2011 Rib Roundup – In-Depth Artist Previews
by Mike Carroll
The lineup for this year’s WIRK Rib Roundup is full of stars, up-and-comers, and local artists. Nowhere else in the region can you find such a diverse gathering of acts jam-packed into a one-day show. Throw in some good grub, beautiful South Florida weather, and a fun atmosphere, and you’ve got yourself one hell of a good time.
We here at SFCMF figured we’d give a closer look at the artists you will see on the stage this Saturday. WIRK is holding the order of the lineup closely guarded, so don’t expect the order of these previews to match what you will see. WIRK will hand out post cards the day of the show as you enter the venue with the order and times of the acts.
Let’s start with the local artists.
EMILY BROOKE
Emily Brooke is only 12 years old, but has a bright future in the Country Music world. She’s won multiple talent competitions, recorded a demo CD which includes her first ever original song, “Wild and Free,” and has even performed at the legendary Tootsies in Nashville. If you haven’t seen this Wellington, FL product perform before, you’re in for a real treat, just check out her website at emilybrookemusic.com. She’s already shared the stage with such stars as Bucky Covington, Steve Azar, Trailer Choir, and others. A story on her website tells how she performed as a street performer for Taylor Swift fans as she waited in line herself to meet her idol. Check it out to find out what Taylor’s mom did after that.
I’m guessing the local artists will be on stage first, so make sure you’re in your seats in time to support our local talent. One day when they make it big, you’ll want to be able to say, “I saw them back when…”
Speaking of local talent….
TOM JACKSON
I don’t have to say too much about this local star, as we did an artist profile on him in a previous blog (go check it out). This will be his 2nd appearance at the Rib Roundup. This year he has a new backing-band, several great new tunes, and is poised to break through to the big time sooner than later. If you’re not familiar with his first CD, “Southern Thang,” I strongly urge you to purchase it ASAP. The CD is full of songs that could easily be radio hits if he had the backing of a major national record label at the time. Gun to my head…it’s one of the 3 CD’s I’d take with me if I could only listen to 3 CD’s for the rest of my life. It’s that good. “Somethin’ Goin’ On” is a future #1 song. I’ve heard “It’s Your Lie,” “Southern Thang,” and “In The Sticks” on the radio. “Southern Thang” was recently featured in an episode of “Human Target” on FOX. Tom also does work with the Red Arrow hunting TV show. For more info, see the earlier blog we did on him and check out his website at tomjacksonsband.com.
Jennette is probably most known for her role on the Nickelodeon show iCarly. She is new to the country music scene, as she has recently released an EP album with 5 songs on it. Her debut single, “Not That Far Away” only peaked at #58 on the US Country charts, but this youngster is already a star thanks to her acting roles.
I have to admit, I knew nothing of this girl when I heard she was added to the lineup. The thing I’m most impressed with by this 18-year old is her contributions to many charities and causes. To find out more about her, go to jennettemccurdy.com.
Frankie came onto the scene by winning Kenny Chesney‘s “Next Big Star” competition in the state of Michigan in 2008. He got to open for Chesney when his tour swung through Michigan, and was later signed to a record deal. His debut single is “Tell Me You Get Lonely,” which peaked at #33 on the US Country Charts. He has a large, loyal fan base, and while we may not have heard much of him on the radio locally, you can bet he’ll have the place rockin’. Check him out at frankieballard.com.
LOCASH COWBOYS
Ya’ll are in for a treat when these guys take the stage. Their debut single, “Here Comes Summer” is a perfect South Florida anthem, and their latest single, “Keep in Mind” is racing up the charts, poising them to burst onto the national scene as “The Next Big Thing.” Their career got kick-started when they were discovered by famed song-writer/producer Jeffery Steele, who quickly signed on to co-write and produce them. I guarantee you that their performance will set the tone for the rest of the evening. They’re the one act I’m looking forward to the most (besides seeing our local talent on the big stage).
Speaking of “The Next Big Thing,” Thompson Square‘s current single, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not” is on track to possibly be a #1 single. The wave of support has been swelling for this husband-wife duo (Keifer & Shawna), and they could very well be the “The Band Perry” of 2011 in terms of a quick ascend to stardom. They met at a singing competition, where they soon decided to form a duo. We had a nice preview of them at their show at City Place recently with Julianne Hough and James Otto. Make sure you raise your fist into the air when he sing the chorus, as Shawna says it embarrasses Keifer. We’ll see how many people paid attention at City Place!
BLAIRE LARSEN
Blaine got off to an early start with his career, as he released his first album when he was just 18 years-old titled, “In My High School.” His first single, of the same name, barely cracked the charts at #60. His biggest hit to date came next, titled “How Do You Get That Lonely,” a song about a kid committing suicide. It’s a very poignant, spine-tingling song. It peaked at #18 in 2005. With his deep, naturally country-sounding voice, big things were expected, but for some reason Nashville turned it’s back on him. He followed that up with minor hits such as “The Best Man” and “I Don’t Know What She Said,” before falling out of the public eye for 3 years. He’s on his second wind, with his latest song, “Chillin’” having moderate success recently. This talented vocalist still has a bright future in my opinion, it’s just a matter of the politics of the music business falling the right way for him. He recently played a show in Jupiter, FL, and I was disappointed that he didn’t play most of his early singles, claiming he “didn’t remember them.” I say he should embrace them as part of his past, because many of us were hooked as fans because of those songs. Here’s hoping he does the 3 I mentioned here.
And now to the big 3 that you don’t need much of an introduction to…
Joe broke onto the scene in 2002 with back-to-back top-3 hits, “The Impossible” and “Brokenheartsville”, the latter of which hit #1. He followed those up with top 20 hits “She Only Smokes When She Drinks” and “Cool to Be a Fool” before putting together a string of 5 straight top-10 hits. Those songs included “If Nobody Believed in You,” “What’s a Guy Gotta Do,” “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” (which was a #1 hit), “Size Matters,” and “I’ll Wait For You.” He then hit a bit of a lull with 3 straight songs that didn’t get above #16 on the charts (still not too shabby at all), including “Another Side of You,” “It Ain’t No Crime,” and “Believers.” He then bounced back with one of the biggest hits in all of country music in 2010 with “Gimmie That Girl,” and is watching his current hit, “The Shape I’m In” climb the charts into the top 20 as of this writing. Joe has a unique voice that the ladies especially seem to love. He’ll be a big hit at the Rib Roundup.
Rodney has been a personal favorite of mine since his first major hit, “Honesty (Write Me a List)” came out. He has been with Curb Records (check out their awesome star-powered lineup of artists at curb.com) for 15 years. “Honesty” peaked at #4 on the charts after his previous singles, “Sing Along” (a line-dancing favorite) and “My Old Man” cracked the top 40 with little fan-fair. After “Honesty”, he released one of my all-time favorite songs, “Someone to Share It With.” It only peaked at #41, and from there Rodney disappeared for awhile.
After ditching the cowboy-hat look that was forced upon him, he came back with nearly unprecedented success in a more comfortable, relaxed, and natural feel. He went out there with his true-self…a t-shirt and ball cap kinda guy. His “If You’re Going Through Hell” album produced a string of 4 straight #1 hits that set all kinds of records. The single, “If You’re Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows) not only was a #1 single, but it went on to be the #1 song of 2006. He followed that up with “Watching You,” which not only was a #1 single, but also the #1 song of 2007.
I can’t tell you the amount of pride I felt when “my boy” had such success after such a rocky start. I’ve never been one to be more than a casual fan of any single artist, but Rodney stood out above the others in my book, and his career has gone on to continue to make me proud to call myself a fan.
After “Watching You,” he released “These Are My People.” Of course, this song also went to #1, as did his next single, “Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)”. He nearly had the #1 song of all of 2008 as well, but just missed with a top 3 finish. I find it hard to believe that any single country album has ever produced 3 straight #1 songs of the year in a row, and he nearly pulled it off. His next single, “Invisibly Shaken” was one of my favorites on the album, but like my other favorite song of his, only peaked at #41. If you’ve never heard this song, it’s a beautifully written break-up song that was co-written by Rodney and previously recorded by Lee Greenwood (I even bought that album for that version of it…both great). Ultimately, the “If You’re Going Through Hell” album is one of my top 3 CD’s of all time, along with Tom Jackson’s “Southern Thang.” Other songs on the album were never released as singles, but are just as good. His popular “About the South” is always on his set list at live shows, and others such as “Wasted Whiskey” and “A Man on a Tractor” easily could have been hit singles.
His next album came out swinging with another #1 hit, “It’s America.” I liked the album almost as much as the previous 2, but his next couple of singles, “15 Minutes” and “Chasin’ Girls” didn’t get as much airplay as they should’ve. His latest single, “Farmer’s Daughter,” continues his string of impressive hits by hitting a high of #5 so far.
With 5 #1 singles, 2 year-end #1’s, and a good-old country boy persona, it’s hard not to like him. Watching how he interacts with fans, especially kids, and it’s impossible to not like him.
Craig Morgan is about as patriotic as you get. He’s served his country as an Emergency medical technician, served in the US Army, spent 10 years active-duty as a Fire Support Specialist in the Army, and finished with tours with the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions. He also has made several USO Tour trips overseas to support the troops. Craig is a family man that loves the outdoors. He can often be found hunting, 4-wheeling, or out on the water in his spare time.
Craig first cracked the top 10 with his single, “Almost Home,” a great song about a homeless man. He followed it up with top 30 hits, “Every Friday Afternoon” and “Look at Us.” His next single, “That’s What I Love About Sunday” was his first and only #1 hit to date. His next single, the party-on-the-water anthem, “Redneck Yacht Club” peaked at #2. He followed that up with a string of top 12 hits such as “I Got You,” “Little Bit of Life,” “Tough,” “International Harvester,” and “Love Remembers.” His next single, “God Must Really Love Me,” was considered to be “too religious” for some, and only peaked at #26. He then got back on track with hits, “Bonfire” and “This Ain’t Nothin’.” His current single, “Still a Little Chicken Left on That Bone”is currently climbing the charts. Craig puts on a high-energy, fun show, and is worthy of being one of the co-headliners at this year’s Rib Roundup.
Overall, this year’s Rib Roundup lineup is has a little bit of everything. I’m glad to see they’re supporting local artists with Emily Brooke and Tom Jackson. I’m excited to see some new talent such as Jennette McCurdy, LoCash Cowboys, Thompson Square, Blaine Larsen, and Frankie Ballard. The “big 3” this year of Joe Nichols, Craig Morgan, and Rodney Atkins fills out the lineup nicely, and at only $20 for all these acts, it’s well worth it.
So who are you most looking forward to seeing at this year’s Rib Roundup?