Rising Stars Archives - Page 6 of 7

Harper Grae draws on her own life’s challenges

Loss and release find understanding through ‘Bloodline’

Harper Grae is a young lady who has faced a lot of adversity in her life. She was raised by her grandparents when it became clear that her parents were unable to take care of her. Struggling to overcome the pain and sadness, Harper found comfort in music that eventually led to writing and performing songs inspired by her difficulties and the ways she faced them.

While attending Auburn University in Alabama, studying Musical Theatre and Religious Studies, she auditioned for ‘The Glee Project 2,’ a talent program attached to the hit TV show ‘Glee.’ The audition was successful and she found herself in Los Angeles for an intense education in every aspect of the musical business.

Now settled in Nashville, she has a new EP and a new single, ‘Bloodline,’ that she sang during appearances at CMA Fest 2018. Harper and I met during CMA Fest to catch up on her career.

This is one of a series of interviews that I conducted with rising singer/songwriters during CMA Fest to find out about their new music, their musical influences and their experience at CMA Fest.

CMA Fest ‘was a whirlwind’

Preshias Harris: You made your first CMA Fest appearance this year. Can you describe that experience?

Harper Grae: Yeah, the experience was a whirlwind! I mean, starting from the artist valet pick-up, for a small-town girl from Alabama, I was like, ‘Wow, this is SO cool!’ And walking onto the stage at CMA Fest was something I always dreamed about doing. The most incredible experience was the Meet and Greet where you really get to meet the fans and talk to them. That’s what I want to do, interact with people who like my music and want to talk about my story and the songs that I have written.

PH: Was there a special song that stuck out to the fans, that they gave you feedback about?

HG: They all loved ‘Bloodline.’ They all loved it. It was the last song on the set and we really tried to ‘bring the house down’ with it. It was cool because we were on the Spotlight Stage and you can see people walk by, and they could keep walking but they didn’t! And I made note of that. I said ‘Okay, let’s make a game of this. Let’s see how many people stop and stay.’ And it was quite a few and that was cool. Because at my core I’m the girl who thinks nobody’s going to come to her birthday party, so it was really nice to see a crowd there.

PH: Where are you from in Alabama?

HG: I’m from a small town called Reeltown, near Auburn, Alabama, a really small town!

The story behind ‘Bloodline’

PH: Tell me about your single, ‘Bloodline.’

HG: ‘Bloodline’ is the first single off my EP, ‘Buck Moon Medleys,’ which was inspired by the loss of my mother in December of last year. I started to really look at the lack of relationship with my mom from a vulnerable perspective, a beginning-to-end experience. I wanted to start off talking about that in a song that really talks about ‘does the apple really fall far from the tree?’ In my case, I hope I fall very far. But then, sometimes, you don’t want to, because you don’t want to run from who you are, because at the end of the day, my mom and my dad, even though I didn’t have a relationship with them, they are why I’m here. I’d never really thought about it. I’d just harbored not-so-great feelings towards them.

PH: When did that change? Continue reading “Harper Grae draws on her own life’s challenges”

Dugger Band are ‘East Tennessee Sons’

Harmonies are in their blood

Jordan and Seth Dugger are brothers that together form the Dugger Band. Their father is a pastor of a small community in the eastern part of Tennessee. They are both graduates of the University of Tennessee and are talented multi-instrumentalists as well as singer/songwriters. Their current single, ‘East Tennessee Son,’ is also the title track from their current album.

As CMA Fest 2018 drew to a close, I met up with Seth and Jordan to talk about their music and the audience reaction to their blend of contemporary and traditional country.

This is one of a series of interviews that I conducted with rising singer/songwriters during CMA Fest to find out about their new music, their musical influences and their experience at CMA Fest.

Smoky Mountain influence

Preshias Harris: Jordan, you both grew up in Greenville in East Tennessee, close to the Smoky Mountains. Do you feel that affected how your music developed?

Jordan Dugger: I think so, for sure. Most of our family are musical. A lot of the events we attended with our family, a lot of people would always bring guitars and fiddles and mandolins and all kinds of instruments to family get-togethers. So we grew up with the family harmony stuff and everybody singing together. Of course, growing up near Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge where Dolly Parton is from, we drew influence from a lot of her music. And there’s a big Bluegrass influence and a lot of mountain music, but also a lot of country and some of the rockin’ country as well. It’s a pretty diverse music community in East Tennessee so that definitely influenced our style today. The biggest part, I think, is the harmonies. And the first instruments we were into were guitar and fiddle.

PH: Seth, tell me about being here at CMA Fest. Is it your first time?

Seth Dugger: We’ve been for a couple of years now. But this year, we’ve performed the most at CMA Fest. It’s a great experience! It’s cool to see all the hard-core country music fans from all over the world come to Nashville for this one week. A lot of our fans came in for it to sit in on some of the fan parties that we had and hear some of our acoustic songs. So that was really humbling for us to see all those people from all over the world for this one event.

PH: What was one of your favorite performances? Continue reading “Dugger Band are ‘East Tennessee Sons’”

Adam Rutledge drops new single and EP

‘Love Kickin’ In’ high-energy anthem

Adam Rutledge has a reputation for bringing contagious high energy to the stage that quickly cranks up the audience at his live shows. Adam has appeared with hot acts such as Brothers Osborn, Chris Janson, Eli Young Band, Cassadee Pope and Phil Vassar. In fact, Adam’s career is now managed by Phil Vassar (along with Amy Millslagle of i81 Entertainment).

He has a strong presence on social media with around 12,000 Instagram followers and thousands more on Facebook. Adam was in Nashville for CMA Fest 2018, playing at Music City Light Stage, Bridgestone Arena Plaza. He has a brand new EP, RUNWAY, that includes his new single, ‘Love Kickin’ In.’

Taking a few minutes away from the CMA Fest hustle and bustle, Adam sat down with me to catch up on what’s new with him.

This is one of a series of interviews that I conducted with rising singer/songwriters during CMA Fest to find out about their new music, their musical influences and their experience at CMA Fest.

Airfield serves as video backdrop

Preshias Harris: Tell us about what’s been going on with your career since you dropped your single.

Adam Rutledge: Yeah, so it’s been exciting! I’ve shot a music video for the single which we’re really excited about. It’ll be out in a few weeks. We shot it at an old, abandoned airport on a runway. It was a beautiful backdrop for the video. And I’m promoting another record coming out June 22nd.

PH: Tell me about any radio tours you’ve got planned.

AR: We’re in the process of planning radio tours right now.

PH: You’ve got a lot of wheels moving in your career. Which is the most exciting one?

AR: Being right here with you! No, it’s all so exciting. I can’t just pick one. There’s the new record, the video and working with so many talented people. I’m just one percent of all this! It’s everybody else that makes this all work for me. I’m just thankful for all the good people on my team.

PH: How long did it take you to get the songs for your CD?

AR: Some of them I’ve had written for years. Some of them I’d released on my own, years ago, and we went back and re-recorded and re-mixed them. And some of them were pitched to me and they are pretty new, so the songs span a large period of my life, actually.

PH: I’m going to ask you something that every artist hates when I ask it but I’m going to ask it anyway. What’s your favorite song on the album? Or a special one that means more to you personally? Continue reading “Adam Rutledge drops new single and EP”

Matt Rogers knows it takes hard work to reach the top

Making new fans during CMA Fest

Matt Rogers is making sure he will reach the eyes and ears of as many potential fans as possible during CMA Fest 2018. The Eatonton, Georgia, native now calls Nashville ‘home,’ but devotes a large part of every year to touring far and wide.

His latest project is an EP titled ‘Richest Place On Earth’ and he recently released the music video for the title track exclusively on Raised Rowdy. The song recently won a top award in the Music City SongStar competition.

I caught up with Matt in between some of his scheduled CMA Fest appearances.

This is one of a series of interviews that I conducted with rising singer/songwriters during CMA Fest to find out about their new music, their musical influences and their experience at CMA Fest.

Preshias Harris: You gave up a career in the medical career to move to Nashville. Why did you do that?

Matt Rogers. Photo credit: Preshias Harris

Matt Rogers: Music has always been there for me. When I was growing up, I played in church. I was in a youth ‘praise and worship’ band, I had a garage band, I had a little group in college. I started writing in college and when I moved home, I started playing more and more often in bars and clubs and I put a band together. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do when I grew up. I was really fumbling through different careers and different jobs, things like that, until I finally got a great job and a great career. But I had a goal to move up here [to Nashville] and I had a lot of support to move up here, so I saved up some money and set my plans and my goals out. And I ‘saddled up’ and moved on up.

The move to Nashville

PH: What was your time frame for that move?

MR: I was already coming up here often, monthly or bi-monthly, to take meetings, writing sessions, things like that. But I’d made a plan. I said, ‘In a year-and-a-half, I’ll move to Nashville.’ So I made a plan and started meeting people who could help me with that transition. At the end of that year, I found a place to rent, and I haven’t looked back since.

PH: Tell me about your EP, ‘Richest Place On Earth.’

MR: It’s a personal story. For the first year-and-a-half I was up here, I wrote about two hundred songs. So I wanted to narrow it down to just a few that would really describe who I was, not only as an artist but as a person. I wanted a cohesive project that you can listen to, start to finish, and have a better idea about who I was after you got through listening to it.

PH: What made you pick that title?

MR: It’s about me leaving that full-time job in Georgia and moving up here and taking the chance to do what I was wanting to do. To do what I think I was meant to do. That’s the story. I want to live out loud and break the mold. I want to leave a story behind to be told. Continue reading “Matt Rogers knows it takes hard work to reach the top”

Zach Stone tells stories in music and video

Texas singer/songwriter inspired by life’s moments

Zach Stone was in Nashville to play some dates at CMA Fest 2018. Zach is an emerging artist from Arlington, Texas. His influences range from George Strait to Jason Aldean, and his own music can move from hard-driving country rock to emotional ballads. He is currently self-releasing a series of singles and their accompanying music videos that are held together by a thematic thread running through them.

We sat down to talk just as CMA Fest was wrapping up.

This is one of a series of interviews that I conducted with rising singer/songwriters during CMA Fest to find out about their new music, their musical influences and their experience at CMA Fest.

Preshias Harris: What are some your favorite things to do with music, besides performing?

Zach Stone: Wow. Well, you really made it hard for me because my favorite thing is performing! Songwriting is a lot of fun. I really enjoy creating my own storylines, getting to tell stories and convey emotions that I’m feeling and thinking about going through. I really didn’t start doing that until I moved to Nashville about seven years ago. That’s been a new experience. The more I’ve done that, the better I’ve gotten. It’s just been super cool to keep moving forward with that. One of my other favorite things that I’m just recently discovering with our new video series that we’re doing is that music videos are so much fun.

PH: It sounds like you’re enjoying that aspect.

ZS: I love getting to shoot music videos! It’s fun to create these storylines and characters and act in them. It makes me think that one day, I’ll eventually want to do some movies. Right now I’m just focusing on each song and music video individually because each one has been ‘my baby.’

Playing for The Country Network

PH: What were some of the highlights of your first CMA Fest? Continue reading “Zach Stone tells stories in music and video”

Shane Owens’ album keeps country music traditional

Stays true to his roots with ‘Where I’m Coming From’

Shane Owens makes no apologies for playing traditional country music, the kind he grew up listening to in rural Alabama. That influence is evident in every song on his latest album, ‘Where I’m Comin’ From,’ that includes songs written by some of country music’s top songwriters. The style might be traditional, but Shane’s voice definitely puts the songs in the here and now.

The album includes the single, ‘Lie,’ a witty song about, uh, stretching the truth. You can see the very funny music video of the song here at YouTube.

This is one of a series of interviews that I conducted with rising singer/songwriters during CMA Fest to find out about their new music, their musical influences and their experience at CMA Fest.

Shane has played his share of bars and honky-tonks, but has also shared the stage with some of country music’s top names.

I met up with Shane while he was in town, playing dates at CMA Fest 2018.

Preshias Harris: How did it feel to re-cut one of John Anderson’s songs?

Shane Owens album, Where I’m Comin’ From

Shane Owens: Well you know, John’s a legend in this business, and he’s a traditional artist and paved the way for a lot of traditional artists like myself, and I believe that. I take great pride in my traditional country sound and sticking to my roots. He [Anderson] should be a Country Music Hall of Famer. I love John, I’ve actually had the opportunity to do a lot of shows with him over the years, opening up for him. He’s a great guy! Nobody can sing a country song like John Anderson. He stands out by himself. You know it’s going to be a John Anderson song as soon as you hear his voice.

PH: Do you have a favorite John Anderson song?

SO: ‘Swingin’! I remember when that came out, when I was a kid, I thought that’s the coolest thing. [sings] “Just a-swingin’…” and I thought, that’s awesome!

It’s a Southern Thing

PH: What’s your favorite song on your album? Continue reading “Shane Owens’ album keeps country music traditional”

Dallas Remington has ‘Never Turned Around’

New single now, EP to follow

Dallas Remington is a dynamic young singer/songwriter who, at only eighteen, already has several years of experience as a performer. Her current single, ‘Never Turned Around’ (RoadWarrior Records), a tale of heartache and love, is now at country radio, with an EP to follow.

Dallas stopped by to talk about her new songs and her musical influences.

This is one of a series of interviews that I conducted with rising singer/songwriters during CMA Fest to find out about their new music, their musical influences and their experience at CMA Fest.

Preshias Harris: Tell me the story behind your new single, ‘Never Turned Around,’ and who did you write that with?

Dallas Remington: I wrote ‘Never Turned Around’ with my friend Regan Stewart and we went into the session preparing to write a song about a girl who didn’t think she could ever be heartbroken. She was going to go out with this guy but he wasn’t going to break her heart because her heart would never break. We got halfway through the writing session and we were like… ‘This girl really loves him.’ She is so in love with him and she is going to be so heartbroken when he leaves her. So, ‘Never Turn Around’ is about that kind of love that you don’t want to let them go because you love them so much, no matter how much you want them to chase their dreams, you want to hold on to them forever. But you end up having to let them go because it’s what’s best for them.

PH: The single is a taste of your EP titled ‘Freedom,’ due out this summer. What can we expect to hear on this project? And how many of the songs have you co-written?

Co-written every song on EP

DR: I’ve co-written every song on the project. There are seven songs on there and I’m very excited. It’s a big mixture of what I’ve grown up listening to, because I grew up listening to traditional country but also Lynyrd Skynyrd and classic rock so these seven songs present to the world who I am through my music and how I like to present myself, so I’m excited for everyone to hear it. It will available digitally at the end of June or the beginning of July and the physical copies are available now.

PH: You are a Kentucky girl like me. What were some of your favorite Kentucky artists that you listened to? Continue reading “Dallas Remington has ‘Never Turned Around’”

Lance Carpenter & Krystal Keith team up on ‘Anyone Else’

Lance knew this could be his ‘hit duet’

During the whirlwind that is CMA Fest 2018, I found a quiet spot to talk with Lance Carpenter and Krystal Keith, two singer/songwriters who are currently making waves with their duet, ‘Anyone Else,’ released on the Show Dog-Universal Music label.

Lance hails from the family farm in Arkansas, but it wasn’t until he left home to go to college that he bought a used guitar at a local pawn shop and began to write songs. One day, he Googled ‘songwriting’ and found Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and from that connection, he attended an NSAI Song Camp. Three years later, in 2011, he made the ‘official’ move to Nashville.

Although Krystal is the daughter of Toby Keith, she is definitely her own singer/songwriter. After taking two years away from performing to welcome her daughter, she is back full time, recording and touring. We met up and talked about what is new and exciting right now for Lance and Krystal.

This one of a series of interviews that I conducted with rising singer/songwriters during CMA Fest to find out about their new music, their musical influences and their experience at CMA Fest.

On the road with ‘Anyone Else’

Preshias Harris: What’s been happening in your career life since the single, ‘Anyone Else’ dropped?

Karen Keith performing during Tin Pan South 2018. Photo credit: Catrina Engelby

Krystal Keith: We’ve been non-stop on the road. The single dropped in December and in January we went on our first radio tour date. We’ve been on the road pretty much four or five days a week since then. So, lots of travel.

PH: Do you like the travel aspect?

KK: I love to travel. I really do. And I have a two-year-old at home, so that’s the hardest part now, being a mom and being away from her. But thank God for my support system at home, taking care of her.

PH: Tell me, what’s the story behind your duet?

Lance Carpenter performing during Tin Pan South 2018. Photo credit: Catrina Engelby

Lance Carpenter: ‘Anyone Else’ is a song I found on a ‘comp’ disc back in 2011 about, maybe, a month after moving to Nashville. Me and Forest [songwriter Forest Glen Whitehead] would get comp discs from publishers and writers, and we’d listen to them and hear what everyone was excited about. And this was track one on a disc. I heard it and I thought, if I ever cut a duet I’m recording that song. I wrote [a note] in my phone under ‘songs I would cut’ that day. Flash forward to 2016, I was in the studio recording songs for solo projects and I had an extra spot on the session. I knew that song by heart so I decided to record it. The next day, I thought I’d better call the [song] writers and make sure I can record the song. I hadn’t even asked them. They said, absolutely, go for it. They said, who are going to get for the duet part? I said, I have no idea. I’ll figure that out some other day. A little bit after that we started writing, and I heard Krystal had recorded a song that I’d pitched to her called ‘Resting Beach Face’ and one we wrote together called ‘I Got You.’ When I heard her singing in the studio, I said, there’s the voice for that song! I wonder if I can talk her into doing it. So I sent her an email. Crazy idea! And she said yes. It turned out amazing. Our teams loved it, and [Krystal’s] dad gave me a record deal. Continue reading “Lance Carpenter & Krystal Keith team up on ‘Anyone Else’”

MAGS is ‘Strong Enough’ to make her mark on Nashville

Singer, dancer, multi-instrumentalist plays her first CMA Fest

Mags McCarthy, known professionally simply as MAGS, grew up on a farm like many country artists. However, this farm wasn’t in Alabama, Georgia or Tennessee. Her family farm is in County Cork, Ireland.

Recognized at a young age as an accomplished dancer, singer and instrumentalist (primarily the violin) she joined the world-famous Irish dance troupe, Rhythm of the Dance, touring with them all over the world.

Branching out to become a solo performer, she has continued to tour worldwide and has performed before members of the British Royal Family, the President of Ireland and at the White House for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. She has racked up more than 600 tour dates in the past two years, often breaking into a dance as she sings and plays her fiddle, passed down to her by her grandfather.

She played to enthusiastic audiences during CMA Fest in Nashville where she now makes her home since moving here in January 2018. We met on Music Row to talk about her new single, ‘Strong Enough,’ and what brought her to Nashville.

Need to be in Nashville

Preshias Harris: You’ve toured the world as a principal dancer with Rhythm Of The Dance and as a solo performer. What drew you to Nashville?

MAGS, with her grandfather’s fiddle. Photo credit: Preshias Harris

MAGS: I always wanted to come to Nashville. I grew up listening to Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline all my life. I was always a singer and songwriter and I always felt that I need to come to Nashville for the songs. As a singer, it is the place that everyone wants to go to – Nashville. I lived in Los Angeles for a few years but I’ve always felt that I wanted to be in Nashville because of the music I grew up with. So I made the big move in January and I haven’t looked back since. I absolutely love it here.

PH: So you think it was meant to be, for you to be here?

MAGS: I do. One hundred percent.

PH: Do you feel a connection between the traditional folk music of Ireland and the Country and Bluegrass music in the States?

MAGS: Oh, it’s massive. Even my style of playing [the fiddle] I have that connection, a sort of Bluegrass playing. I was born and raised playing Irish music but I feel that connection of where Bluegrass originated from. I think that’s one of the reasons why Ireland is so big into country music. It’s that connection to Bluegrass music.

PH: What can the audience expect to see and hear when they come to a MAGS show?

MAGS: When you come to my show, you can expect fun, energy, dancing. I love for an audience to leave feeling they’ve been fully entertained by my show, from my singing, my songwriting, my fiddle playing. I am a bit of a ’live wire’ on stage! People have said that to me. I want them to go home having seen an artist they haven’t seen before. And that’s what I’ve always tried to portray with my talents, whether it’s my Irish dancing and playing my fiddle at the same time, or singing my own songs. I love the audience to get energized, to be happy, to feel they’ve had a night’s entertainment and I made them feel welcome.

Audience energy feedback

PH: Do you get an ‘energy feedback’ from the audience?

MAGS: Oh, one hundred percent! When I see the audience happy, it makes me want to entertain more and more and more and get them involved! The audience can ‘feed’ you and it gives you confidence. When you go out on stage at first, you are hoping they’re going to like you. You’re praying, oh my God, I’ll do my best here, but I’ve always tried to make them feel welcome to me and make that connection.

PH: You have a wide range of musical influences from traditional to pop to Country. Can you tell us about how some of those influences have defined your music?

MAGS: I grew up listening to traditional Irish music and pop music as well as country. Over the years I have incorporated [the influence of] Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Presley, one of my favorite artists of all time. People have said to me ‘you have your own sound,’ but it’s because I’ve incorporated all of what I’ve listened to growing up all my life into my music today. That’s created my own sound from listening to Springsteen, Shania Twain, Dolly, Elvis, even to the Doobie Brothers. I listened to all that music, and to pop music today from Katy Perry to all the music kids listen to today. A huge range of genres of music. While I was performing during CMA Fest, one of the crew guys came over and was very complimentary and said, ‘you sound like Linda Ronstadt,’ and I thought that was a huge compliment. They said I was different. I said, ‘I hope I’m not too different!’

‘Make it to the Opry’

PH: Tell us about your new single, ‘Strong Enough.’

MAGS: I’m delighted with the response I’m getting from it. People have been very supportive. I’m very, very grateful to the people who support me and follow me on social media.

PH: What is one of your favorite songs you’ve recorded?

MAGS: One of my favorite songs that’s precious to me is ‘Opry.’ It’s a song about my whole life story. I grew up on a farm back home and the first verse is about me growing up and wanting to go to Nashville. The chorus is:

No, nothing’s going to stop me, til I make it to the Opry

Because I know there’s always room for one more song

On stage with Garth and Dolly, I’ll be there with everybody

Please won’t somebody listen to my song

The Grand Ole Opry’s the place where I belong

And the second verse goes on about how I played in bars for tips and meals, and got taken in by crooked deals, and so on! So it pretty much tells my life story of where I am today. It’s the dream of every artist to be at the Grand ole Opry. It’s definitely my dream.

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MAGS is one of the most dynamic new personalities to enter Nashville’s music scene and is set to make a major impact on country music fans in the USA and overseas. Listen to MAGS singing her new single, ‘Strong Enough,’ at her website.

Follow MAGS on Twitter here, on Instagram here, and on Facebook here. Catch her pro reel at YouTube here.

Note: I originally posted this story here on the European website for Country Music News International magazine and radio show.

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Preshias Harrisis a music journalist and music career development consultant with the emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters. Her book, ‘The College of Songology 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s Need to Know Reference Handbook’ is available at www.collegeofsongology.com Follow her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com

Craig Campbell fights colorectal cancer with Cornhole Challenge

Raises hundreds of thousands of dollars with celebrity friends

It was Craig Campbell‘s Celebrity Cornhole Challenge time in Nashville on Tuesday, June 5. The celebrities – and hundreds of fans – turned out at the City Winery to enjoy a warm, pre-CMA-Fest afternoon of fun for a good cause: to raise aware and funds for Fight Colorectal Cancer (Fight CRC). This is a cause very close to my own heart. My brother Shannon died from colorectal cancer at the age of 39 and his death could have been prevented simply by a colonoscopy.

Craig Campbell gets the Cornhole Challenge under way. Photo: Preshias Harris

In case you are not familiar with cornhole, it is a game in which small bags filled with dried corn or beans are tossed at a target consisting of an inclined wooden platform with a hole at one end. Points are scored when a contestant tosses his or her corn bag into the hole (3 points) or onto the board (1 point). The game was said to originate in Germany in the 14^thcentury and was revived by settlers in Kentucky in the 19^thcentury.

Craig’s new single: ‘See You Try’

The annual Celebrity Cornhole Challenge is organized by Craig Campbell who is recognized for his ‘new-school’ take on classic Country. On June 8, Craig released his first new collection in five years, an EP titled SEE YOU TRY (Broken Bow Records). The title song, ‘See You Try,’ is also Craig’s new single, written by Tyler Hubbard (Florida Georgia Line), Bart Butler, James McNair and Jordan Schmidt.

Craig was joined by LOCASH, Walker Hayes, Brett Kissel, Russell Dickerson, Jerrod Niemann, Brett Young, Lindsay Eli, Tegan Marie, Morgan Mills, Taylor Phillips, Dee Jay Silver, The Cadillac Three and other celebrities who tried their cornhole skill (or lack of it) to entertain the fans who cheered them on.

During a break in the action, I asked Craig, how did this event come about?

“Six years ago, I wanted an event that honored my dad,” said Craig. “He was 36 years old when he died of colon cancer, so I thought, what can I do to honor him? And to have fun and do something different, you know? A lot of people are having free concerts, golf tournaments, fishing tournaments. But no-one is having a cornhole tournament. So then, I thought it was a pretty cool play on the whole corn hole / colon, that sort of thing! So that’s how it all started. Now we’re at year number six and I feel it’s just getting bigger and better.”

Brett Kissel talks about Garth and Brad

As Brett Kissel took a break to grab a bottle of cold water, I asked him how it felt when he opened for Garth Brooks, the dream of every singer and songwriter.

“It was the best thing I’ve ever been able to do in my career,” he said. “I’ll tell you, every night that I got to step out on stage to perform and open the show, and then a few times when I got to be on stage and sing with Garth in front of his crowd, I’m telling you Preshias, that was exactly what Cloud Nine feels like! I believe that there are moments that are similar to what heaven could feel like, and that was like a heavenly moment.” Continue reading “Craig Campbell fights colorectal cancer with Cornhole Challenge”