GENTRY -- An afternoon and evening of music will be a part of the Gentry Freedom Festival on Wednesday, July 4, on the stage in Gentry City Park.
When the celebration begins at noon on Wednesday, Amity Heart will take the stage. The name "Amity Heart" stands for friendship heart, and the friendship of Jaci Rae and Travis Wayne is so tightly woven that it carries over into their musical harmonies. Both began singing as young children and both are from musical family backgrounds and sang in church. Their songs reflect their Southern values. Jaci grew up in Missouri and was influenced by country music. Travis grew up in Oklahoma singing Southern gospel. Both styles blend together to make up the sound of Amity Heart.
After the Little Miss and Mister Gentry and the Miss Gentry Pageants at 1:30 and 2 p.m., Mark Shields and Good Company will take the stage at 3 p.m. The band plays hot modern-sounding rockabilly music with a rocking rhythm in all their songs. According to the band's web post, the band performs "in different styles," but gives listeners the "feeling of traveling through America as the music brings you to the 1950s and you enjoy the vintage sound and rhythmic ballads." Mark Shields plays guitar. Jordy Rachlend plays drums and Frankie Cadillac, the upright bass.
At 4:30 p.m., the River's Edge Band will entertain with its blend of today's and yesterday's country hits, along with some rocking originals. Blake Turner sings and plays acoustic guitar, Jeramy Rhoden plays bass, Michael and Douglas Thompson play electric guitars and fiddles, and Shon Finney plays drums.
Back Road Story will perform at 6 p.m. Back Road Story is a country music band which consists of award-winning lead singer Chelsey Seboldt, bassist and guitarist Jacob Watson, guitarist Chris Beasley and drummer Dakota Watson. Back Road Story has shared the stage with multiple nationally touring artists and was nominated for Group of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year in the 2016 and 2017 KTTS Springfield, Mo., Country Music Awards. The band's debut single, "Nothing Left to Lose," was released in late 2017 and climbed into the top 100 Music Row Charts in a few months.
John King will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. and perform up until the fireworks display begins at dusk.
King comes from a little mountain town in Georgia but is now opening for award-winning artists, writing Number 1 songs and performing across the country.
King grew up working with his hands, building work ethic as he built structures. After graduating from high school, he pursued a music degree and went to study at the University of Georgia.
"My time at UGA helped me tremendously," King said. "It made me realize I could make a career out of doing what I love."
King's debut radio single, "Tonight, Tonight," earned him his first Top 40 hit and was heard by millions of NFL fans and used to highlight CBS network's Thursday night football throughout the 2014 season.
In addition to his rising success as an artist, King is also earning national recognition as a songwriter. In early 2016, King experienced his first No. 1 with a song called "We Went" recorded by artist Randy Houser. King co-wrote the song with friends Matt Rogers and Justin Wilson and received a 2016 ASCAP Songwriter Award for the song's success. King also had a hand in writing Craig Morgan's current single, "I'll Be Home Soon."
In late 2016, King signed his first management deal with Narvel Blackstock and Starstruck Entertainment. In late 2017, King released the single, "I Still Pick Up," from his latest project. The song debuted Top 5 on the Apple Music Hot Chart and has already gained over one million streams in a short time. The music video recently debuted on CMT and was voted Top 10 on the countdown.
General News on 06/27/2018