Benefiting two charities, the jam at the Ionia Free Fair Grounds also will feature Steve Azar, Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys, Kari Lynch, Steve Rivers and Shelby Ann-Marie. Tickets now on sale.
Kicking off a first-time festival with an award-winning country superstar such as Trace Adkins – who’s racked up five No. 1 hits among dozens of singles – should give the Aug. 29 debut of the Ionia Country Jam a big boost.
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Add veteran country artist Steve Azar and local favorites Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys, Kari Lynch and Steve Rivers to the mix and the first-ever jam taking place at the Ionia Free Fair Grounds showcases a cornucopia of “great talent,” says Shelby Ann-Marie, an up-and-coming country singer from Portland, Mich., who will also play the event, along with young Ohio blues/alt-rock singer Jesse Galchick.
“Being able to perform in the same lineup as such talented artists means a lot to me,” says Ann-Marie who already has opened for the likes of Craig Morgan and Chase Rice, and will also open for The Band Perry at Lansing’s Common Ground Festival this summer. “It just proves that hard work, an amazing support system and faith in God’s timing can go so far.”
The inaugural Ionia Country Jam aims to raise money for – and give attention to – the Wounded Warrior Project and the Michigan Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Monument Fund, causes that organizer Joel Gordon says “are the reason we are putting this event together. … Ionia Country Jam is an opportunity to put on a first-class festival with music, food and fun, all while raising money for two deserving charities.”
Appropriately, Adkins – who’s sold more than 10 million albums and is known for the country hits “Ladies Love Country Boys,” “Gone Fishin’,” “You’re Gonna Miss This” and more – has been a spokesman for the Wounded Warrior program as well as for the American Red Cross.
The Mississippi-born Azar, meanwhile, has enjoyed some success, too, scoring a No. 2 country hit with 2001’s “I Don’t Have to be Me (‘til Monday)” and Top 30 singles “Waitin on Joe” and “Sunshine (Everybody Needs a Little).”
Advance tickets, $25, go on sale at 10 a.m. today (Thursday), available online at ioniacountryjam.com or by calling 800-514-3849. Tickets at the door are $35, with gates opening at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 29 and music starting at 3 p.m.
Presented by Left Lane Events with sponsorship from Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, the event will also feature free parking, a beer tent and food vendors. The general admission seating is first comes, first served, with organizers encouraging attendees to bring bag chairs for seating on the festival track.
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