Up & Coming Weekly

Music Takes Center Stage at Dogwood Festival While the Dogwood Festival is known for a lot of great things, over the past few years, it has come to be known for the greatness and diversity of its music offerings. Last year festival organizers upped the ante and brought in three national recording artists. This year, it’s another three-peat with three more national acts heating up the main stage in Festival Park. “The Dogwood Festival is bringing country back,” said Carrie King, executive director of the festival. “We haven’t had a country artist on stage since 2005, so we thought it was time.” The decision was obviously a good one, as King has received nothing but positive comments about the decision. “We had an e-mail saying everybody in the state of North Carolina is coming back for Friday night’s concert,” she said. “We welcome them all.” Kicking-off the festival in fi ne country style is Joe Nichols. Nichols has topped the charts a number of times since the release of his fi rst album in 1996. Local fans know him for such hits as “The Impossible,” “Brokenheartsville” and the all time favorite “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off.” His last album, released in 2009 Old Things New, quickly found its way up the charts and produced a Top 30 hit in “Believers.” King said she believes the concert will be a great way to kick-off the festival and expects large crowds for the concert and fi reworks show that follows. The Dogwood Festival Board offered a new twist on Saturday’s entertainment. The board gave the community a chance to vote on who who would play Saturday night’s concert, and King said she was surprised by the choice. “We let the community vote for Saturday night’s entertainment early on in March,” explained King. “We gave them a choice between KC and the Sunshine Band and the Gin Blossoms. The Gin Blossoms won the vote, and we had the opportunity to add the band Soul Asylum into the deal and we thought it would be a win/win for the community. “I really thought the vote was going to go KC, especially from the reaction we got when we announced it at media day.” King said it was a close battle, but in the end the Gin Blossoms pulled it out. She noted that it was the Facebook votes that put the Gin Blossoms over the top. “I think that band spoke to the younger crowd,” she said, “but I was really ready to see KC. I think we might put that on the back burner for next year.” The Gin Blossoms is an alternative rock band formed in 1987, in Tempe, Arizona. They took their name from a photo of W.C. Fields which bore the caption “W.C. Fields with gin blossoms,” referring to what appeared to be the actor’s gin-ravaged nose, but was actually a skin condition known as rosacea. The band released three albums and had several hits in the mid 1990s, including its mega hit “Hey Jealousy,” before breaking up in 1997. Five years later in 2002, the band reunited, released a DVD and resumed touring. The Gin Blossoms released an album, Live In Concert, on May 15, 2009. This album contains live recordings of the band’s hits such as “Hey Jealousy” and “Follow You Down,” as well as recent singles such as “Learning the Hard Way” and “Long Time Gone.” When the main stage isn’t fi lled with national headliners, local bands that the community has come to know and love will keep it hopping. Dakota Rain will open for Nichols, while On Tap and Still Rockin’ will warm the crowd up for Saturday’s concert. On Sunday, Chris Hurst and Hot Sauce will perform at 1 and 3 p.m., respectively. Throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday, The Rock Shop, one of Fayetteville’s most popular live-music venues, will again sponsor a secondary stage on Hay Street. “It’s defi nitely growing every year,” said Sean Adkins, of The Rock Shop. “We are trying to show the diversity of musicians that the Rock Shop brings in to town and show the diversity of local musicians.” The stage will offer everything from poetry to Hip Hop to Rock, Ska, Folk and Reggae. The stage will be open from noon to 6 p.m. daily. 4 DOGWOOD FESTIVAL APRIL 24-26, 2009 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM

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