Some really great country music concerts this summer will be within driving distance of our area, in Springfield, Illinois. The Illinois State Fair is always a good place to find some of country music's biggest stars, but there are also some country shows scheduled outside of the fair and at some of the surrounding county fairs. Here are some of the acts you'll be able to see in and around Springfield this year.
The Band Perry is lighting up the television screen lately, with a recent performance on 'Dancing With the Stars' and an upcoming slot on the Billboard Music Awards. They'll continue their streak next week, as the family trio has just been added to a star-studded lineup on the 'American Idol' season finale, giving fans a special performance to look forward to.
What inspired 'Pioneer'? What's in store for their future? Talk about touring with Rascal Flatts ... These are all professional questions to ask a band like the Band Perry, a family trio that just found out their new album is atop the country album charts, with almost 130,000 copies sold it its debut week. Fans want the scoop though, and Neil, Kimberly and Reid were kind enough to dish it in an interview feature we call 60 Seconds With the Band Perry.
The 2013 ACM Awards produced some predictable and unpredictable moments on Sunday night. Luke Bryan won Entertainer of the Year, which few would have bet on in Las Vegas if gambling on awards shows was something people did. Miranda Lambert's wins were more expected, but equally deserving. 'Over You' is among the best songs of the last 15 years, and she and husband Blake Shelton are worthy of the honors.
Taylor Swift and the Band Perry are among the artists nominated for the 2013 Billboard Milestone award. The newly-announced multi-genre award will be handed out at the Billboard Music Awards in May.
Two country family trios found their way back into the Taste of Country Top 10 Video Countdown this week! The Band Perry's 'Better Dig Two' video and the Henningsens' fan-favorite 'American Beautiful' both waltzed back in, giving Jason Aldean and Kip Moore's latest clips the boot.
If you've ever listened closely to the lyrics in 'Done,' you know that it's the kind of song that gets written at the end of a relationship, when all ties are cut and both parties walk away angry. To illustrate the battle in real life, the Band Perry employed a human-sized chess board and people dressed as life-sized chess pieces.
The Band Perry's new album 'Pioneer' is just as dramatic, yet dramatically more steady than their debut effort. The bar was raised and reached vocally, and songs like 'Done,' 'Forever Mine Nevermind' and 'Chainsaw' prove the family trio has lost nothing in terms of lyrical edge.
The battle for the best team in American begins today, not next week. Taste of Country's March Bandness is a fan-voted search for the best country band of all time. Sixteen groups from five decades of country music will square off two at a time in this bracket-style tournament. It's a battle of legends versus modern superstars, outlaws versus pop-country herores and trios versus quartets, quintets or more-tets.
Not since their debut effort has the Band Perry released a song as fun as 'Done,' the second single from the trio's upcoming sophomore album 'Pioneer.' It's a track that makes the hair on your arms stand straight up as you pound along to the beat.
