The Shake Up

 Lady Antebellum is doing their namesake justice by cementing their place in country music history. The band is swooping up awards left and right, most recently the Group Video of the Year Award at the CMT Awards on June 8^th. They followed with a killer performance at the show, reminding fans once again why they are consistently on top of the Billboard Charts:

http://www.cmt.com/videos/misc/662102/2011-cmt-music-awards-just-a-kiss-kiss.jhtml

Luckily, we don’t have to wait until next year’s CMT’s to see them again. Tickets for their performance at the Kentucky State Fair will be on sale Monday June 13^th at 10 a.m. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.com or at the Kentucky Exposition Center ticket office if you feel so moved to come visit us, we would love to see you. 

The band got together in 2006 after middle school friends Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley found Hillary Davis, daughter of country music star Linda Davis. The talented trio went about making their first album which was an instant hit. They then began their second album while balancing a thick tour schedule. However, all their hard work has really seemed to pay off, with more than 40 award nominations and No.1 hit after No. 1 hit. We see no need to title drop here, you know their songs.

We hope to see a lot more of this group in upcoming years. And if past is any indication of future, we don’t think they’re going anywhere.

…Hank Williams Jr. and John Mayer had a lovechild?

I’m from a small town, so it’s easy for me to relate to songs about “Red dirt roads and big tire toys, country girls and redneck boys” (Sumter County Friday Night) But even I was a little stumped when I came across this question researching country singer and songwriter Lee Brice. But with his music reflecting traditional honky tonk sounds while teetering on the edge of contemporary rock and roll, it’s easy to see Brice filling those shoes.

Raised in Sumter, S.C. on his momma’s gospel, Lee Brice was what you would consider “musically sheltered” before being exposed to various genres in high school. So it’s ironic that today he draws inspiration from a list of artists that would challenge even Pandora to unite:  Garth Brooks, Hank Junior, Coldplay, John Mayer, Brian McKnight, Tom Petty, 3 Doors Down, Whitney Houston, Edwin McCain and Ray Charles. Aside from hitting shuffle on Lee Brice’s iPod, this list could only be complied by a shoplifter making a grab and run at the local music store. But inspiration united these unlikely companions in Brice’s mind as the definition of greatness.

“They’re all great, which appeals to me because I want to make every song I do as great as I can too. I’m not comparing myself to them in any way, but I want the same thing that I love in what they do: They all make music that you can believe in.”

But it’s been a long road from Sumter, S.C. to Freedom Hall. After his football career at Clemson University ended prematurely following an injury, Brice walked away from a civil engineering degree to pursue his true passion; music. Shortly after moving to Music City, he met Doug Johnson, sharpened his writing skills and was soon writing two and three times a day with heavyweights in the industry. His career received a major boost when his song “More Than a Memory” was picked up by Garth Brooks in 2007. As a singer, his breakthrough came in 2009 with the release of his single “Love Like Crazy” which made a slow consistent build to the top of the Billboard charts. Since then, Brice released his debut album Love Like Crazy in 2010.

Beginning with his very first single “She Ain’t Right” in 2007 he has proven that with simple lyrics, he has the ability to make memories come alive. And at the 2011 Kentucky State Fair you’ll have the opportunity to travel through the dirt roads of Sumter County as Brice kicks off the Main Stage Concert Series, opening for Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” tour on August 18 at 8 p.m.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on June 13 at the Kentucky Exposition Center, KFC Yum! Center and Kentucky International Convention Center Ticket Offices and all Ticketmaster outlets. Charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000, or purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com. 

Three of the four Main Stage Series acts highlight the first round of concert announcements for the 2010 Kentucky State Fair. The 11-day fair will feature performances by Sugarland, Jeff Dunham and Rascal Flatts.

Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, better known as Sugarland, will perform on opening night of the Kentucky State Fair, Thursday, Aug. 19. After breaking onto the national music scene five years ago, the multiple award-winning duo has recorded hits like “Baby Girl, “All I Wanna Do” and “Stay.” The latter song propelled Sugarland to multiple Grammy Awards in 2009 for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Country Song. Ticketing information and supporting acts will be released at a later date.

Rascal Flatts, set to close the Kentucky State Fair in Freedom Hall on Sunday, Aug. 29, has released 24 singles on the Billboard Hot Country charts, including 11 No. Ones. In the band’s nine-year career, the trio has amassed 32 American Music Association, Country Music Television and Academy of Country Music Awards. Ticketing information and supporting acts will be released at a later date.

The crowds will turn their cheers into laughs when Jeff Dunham takes the stage, Saturday, Aug. 21. Dunham, former American Comedy award winner for Funniest Male Stand-Up Comic, takes on personalities of a Hispanic pepper, a brash old man and a beer-drinking NASCAR fan, all in the name of comedy. Dunham achieved enormous success following his record-breaking draw of 6.6 million tuning in to watch his Comedy Central Christmas special, “Jeff Dunham’s Very Special Christmas Special.” Ticketing information will be released at a later date.

The 2009 Kentucky State Fair enjoyed record-breaking crowds, with headliners Journey and Taylor Swift each playing to enthusiastic, sold-out crowds and helping increase concert attendance by 95 percent over 2008 and concert revenue by 100 percent.

The 2010 fair will run from Aug. 19-29 and tickets will go on sale at the Kentucky Exposition Center Ticket Office, Kentucky International Conventional Center Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster outlets and online at Ticketmaster.com.

For more information and continued updates on the 2010 Kentucky State Fair, visit the official website at www.kystatefair.org.