Tuesday, August 13, 2024
Great Frontier Bull Riding Company
7:00 pm in the Keitzer Arena
DIRT KICKIN' WICKED GOOD BULL RIDING
Alan, Jenn, and Miles have been producing bull riding events for over 20 years. Throughout the Midwest and as far away as Maine; the family prides itself with professional and family fun entertainment. With a focus on "getting butts in the seats" they work hand in hand with committees to ensure the most successful bull riding event.
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Fool House
8:00 - 10:30 pm in the park
The Ultimate 90's Dance Party!
Fool House is THE ULTIMATE 90's DANCE PARTY! A LIVE musical event paying homage to the golden era of boy bands, pop stars, hip hop, and pop punk. With a larger than life production, this show recreates the sights, sounds, and energy of the biggest stars of the 90's.
Nonstop sing alongs, party throwbacks and choreographed dance moves is what this show is all about! Come prepared to sing your heart out and dance all night long!
Thursday, August 15, 2024
Drake Milligan
8:30 pm in the park
"In my opinion, I think you are the real deal. You're a great songwriter. You have real charisma.”
- Simon Cowell, America's Got Talent
“The dude’s got the disposition of George Strait, with the smoothness and cool factor of Chris Isaak."
- Saving Country Music
One of Sounds Like Nashville's "2022 Artists To Watch"
Raised in Texas, Drake Milligan took his smooth baritone and burgeoning songcraft to Nashville at the age of 19. Now 24, Milligan is making a name for himself in country music.
His debut album Dallas/Fort Worth, named after the young Texan's hometown, released in September 2022 and claimed the No. 5 spot on Billboard's Emerging Artist chart. His song Sounds Like Something I'd Do broke into Country radio's Top 40 and hit # 1 on the iTunes Country Single Chart. The record finds a next-generation traditionalist mixing timeless sounds and right-now energy.
Music & Videos
Hating Everything She Tries On
Over Drinkin’ Under Thinkin’
Don’t Look Down
Sounds Like Something I’d Do
Kiss Goodbye All Night
Cowgirl For Christmas
Dreamsville
She
Drake Milligan website
Friday, August 16, 2024
Fri.: 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. (Park)
Sun.: 11:00 a.m. Community Worship Service (Park)
* Doug and Judy Peterson met in college, and then formed the Heart Song Band in 1976.
* Band members now consists of 3 generations of Petersons and other excellent musicians.
* The band currently performs at nearly 30 venues annually and has performed at over 2000 venues since 1976.
* Heart Song has recorded 16 albums with the latest CD "40 Years" being released last August 2016"
"RESCUED" CD exceeding 130,000 copies given away!
* Venues include: dozens of county fairs, over 30 appearances at the MN State Fair, dozens of performances at midwest farm shows as well as hundreds of town celebrations, churches, resorts, and camps.
* Versatility and variety-gospel music-something for all ages.
Ritchie Lee & the Fabulous 50's
1:00 - 2:30 pm in the Martin County Arena
Richie Lee and the Fabulous 50's will take you back to the roots of Rock 'n' Roll history wrapped up into a high energy show! From Des Moines, Iowa, Richie Lee started out performing at a young age and has had the great opportunity in sharing the stage and opening up for many of the original Rock 'n' Roll greats. The music will sound just as it did back then. The band does their absolute best to stay true to the original sound of the songs. Just to name a few, you will hear music by Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Roy Orbison, Eddie Cochran, the Beatles, and the Beach Boys!
The Whitesidewalls
6:00 - 9:00 pm in the Martin County Arena
The Upper Midwest's premier doo-wop, rockabilly and rock and roll band!
Since their genesis over 45 years ago, the Whitesidewalls Rock 'n' Roll Revue has been the Midwest's ultimate 1950s and 1960s doo-wop and rock & roll show band, with a loyal fan base that continues to grow and show their support and love for The Whitesidewalls.
Featuring five singers playing multiple instruments, the tight harmonies and driving dance beat of the Whitesidewalls are the signature of the Rock 'n Roll Revue. Hound Dog, Swanee, Gino Gambucci, Bobby Maestro and Rocky Beaumont have handcrafted a fabulous show that will have you jumping just like it did all those years ago!
This talented group of versatile artists from Minnesota and Wisconsin performs for many thousands of people each year, demonstrating their agile musicianship while putting on a great show. Come on out and see for yourself- you won't be disappointed!
featuring the Lance Allen Band(Arena) from 3-6pm
Saturday, August 17, 2024
Tracy Lawrence
8:30 pm in the park
“This chapter of my career is much more comfortable than I thought it would be,” says Tracy Lawrence. “The transition from being a commercial radio artist, with the chart game, the politics and all of it—the decompression from that was a little bit difficult. But what I've found is that it gives you an opportunity to reflect back, see the high and low spots and all that, because you're not running on the treadmill all the time.”
Not that Lawrence has slowed down as he passes thirty years as a country music icon. With 13 million albums sold and 18 Number One singles, he continues to release music and tour, but has also diversified into numerous media and charity projects. He started the decade with the ambitious Hindsight 2020 Vol 1, 2, and 3 albums, commemorating his three decades of work with recordings of 30 songs that included classic hits and new music.
The series marked something of a reset for multiple CMA and ACM award-winner Lawrence. “The 30th anniversary project was really big in closing a book for me,” he says. “Reliving a lot of the older material and writing new material was an opportunity to really wrap all that up.”
In recent years, much of Lawrence’s focus has gone into his role hosting the radio show Honky Tonkin’ with Tracy Lawrence, which now airs in almost 170 markets. “When we started it eight-plus years ago,” he says, “we were in the throes of the bro-country period, and I felt like the music from our era had gotten left behind. I was hearing from people how frustrated they by not hearing those classic songs on the radio, because, in my heart, I really believe that ‘90s country was on the track to be what Classic Rock was, that staple that people lean back to for a long time.”
But even the outlet of a radio show has its limitations, and Lawrence was interested in working with younger artists, reaching a different audience, and being able to explore different kinds of topics. The result was the TL’s Road House podcast, run out of his tour bus, which has featured such red-hot guests as HARDY, Jason Aldean, Jelly Roll, and Lainey Wilson.
“I needed something a little bit deeper,” says Lawrence, “and moving into the podcast allowed me to have more artistic control and more freedom to discuss things that are happening in the world right now. I didn't see anybody with my kind of seniority really trying to have these conversations.”
Meantime, the most important part of Lawrence’s work has become the Mission:Possible non-profit benefitting the homeless. Eighteen years ago, touched by a
family member who was struggling with being unhoused, Lawrence and some friends set up a couple of turkey fryers at the Nashville Rescue Mission to cook a fresh Thanksgiving dinner for the community. Since then, his efforts have raised more than $2.5 million for this essential cause.
“I've always been called to give back as much as I could,” says Lawrence. “My family did a lot of this stuff growing up and my managers instilled it in me early on, doing food drives and different things. Sometimes just adding a little bit of dignity—a hot shower with a door that locks, somebody washing your clothes periodically, that service for your pet that you dearly love—little things like that show compassion for your fellow man. That's really what the whole thing is about.”
Lawrence’s work with Mission:Possible was honored with the 2023 CRS Humanitarian Award, which recognizes a country artist whose philanthropic efforts have significantly improved the effectiveness and impact of the causes they support. (Past recipients include Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton, and Carrie Underwood.) But Lawrence is looking to the future, hoping to continue expanding the group’s reach, maybe adding a benefit concert to the annual turkey fry and golf tournament.
“We’ve just let it evolve and it's grown into this massive organization,” he says. “I think we had 250 volunteers last year and tons of sponsors, and we've made a tremendous amount of money that we've been able to spread around to a lot of different organizations in Nashville. At this point, I think it's probably as big a piece of my legacy as anything else—I know locally, when I'm out and about, more people comment to me about that work than anything that I've done musically in my career.”
Lawrence recently released the Live from Billy Bob’s album and is headed out on a 2023 co-headlining tour with Gary Allan. Coming off the Hindsight albums, he’s gearing up to return to the studio (“I wrote so much music that by the end of the third album, I'd literally run out of songs, but I really want to get back to the creative part”). There’s also a docu-series in the works, looking back on his remarkable career. “A lot of wonderful stuff happened through the ‘90s,” he says, “but a lot of it's a blur, so I'm curious to see what they found out and what they've dug up that other people remember.”
As his own career advances, Lawrence is proud of serving as a role model and guide for younger musicians. “Artists are very guarded a lot of times, and they cut themselves off,” he says, “so I really work hard at building those relationships and creating those bonds. This is a business filled with mistakes and traps and failures and I've had my share of them, and there's really no handbook. There's not a lot of mentorship, and you hope somewhere along the way that they have somebody to turn to that can give them straight-up advice who doesn't have a financial stake in their career.”
As he looks out from the stage, Tracy Lawrence sees an audience that demonstrates the impact and legacy of his three-decade-plus journey. “It's amazing,” he says, “it spans the gamut from seniors my mom's age all the way to young teenagers and even little kids. And it's very humbling. As a creative person, whether you're a painter or a poet or an artist or whatever, you want to leave an indelible mark behind you that people are going to remember in a positive light.
“So I feel very blessed that I've been able to sustain this kind of respect from my audience and from my peers. It solidifies the fact that my music’s gonna be around for a long time.”
Family Friendly Shows