Country Music Stars To Perform Sunday, July 29 At IMS
July 19, 2012 | By Paul Kelly
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The Band Perry will headline a live performance Sunday, July 29 before the Crown Royal Presents the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard powered by BigMachineRecords.com at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The lineup also includes several other country artists on the Big Machine Label Group roster.
One of the most popular and accomplished groups to hit the country music scene in years, The Band Perry will play a pre-race mini concert on the IMS main straightaway prior to the 1 p.m. start of the 19th annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.
Other stars performing between 8:30-11 a.m. on Race Morning at IMS include Justin Moore, Sunny Sweeney, Greg Bates and The Mavericks, whose lead singer Raul Malo will sing the national anthem. These performances will take place on the infield stage inside Turn 2, near the IMS Hall of Fame Museum.
•The Band Perry: Featuring an eclectic sound that combines classic country music with elements of rock, gospel and soul, The Band Perry’s music is recognized for its perfect three-part harmonies. The group’s self-titled debut album was released by Republic Nashville in October 2010 and was certified platinum one year later. While touring this summer, the sibling trio is writing and recording its second album. Recent honors for The Band Perry include a 2012 Grammy nomination for Vocal Group of the Year. In 2011, the group was named New Artist of the Year by the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association.
•The Mavericks: A country music band formed in 1989, The Mavericks placed more than a dozen songs on the Billboard country charts, which included the 1996 smash hit “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down,” “Here Comes The Rain” and “Dance The Night Away.” The band has won numerous accolades, including Academy of Country Music Awards as Top New Vocal Group and Top Vocal Group in 1994 and as the Top Vocal Group in 1995 as well as a 1995 Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal. In 2003, the band members split up to pursue other musical interests but reunited recently and signed with The Valory Music Co. before kicking off a 2012 tour.
•Justin Moore: Recognized for his high-energy live performances, Justin Moore is wasting little time in climbing the ladder to superstardom. Moore has toured with some of the biggest names in country music, including Trace Adkins and Luke Bryan, and he also appeared on “The Rowdy Frynds Tour” with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr. in 2008. He was named Billboard “New Country Artist of 2009” and received nominations for the 2010 CMT Music Awards “Nationwide On Your Side” Award for emerging artists and the Music Row Magazine Breakthrough Artist of 2010. His hometown anthem release of “Small Town USA” hit No. 1 on the country charts, as Moore became the first solo artist to have a song from a debut album climb to No. 1 since Taylor Swift’s “Our Song” in 2007.
•Greg Bates: Up-and-coming country star Greg Bates is a talented singer, guitarist and songwriter who just released his self-titled EP, making a major-label debut on Republic Nashville. A Nashville native who found inspiration by studying country superstars Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakam and Alan Jackson, Bates worked on his musical career while majoring in music business at Belmont University.
•Sunny Sweeney: Sassy singer/songwriter Sunny Sweeney recently celebrated her 30th performance on the Grand Ole Opry stage, since debuting in 2007. Over the course of her career, she has not only remained true to her traditional roots while appealing to a contemporary audience but has shared the stage with country icons Loretta Lynn and Hank Williams Jr., as well as today’s hot superstars like Brad Paisley, Lady Antebellum and Darius Rucker. Throughout the summer, Sweeney will open several dates for Blake Shelton, Jerrod Niemann and Miranda Lambert. She is currently writing new material the follow-up to her critically-acclaimed album, “CONCRETE,” which was released in 2011 on Republic Nashville. Sweeney penned seven of the 10 tracks, including "From A Table Away," which is the highest-charting debut single for a female country artist since Taylor Swift more than four years ago.
The 19th annual Crown Royal Presents the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard powered by BigMachineRecords.com will be the climactic event of the inaugural Kroger Super Weekend at the Brickyard. Curtiss Shaver, a firefighter and certified EMT, recently was revealed as the namesake of the race during a ceremonial laying of bricks in his hometown of Troy, Ala. He also will be incorporated into a series of VIP activities throughout the race weekend that also will honor America’s unsung heroes.
The weekend schedule also features the NASCAR Nationwide Series racing in the Indiana 250 Saturday, July 28 on the IMS oval and GRAND-AM Road Racing conducting separate races for its Rolex Sports Car Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge on Friday, July 27 on the 13-turn IMS Grand Prix road course.
It will be the first time in IMS history that races will take place on the 2.5-mile oval and 2.534-mile Grand Prix road course during the same weekend, and the NASCAR Nationwide Series and GRAND-AM Road Racing will make their IMS debuts.