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Organizers set lineup for Atwood Music Festival
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| By: ADAM NORTHAM, DAILY LEADER Staff Writer |
March 23, 2009 |
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This year's Atwood Music Festival is booked and ready to rock through May's Memorial Day weekend heat and haze with up-and-coming country musicians mostly booked straight from Nashville, organizers said.
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Atwood Entertainment Chairwoman Cindy Carr said the 35-year-old event will feature nine musical acts, ranging from locally bred songwriters to record-producing groups from the country music capital itself.
The festival will kick off early this year on Wednesday, May 20, with a guest performance by Christian rock band DecembeRadio. The Atwood Idol talent show will be held the following night, and the two-night concert event begins Friday, May 22.
Friday night's lineup begins with Brookhaven's Chad Simmons, who will be followed by The Last Trailers and Jamey Johnson, two Nashville-based bands who have had songs reach the Top 10 charts. Brookhaven's Ghost Town will close Friday night's performances.
Saturday night's performances begin in the early afternoon with local entertainment, and the Starkville-based band Nash Street, which consists of students from Mississippi State University, will open the lineup. The students will be followed by Nashville's The LoCash Cowboys, whom Carr said recently signed a record deal; and the Honky Tonk Tailgate Party, a group of artists assembled annually by promotion company Buddy Lea Attractions.
Collins' Cowboy Blues Band will close Saturday night. The weekend will also feature a golf tournament on May 16, and a tennis tournament on May 22-23.
Carr, a self-proclaimed "country music nerd," said she personally chose the lineup after researching the bands during trips to Nashville, and each was picked because of its status as a potential star in the making.
"These are people who put on a good show," she said. "They were picked mainly because they were up and coming. We want someone who is going to get out there and entertain the crowd."
Atwood's multiple band lineup in 2009 is a direct departure from last year's main performer, the Charlie Daniels Band, whom Carr said cost more to book than all four of 2009's Nashville-based artists combined. By booking up-and-coming bands, Carr said she hopes to fill the lineup cheaply and have the bands' popularity increase by the time of the festival. She said she studies her choices by following the bands' songs on the charts and radio.
"We can get more for our money with these guys, and hopefully after my nerd research I can pick somebody who will be hitting it hard by the time of the festival," she said. "There's a little bit of a gamble - there always is, no matter if you get an established artist or someone who is brand new."
Atwood Chairwoman Angela Calcote, now in her second year of heading up the festival, said she hopes the nine-band lineup will attract more visitors from Southwest Mississippi, leading to a bigger, better festival in 2010. She pointed out that Atwood, a $50,000 festival, is self-supporting, with all proceeds going back into the following festival.
Sponsorship opportunities for local businesses are available, Calcote said. Local businesses may sponsor the certain bands, acts, programs or the festival in general, with the smallest amount at $25.
Plenty of festival-goers will be on hand this year, Monticello Mayor Dave Nichols said. He expects anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 people to visit Monticello for the event.
"It's a positive impact for our community," Nichols said. "We can't buy the kind of publicity the festival brings to our town."
Adult weekend passes for the festival are $30, and nightly tickets are $20, she said, with kids' passes selling for $25 and $15, respectively. Tickets will soon be available for purchase from the festival's new Web site, www.atwoodmusicfestival.com. Tickets may also be purchased at businesses around Monticello, Carr said.
For more information on tickets or sponsorships, interested people may call the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce at 601-587-3007.
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©The Daily Leader 2009
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