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Grandstand Li Free Entertainment  
Susan Knapp Amphitheater
sponsored by Chevrolet with media sponsor KDSM FOX 17
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Trailer Choir
Trailer Choir

August 13, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.

With their current hit “What Would You Say,” Trailer Choir has hit the national country stage with high amounts of energy and surprising speed over the last 18 months. Named About.com's Best New Country Duo/Group, the group started when singers Butter and Big Vinny met in Nashville and started performing together. The final member of the Trailer Choir trio, Crystal, joined the group in a rather peculiar way. An early fan of Butter and Big Vinny’s music, Crystal was at one of their concerts when she decided they needed a female harmony. She proceeded to jump on the stage and take over a microphone; thus, earning herself a spot as the third singer of Trailer Choir.

The group is known for its songs about having a good time. “Off the Hillbilly Hook,” “My Last Five Beers,” “Rollin’ Through the Sunshine” and “Rockin’ the Beer Gut” are among their fans’ favorites. Recently, the trio has allowed a deeper side to come out in their music. “What Would You Say” is a poignant song inspired by the tragic story of 12 miners who were trapped in a mine in Sago, West Virginia. While in the collapsed mine, some of these men were able to write letters to their families before they died. The song serves as a reminder to live every moment to the fullest and to make the most out of every chance you have to be with the people you know and love. It shows a new, serious side of Trailer Choir that’s all about real life and remembering what’s important.

Jace Everett
Jace Everett

August 14, 8 p.m.

Jace Everett, known for his first hit single “That’s the Kind of Love I’m In,” based his self-titled album off his own life experiences. With six of the ten songs either written or co-written by Everett, the album includes the biographical ballads “Half Of My Mistakes,” “Nowhere in the Neighborhood” and “Between A Father And A Son.” The popular “Bad Things” is the theme song for HBO’s True Blood.

Everett was born in Ohio but moved to Texas at the age of six. Calling himself a “born-again Texan,” he grew up singing in school and church musicals and had country music incorporated into many aspects of his life. He started to attend college in Nashville but ended up quitting and working an assortment of odd jobs, including bartender, photographer, waiter, and truck washer. After years of chasing his music dream, Everett’s shows prove it’s all about being real and making honest, fun country music.

Randy Houser
Randy Houser

August 15, 8 p.m.

Randy Houser’s irresistible passion, enthusiasm and conviction, combined with his vocal and song-writing abilities, have turned this small-town Mississippi singer into a rising star in the country music industry. With hits like the rockin’ “Boots On” and the gripping breakthrough single “Anything Goes,” his debut album includes a balance of sad and joyful tunes.

Houser came to Nashville in early 2003 in hopes of making a living singing like his professional musician father, Papa Houser and co-wrote the hit “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” with Jamey Johnson and Dallas Davidson. Since then, his songs have been picked up by John Michael Montgomery (“If You Ever Went Away”), Justin Moore (“Back That Thing Up”), George Canyon (“Coming From You”) and other singers.

Heidi Newfield
Heidi Newfield

August 16, 8 p.m.

Heidi Newfield, best known as the original female member of the country music group Trick Pony, launched her solo career with the hit single “Johnny and June” and debut album “What Am I Waiting For.” Although she doesn’t perform with her old bandmates anymore, her explosive voice, rambunctious stage antics, and trademark unruly curls have carried over into her solo career.

Growing up on a horse farm in Healdsburg, California, Newfield discovered her passion for music at a young age. She recorded her first demo at age 13 and never veered from her childhood dream of being a singer someday. Although she entered the country music scene with hard-partying, good-timing Trick Pony, Newfield is at a different stage in life now, as seen by her new, diverse range of songs, including the bleak “Wreck You,” the redneck anthem “Knocked Up” and the beautiful and haunting “Love Her and Lose Me.”

Jason Brown
Jason Brown

August 17-19, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.

With pure vocals that wrap listeners in the emotion of each lyric, Jason Brown’s youthful charm finds a home standing on a musical front porch near the corner of 'Beer Run Boulevard' and 'Sunday Morning Avenue'. Brown has shared the stage alongside many of country’s leading and rising artists including: Gary Allan, Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton, Josh Turner, Sugarland, Emerson Drive, Taylor Swift, Chuck Wicks, The Lost Trailers, and Montgomery Gentry, just to name a few.

"My grandmother taught me from an early age to appreciate the piano and to support my vocals. Even at age four when I sang in the church, I projected loud enough that they didn’t even have to mic me,” laughs Jason. From grandma’s keys to stages across the nation, his energetic show has left a lasting impression among his fans, including one signing session that ran for seven hours. When he’s not stomping out the groovin’ new-country tunes or enjoying downtime with his family, the Pella, Iowa native likes to spend his hours among the wildlife hunting whatever game is currently in season, and of course fishing.

Jerrod Niemann
Jerrod Niemann

August 19, Noon & 2 p.m.

Jerrod Niemann, one of country music’s most anticipated new artists, has co-written numerous hits like Garth Brooks’ “Good Ride Cowboy.” Having established himself as a songwriter, Niemann has now turned his focus to performing with his traveling band. Ultimately, whether he’s writing the next big hit or performing in front of audiences throughout the United States, Niemann’s goal is to keep the country tradition alive and vital in modern times.

Niemann grew up in a small town in Kansas where his parents owned and operated a roller skating rink, which exposed him to music every day. After high school he enrolled in a commercial music program with an emphasis on country music at a college in Texas. He learned the fundamentals of songwriting and eventually made his way to Nashville and landed a songwriting contract. Niemann’s big break came when country legend Garth Brooks listened to several songs that Niemann and his friend Richie Brown had recorded. Brooks, who described their music as “magical,” asked the two to help him write songs for his album “Scarecrow.” Their combined work resulted in Brook’s hit singles “That Girl Is A Cowboy” and “Good Ride Cowboy.”

Country Gold

August 20, 6 & 8:30 p.m.

Legendary country artists LeRoy VanDyke, Steve and Rudy Gatlin, Helen Cornelius, and David Frizzell share the stage for a star-studded performance. Click here for full bios of the artists.

LoCash Cowboys
LoCash Cowboys

August 21, 7:30 & 9:30 p.m.

Singing a hybrid of country, rock and hip-hop music, the LoCash Cowboys have captured audiences across the country with the duo’s tight two-part harmonies. Their top hits include “My Life in Tuckerville”—the theme song to Tonya Tucker’s CMT show “Tuckerville”—and “Parade,” which they sang in New York City’s Times Square during a New Year’s Eve performance. In 2008 the LoCash Cowboys graced the Country Music Association’s Top 10 Ballot for Duo of the Year for the second time in three years.

The duo is comprised of Chris Lucas, a high school football luminary from Maryland, and Preston Brust, the son of a preacher man from Indiana. The two met in Nashville in 2002 and formed LoCash Cowboys two weeks later. Since then, the duo’s popularity has soared and they have shared shows with big performers, including Keith Urban, Toby Keith, Gretchen Wilson, Big & Rich, and Tom Petty. With high-energy dance moves, wide-ranging vocal capabilities, and a ruthless, raw, and robust sound, the LoCash Cowboys’ concerts are known to be upbeat and electrifying.

Lost Trailers
Lost Trailers

August 22, 8 p.m.

It’s not easy capturing the energy and excitement of live shows and putting it in a record, but that was exactly what the Lost Trailers were aiming for. With their latest album, “Holler Back,” they clearly succeeded. It debuted at number five on the Billboard Country Albums Chart and made them the “Most Played New Country Group of 2008.” The title song “Holler Back” and their follow-up single “How ‘Bout You Don’t” show just how successful the band has become as they both made it inside the Top 20 on country radio charts.

The group, comprised of Ryder Lee, Jeff Potter, Manny Medina and brothers Stokes and Andrew Nielson caught an early break after Willie Nelson heard their demo and invited them to perform at his annual Fourth of July picnic. They received such a great response from their audience that Nelson asked them to open other concerts for him. The group has also shared the stage with Sugarland, Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley and Kenny Chesney.

Julianne Hough
Julianne Hough

August 23, 7 p.m.

With her hit single “That Song in my Head,” Julianne Hough’s warm, textured voice and fun and quirky personality have captured the attention of millions. In addition to being named CMA’s Top New Female Vocalist, she also received the association’s fan-based Top New Artist Award.

While the two-time “Dancing with the Stars” champion is a triple threat as a dancer, actress and singer, the 20-year-old has recently turned her focus to singing. One of Hough’s first songs, “Will You Dance With Me,” which was recorded for an American Red Cross fund raising project that benefited Kansas tornado victims, peaked at number eight on the country music charts despite never being released to radio. Her May 2008 debut album, featuring the hit “That Song in my Head,” became the highest country debut since 2006. Hough’s fresh-faced contributions include a mixture of up-beat tempos and contemplative ballads that have placed her at the forefront of the country music scene.


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