Staff writer
American country artist Phil Vassar and Canadian country artist Lindsay Ell will be headlining acts at Chingawassa Days from June 3 to 5 this year.
Vassar, who will headline on June 4, is a singer, songwriter, and pianist whose signature songs include 10 No. 1 singles and 26 Top 40 hits, including “Carlene,” “Just Another Day in Paradise,” “Six-Pack Summer,” and “That’s When I Love You,” according to his website.
Vassar’s website said he also wrote a number of songs performed by Collin Raye, Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina, and BlackHawk.
The committee also announced that Canadian country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist Lindsay Ell would headline Friday night’s musical acts. Cloverton, a contemporary Christian music and worship band from Manhattan, will open for Ell.
Public relations contact Shelia Hett said the committee always tries to bring the best acts possible to the festival.
“Our board works very hard year-to-year to have a mixture of genres and headliners,” Hett said. “We understand that we can’t always make every festival-goer happy with a certain artist or genre, but what we do try to accomplish is to book someone who puts on a good show.”
She said the committee sought feedback from the community to narrow its choices. Crowd response and event turnout from past years also are taken into account, and bands must be within budget, too.
“Finding a balance between them all is not a simple task,” Hett said.
The committee has a representative in Nashville, Tennessee, that helps to pair musical acts with the festival.
“Occasionally there are preferences that don’t work out due to pricing and tour dates,” she said. “Big name bands are busy, and that is something we all have to work around. We are always extremely fortunate with the bands and individual artists that we have the chance to welcome to our little town, whether they are the headliner or not.”