VALDOSTA – Love music? Love downtown Valdosta? Help us bring more events like this to Downtown and have your name/logo added to all of our event postings.
Be a sponsor! $250? $500? $1000?
Or just attend!
Tickets are $20.
If you choose to pick up your tickets on the event day simply visit the event venue (the Dosta Theatre, 122 N. Ashley St.) and your name will be on a list showing that you have paid your admission.
See you on April 6!
Meet the artists:
JIM MCBRIDE
Jim McBride is a CMA Award winning, Grammy nominated songwriter and former President of the Nashville Songwriters Association International. His writing career spans over 30 years and includes over 100 album cuts, 18 top 40 singles, 10 top ten singles and 6 number ones.
Originally from Huntsville, AL, Jim grew up in a house filled with music from his mother’s radio. He absorbed every note of every country song he heard and began writing songs at an early age. At 21, he traded a pistol for his first guitar and took lessons from his uncle. He eventually contacted another songwriter from North Alabama, the legendary Curly Putman, to get advice and guidance.
Curly encouraged Jim to continue to write and send his songs to Nashville. He had several cuts over the next few years but his big break had yet to come. He had been urged to move from Huntsville to Nashville to be part of the country music scene but he was reluctant to give up his steady job at the United States Post Office to pursue his dream.
Jim told himself that if he ever had a song to reach the top ten, he would move his family to Nashville. In 1981, that is exactly what happened when Conway Twitty’s release of “A Bridge That Just Won’t Burn” reached #2 on the Billboard Charts. That was shortly followed by his first number one song, Johnny Lee’s “Bet Your Heart On Me.” The next ten years brought many album cuts by major artist ranging from Johnny Cash to Alabama. In 1987, Waylon Jennings reached number one for the last time in his long career with “Rose In Paradise.” In the early 90’s, he met a young singer looking for a record deal named Alan Jackson and an instant friendship was born.
The two collaborated on a number of hit songs including “Chasing That Neon Rainbow,” “Who Says You Can’t Have It All” and “Someday” — all #1 songs. Their biggest hit came in 1993 with the smash hit “Chattahoochee.”
The song received the honor of Song of The Year from The Country Music Association, ASCAP, American Songwriter Magazine, British Country Music Association, Canadian Country Music Association as well as Billboard Magazine’s most performed song of the year. The song was also nominated for a Grammy and Academy of Country Music Award. Other notable achievements include the Creator Award from the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the musical heritage of his home state. He also received an Academy of Country Music Song of the Year nomination for “Angels In Waiting” by Tammy Cochran. Numerous ASCAP and other organizational awards have been bestowed upon Jim McBride throughout his career. In all, his songs have been recorded by more than 80 major label artist including George Jones, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Johnny Paycheck, Randy Travis, Alabama, Jerry Lee Lewis, Trace Adkins, Crystal Gayle, Diamond Rio, Lonestar and many others. His songs have been on over 60 million albums sold.
He has continued to write and have success over the years and has stayed active in the songwriter community. He currently is serving on the Board of the Nashville Songwriters Foundation.
MIKE DECKLE
Mike Dekle is a singer/songwriter/entertainer from Athens, GA with a 2nd residence in Nashville, TN.
He’s released 5 albums and has had his own singles chart in Billboard Country Charts and Americana Charts. Mike’s penned hit singles include “One Hell Of An Amen”, “Country Must Be Country Wide” (Brantley Gilbert); “Size Matters” (Joe Nichols); “No Trash In My Trailer” (Colt Ford, Gene Watson, Jerry Springer); “Don’t Love Make A Diamond Shine” (Tracy Byrd); and “Scarlet Fever” & “Someone Must Feel Like A Fool Tonight” (Kenny Rogers). He has other cuts on albums by Brantley Gilbert, Kenny Rogers, Colt Ford, Rhonda Vincent, Joe Nichols, Dailey and Vincent, Rachel Farley, Byron Hill, Alex Hall, Keith Whitley, Gord Banford, Hank Thompson, & Moe Bandy as well as several Foreign Artist . In the words of one of his songs….Mike says “I’d Be Lost Without Music In My Life”.
JARROD BROGDON
Jarrod Brogdon is a singer/songwriter from Valdosta, Georgia. He has performed for over 20 years in venues in the Southeast from Nashville, TN to Mexico Beach, FL. He’s been writing songs for about 15 years and currently has an album release on iTunes and Spotify called “That’s What I’d Do”. His song “Backwoods Life” is the theme song for the Sportsman Channel’s TV show of the same name, and is heard and seen around the world. He’s also been a runner-up in American Songwriter Magazine’s songwriting contest (2008).
