those awards, happened because we’ve been accepted and supported by our fans.”
Not long ago, Teddy was witness to a scene that shows that their legacy of song remains as fresh as it was when that streak in the ’80s kicked it all off.
“I was in Nashville,” he says, “walking by this club full of young people–I’m talking 18 or 20. The band started playing ‘Dixieland Delight’ and everybody in the place started singing and sang all the way through. I had to smile at the longevity of the songs. Maybe some of those kids didn’t even know who ALABAMA was, but they knew the music, and so I think that’s a tribute to the fact that we spent a career putting out good songs that stand the test of time.”
But the boys from Fort Payne are not content to rest on past glories. As 2014 neared an end, they were concluding a strong tour and celebrating the release of their gospel album, “Angels Among Us: Hymns Gospel Favorites.” The band is looking forward to continuing touring in 2016 after the release of their first studio album of new material in 14 years, “Southern Drawl.” ALABAMA continues to “Roll On.”
The 2016 State Fair themed “Capture Your Memories”, is a 10-day Fair scheduled August 12-21, 2016. The State Fair of West Virginia, with a $13.8 million dollar economic impact on the state of West Virginia, is a 501 © 3 non-profit corporation committed to the traditions of agriculture, family entertainment, and education. For more information, please visit www.statefairofwv.com, or follow fair events on Facebook and Twitter.
State Fair Scholarship Applications Available Online Now
LEWISBURG, WV (12/01/2015)(readMedia)– Applications for the 2016 State Fair of West Virginia Scholarship program are now available online. In association with corporate, civic and individual contributors, and with support from the State Fair Endowment, five $1,000 (four year) scholarships will be awarded to individuals who have participated in one or more of the following areas at the State Fair:
1. State Fair Junior Show – market animals, purebred animals and dairy.
2. Equine Programs – State Fair’s Open Horse Show or Junior Horse and Pony Show.
3. 4-H and FFA Youth Exhibit Program – 4-H and FFA Underwood Youth Center.
Applicants must be pursuing a vocational trade, associate or bachelor degree, and must have participated in the junior livestock show, equine show or 4-H and FFA Youth Exhibit Program within the previous five (5) years.
“The State Fair is honored to be able to recognize the youth of our state for their hard work and for their contributions to agriculture and the Fair through our scholarship program,” State Fair CEO Kelly Collins stated. “For the second year, the application can be found online to simplify the application process. We can wait to meet the 2016 class of recipients.”
All State Fair Scholarship applications and supporting documents must be filled out on the online application. Letters of recommendation can be unloaded with the application, mailed to the State Fair Office or be emailed to entries@statefairofwv.com by January 15, 2016.
Applications are available online under the general information tab at www.statefairofwv.com.
The State Fair of West Virginia, with a $13.8 million dollar economic impact on West Virginia, is a 501 © 3 non-profit corporation committed to the traditions of agriculture, family entertainment, and education. The 2016 Fair themed “Capture Your Memories” is set for August 12-21.
Winter Markets to Begin at State Fairgrounds
LEWISBURG, WV (11/19/2015)(readMedia)– The Winter Indoor Flea Market and Farmer’s Market are set to open at the State Fair of West Virginia in Lewisburg this Saturday, November 21, 2015!
The fairground’s weekly flea market moves inside the heated West Virginia building for the winter season and is open every Tuesday and Saturday from 7:30 am to 1 pm. The indoor flea market provides shoppers an opportunity to “treasure hunt” and local vendors an affordable indoor retail location through the cold winter months! Look for a variety of antiques, collectibles, gently worn clothing, electronics and more. Vendors interested in participating may phone 304-645-1090 or visit statefairofwv.com to download a vendor application and rules. Applications may also be obtained in the State Fair office, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. – 4 pm.
Fans of locally grown produce and locally produced farm products will have the opportunity to shop every Saturday from 8:30 am – 12 Noon at the second annual Wild Wonderful Indoor Winter Farmer’s Market in the 4,000 square foot, heated, Douglass Annex building. The market is open to any small independent producer in the southeast region of West Virginia, and offers shoppers a wide range of delicious home-grown products.
For more information on either market, visit www.statefairofwv.com or call 304-645-1090.
The State Fair of West Virginia, with an $13.8 million dollar statewide economic impact, is a 501 © 3 non-profit corporation committed to the traditions of agriculture, family entertainment, and education. The 92nd annual State Fair of West Virginia is a 10-day event scheduled for August 12-21, 2016. For more information, please visit www.statefairofwv.com.
State Fair Announces 5th Annual Christmas Barn Decorating Contest
LEWISBURG, WV (11/03/2015)(readMedia)– Local civic groups and businesses are invited to participate in the 5th Annual Christmas Barn Decorating Contest at the State Fairgrounds in Fairlea. Participants will have the opportunity to decorate one of ten harness racing barns located adjacent to Route 219 North.
Kelly Collins, State Fair of WV CEO stated, “This is always an exciting competition for us and it is becoming a great tradition for the community. We are thrilled to see what creativity and holiday spirit entrants come up with this season!”
The winning entry will receive $300, with second and third place receiving $200 and $100 respectively. Only the east end of the barns will be decorated and work must be completed by Tuesday, December 1, 2015.
Phone 304-645-1090 or visit the State Fair office Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 4:00 pm to get an entry form and details. Entry forms can also be printed from the link above and emailed to cboothe@statefairofwv.com.
Don’t forget to visit the State Fair’s Facebook page to cast your vote for the “People’s Choice” award and help the winning entry receive a selection of State Fair merchandise!
The State Fair of West Virginia, with an $13.8 million dollar statewide economic impact, is a 501 © 3 non-profit corporation committed to the traditions of agriculture, family entertainment, and education. The 92nd annual State Fair of West Virginia is a 10-day event scheduled for August 12-21, 2016. For more information, please visit www.statefairofwv.com.
