Lauren Alaina will close out Riverbend 2012 Options

[Mia0706]

This news was already posted in the other thread and on twitter but I think it should be posted as a topic here too, since this is a big deal for Lauren. This is a great opportunity for her to express her talent.

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/de...riverbend-2012/

"American Idol" runner-up Lauren Alaina will return to the Riverbend Festival as a performer, only this time the stage will be much bigger and the paycheck will be larger, too.

The Rossville, Ga., native first played the festival in 2008 as one of several young singers on the Times Free Press Children's Stage. She was paid $100, according to Joe "Dixie" Fuller, the festival's talent and production coordinator.

On June 16, she will close out the nine-day festival, headlining on the main Coca-Cola Stage on fireworks night, according to Fuller. Contracts forbid Fuller from revealing the amount she will be paid for her Riverbend performance, "but it is substantially more and indicative of how far she has come," he said.

Also added to the Riverbend 2012 lineup are Foghat on the Bud Light Stage on June 14, the Taylor Reed Band on the Tennessee Lottery Stage on June 16 and the Futurebirds on June 8, according to Fuller.

Fuller said he was on a panel that chose Lauren Alaina to play at Riverbend in 2008, and he helped produce her "American Idol" return home event at Coolidge Park last year.

"The first time I saw her was at one of the malls during the Kids Talent Search," Fuller said. "I voted for her.

"It has always been her dream to play Riverbend and this has been a dream year for her, so we wanted to make it happen."

Lauren Alaina, who is seemingly everywhere these days, has also been invited to go on her first official country music tour, joining fellow Georgia natives Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan on Aldean's "My Kinda Party" arena tour. It kicks off Jan. 20 in Greenville, S.C., and wraps up March 24 in East Rutherford, N.J.

"I am so excited to be a part of the Jason Aldean tour with Luke Bryan," Lauren said in a news release.

"I am a huge fan of both of them. I mean -- if I wasn't a part of the lineup, I would want to be in the front row. I am honored that my first major country tour will allow me to share the stage with two fellow Georgia artists. That is definitely my kind of party."

Her first album, "Wildflower," debuted in October at No. 2 on the Top Country Album chart and No. 5 on the Top 200 chart. Recently, she performed at the White House in front of President and Mrs. Obama as part of the PBS special "Country Music: In Performance at the White House." She was one of the artists on ABC's "CMA Country Christmas," and the "45th CMA Awards." She has appeared on "Good Morning America," "Live! With Kelly," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "E! News" and ET's "The Insider."

Foghat is perhaps best known for its megahit "Slow Ride." The Futurebirds are an Athens, Ga.-based rock band. The Taylor Reed Band is a local group that includes Karen Alayne, who was Lauren Alaina's vocal coach prior to the Idol shows.

Riverbend is scheduled for June 8-16. Previously announced acts are Eric Church and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.



Here is the video from her concert in Chatt where they announced she will be the closing act of Riverbend.

Lauren Interview With Dex & Mo US 101



This post has been edited by Mia0706: Dec 8th 2011, 12:14 PM

[dongski]

Yay for Lauren So happy for her

[SunsetRose123]

What a wonderful opportunity/break given to our baby girl

[InTheArtRoom]

What a wonderful opportunity/break given to our baby girl

Is anyone planning to go to Riverbend??? I was wondering about it for myself... I would have to travel to get there but I will for any of Lauren's show, nothing is close to me.... who has been to Riverbend before????

[TNLady]

Is anyone planning to go to Riverbend??? I was wondering about it for myself... I would have to travel to get there but I will for any of Lauren's show, nothing is close to me.... who has been to Riverbend before????

e

Riverbend Festival in Chattanooga is a really big event. It lasts 9 days/nights with the big performances on the Friday and Saturday nights and the middle Wednesday. This year Eric Church will open the first Friday night, The Band Perry will be on Wednesday night, and Lauren will be the last Saturday night. She is taking the spot that Miranda Lambert had last year. Several of Lauren's fans are coming from other states on the Friday before her performance on Saturday.

The festival comes right after the big Fanfest Week in Nashville, so a long vacation could get you both. There is a Riverfest website for more information and you can order your pin. The cost for the whole week (all performances) is only $40 per person. If you come to see Lauren, be sure to also get "star seating" (extra $20) to be assured a good seat because there could be as many as 10,000-20,000 people there! The whole festival draws over 100,000, so you can see it is a big event. Fireworks at the end over the river, too!

[ellen49]

CMA Fest is the week before Riverbend, I guess if you are a hardcore country music fan,you would also go to Riverbend which is just an hour or so from Nashville.I would travel hours if given the chance to see Lauren perform live or any of my favourite band and artist.I'd love to see Bruce Springsteen live,my dream rock concert.

[camilav]

Lauren Alaina will close out Riverbend on the Coke Stage
at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 16

CS: Your new album really speaks to what it means
to be a southern girl, and you’ve got a lot of fans
that are young girls. What message do you want
to convey to them?

LA: Be strong and different. The title track for my album is called
“She’s a Wildflower.” It’s about this girl who has insecurity problems
and she always puts herself down. And in the chorus it talks about
how she’s a wildflower and she just doesn’t know it. I feel like
that song is good for girls to hear, to know that the one thing they
think is wrong about themselves, there is someone that loves it.

CS: “Growing Her Wings”—is that song at all biographical?

LA: The first time I heard that song I fell in love with it because
it reminds me of myself growing up so much—sitting in my
bedroom, singing into the mirror with my hairbrush, practicing
my dance moves that I was going to do on stage.

CS: This past year, you’ve been riding a wave of
publicity and still growing up along the way. How
would you say your life has changed and what have
you learned about yourself?

LA: Everything about my life has changed except for the fact
that my family loves me and supports me. I don’t go to school
anymore. I’m homeschooled. I have I don’t really get
to spend much time at home, but when I do it’s like a reunion.
It’s totally worth it, because I get to do what I love every single
day. I don’t usually like huge changes. It takes a lot for me to
dye my hair a different color, much less change my whole life
completely. It just proved to me that I can adjust.

CS: What can your fans who go to Riverbend expect
from your performance?

LA: Well, I’m going to be singing for a long time so I’ll probably
throw in a few covers that really speak to me. I’m going
to be excited to be back in my hometown. I’ve performed at
Riverbend quite a few times. I did the Kids’ Challenge when I
was growing up. It will be completely different to be on the big
stage, to show people how much I’ve grown over the past year.

http://www.cityscopemag.com/cs2.12/07Riverbend.pdf

[InTheArtRoom]

Lauren Alaina will close out Riverbend on the Coke Stage
at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 16

CS: Your new album really speaks to what it means
to be a southern girl, and you’ve got a lot of fans
that are young girls. What message do you want
to convey to them?

LA: Be strong and different. The title track for my album is called
“She’s a Wildflower.” It’s about this girl who has insecurity problems
and she always puts herself down. And in the chorus it talks about
how she’s a wildflower and she just doesn’t know it. I feel like
that song is good for girls to hear, to know that the one thing they
think is wrong about themselves, there is someone that loves it.

CS: “Growing Her Wings”—is that song at all biographical?

LA: The first time I heard that song I fell in love with it because
it reminds me of myself growing up so much—sitting in my
bedroom, singing into the mirror with my hairbrush, practicing
my dance moves that I was going to do on stage.

CS: This past year, you’ve been riding a wave of
publicity and still growing up along the way. How
would you say your life has changed and what have
you learned about yourself?

LA: Everything about my life has changed except for the fact
that my family loves me and supports me. I don’t go to school
anymore. I’m homeschooled. I have I don’t really get
to spend much time at home, but when I do it’s like a reunion.
It’s totally worth it, because I get to do what I love every single
day. I don’t usually like huge changes. It takes a lot for me to
dye my hair a different color, much less change my whole life
completely. It just proved to me that I can adjust.

CS: What can your fans who go to Riverbend expect
from your performance?

LA: Well, I’m going to be singing for a long time so I’ll probably
throw in a few covers that really speak to me. I’m going
to be excited to be back in my hometown. I’ve performed at
Riverbend quite a few times. I did the Kids’ Challenge when I
was growing up. It will be completely different to be on the big
stage, to show people how much I’ve grown over the past year.

http://www.cityscopemag.com/cs2.12/07Riverbend.pdf

This is the BEST!!!
thanks camilav!



"CS: “Growing Her Wings”—is that song at all biographical?

LA: The first time I heard that song I fell in love with it because
it reminds me of myself growing up so much—sitting in my
bedroom, singing into the mirror with my hairbrush, practicing
my dance moves that I was going to do on stage."

Lauren is so honest, which is why she is so relatable to young and old alike. Who doesn't remember doing the exact same thing with their hairbrushes

[ellen49]

I hope those who commented on Lauren closing Riverbend will see how much Lauren has improved and mature as an artist , and maybe they will appreciate her and her talent better.I understand some would be sceptical because Idol just had it's finale but after months of radio gigs, touring and promo, I believe she can live up to it.

[igoski1]

If you come to see Lauren, be sure to also get "star seating" (extra $20) to be assured a good seat because there could be as many as 10,000-20,000 people there! The whole festival draws over 100,000, so you can see it is a big event. Fireworks at the end over the river, too!

I live in Chattanooga and have been going to Riverbend since the beginning. For the ones that have not ever been, there is way more than 10,000 to 20,000 people per night. The attendance for Riverbend has grown over the years and there are now regularly over 600,000 people that come over the course of the festival. Individual nights can see some 80,000 people in attendance. Some acts can attract 100,000 people for the one night! No matter what, this is a very big deal for Lauren and there will for sure be around 80,000 people there to see her! She IS the head liner for that night.

[cuacuaro]

I sure hope so, that gig is a big deal for her, it means her own people is going to see her perform. Though there has been talk of some of the local people not agreeing with her as the headlining act, I don't understand why.

[ellen49]

I can understand where some of comments were coming from.Lauren has just come out of Idol, people felt that she does not have the experience and the star power to close such a huge event but after months of going on the road and the countless radio gigs she did since the end of the Idol summer tour, I feel that she has earned it, she can close it out, and make her town proud of what she has accomplished. They can go watch her and see how far she has come.

I live in Chattanooga and have been going to Riverbend since the beginning. For the ones that have not ever been, there is way more than 10,000 to 20,000 people per night. The attendance for Riverbend has grown over the years and there are now regularly over 600,000 people that come over the course of the festival. Individual nights can see some 80,000 people in attendance. Some acts can attract 100,000 people for the one night! No matter what, this is a very big deal for Lauren and there will for sure be around 80,000 people there to see her! She IS the head liner for that night.

Thank you for dropping by, I hope you don't disappear into lurkdom. WOW, that's a lot of people it could rival the CMA Fest in sheer number of visitors.Is this good forr our girl or what?

[igoski1]

Here is the line up of Riverbend in the recent past few years. Lauren is headlining the same stage as some of the biggest acts in the music business.

2010
• Sheryl Crow
• Alison Krauss & Union Station
• The Waybacks, John Cowan, and Joan Osborne
• Third Day
• Darius Rucker
• George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic
• Billy Currington
• Charlie Daniels Band
[edit] 2009
• Willie Nelson
• Train
• Three Dog Night
• Steven Curtis Chapman
• Commodores
• The B-52's
• Montgomery Gentry
• Little Richard
[edit] 2008
• ZZ Top
• The Black Crowes
• MercyMe
• Little Big Town
• Rodney Atkins
• Josh Turner
• Bachman-Cummings Band
• Anthony Hamilton
• Mark Farner (of Grand Funk Railroad)
• The Ohio Players
• America
[edit] 2007
• The Alan Parsons Project
• Blake Shelton
• Craig Morgan
• Daughtry
• Earth, Wind & Fire
• Jars of Clay
• moe.
• Ricky Skaggs
• Steve Miller Band
• Vince Gill
• Col. Bruce Hampton & The Quark Alliance
• 2007 also debuted Riverbend's first ever classical recital featuring pianist Ning An.
[edit] 2006
• The Allman Brothers Band
• Kenny Rogers
• Los Lonely Boys
• Angie Stone
• Hank Williams, Jr.
• Sugarland
• Trisha Yearwood
• Audio Adrenaline
• The Derek Trucks Band
• Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay (of The Grateful Dead)
• The Dempseys
[edit] 2005
• Kid Rock
• Boyz II Men
• Michael McDonald
• Newsboys
• Cheap Trick
• Big and Rich
• Pat Benatar
• Apologetix
[edit] 2004
• LL Cool J
• Keith Urban
• Michelle Branch
• Michael W. Smith
• Styx
• Hayseed Dixie
• Randy Newman
[edit] 2003
• Joe Cocker
• Martina McBride
• The Temptations
• Rebecca St. James
• Everclear
[edit] 2002
• Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Blues Traveler
• Lonestar
• Nickel Creek
• Art Garfunkel
[edit] 2001
• Al Jarreau
• Rascal Flatts
• Collective Soul
• Carman
• Travis Tritt
• Jo Dee Messina

[ellen49]

Now, that's an impressive list, the best of country music and Lauren is headlining it. I feel scared and excited at the same time.She is going to go all out here, this is her town after all.

This post has been edited by ellen49: May 15th 2012, 11:32 PM

[cuacuaro]

I understand that point and she has had to overcome that general "feeling" with most of the country artists she has met so far, but what I don't understand is the lack of support of some of her hometown peers in her potential of being a good singer, at least. I mean if they were the ones trying to make it, they would hope for their own town people to wish them good and to support them in everything.
But maybe that's just me, jejeje.

[ellen49]

I think people from her hometown are slowly coming around, the last time she did that charity event in Chatt, tickets were sold out quickly, she was headlining that gig. It's been months since then and she had been on the road so much,that should count . I hope they will give her support on this event.

[TNLady]

Now, that's an impressive list, the best of country music and Lauren is headlining it. I feel scared and excited at the same time.She is going to go all out here, this is her town after all.

I am also from Chattanooga and I am excited for Lauren to really show the hometown crowd,as well as those who come for the festival, just what she can do. Unfortunately there will be those who are not country music fans or people who still think of her as that "little girl" who sang on the smaller stages or just on Idol (and didn't "win") who will be the vocal minority. They will get coverage just because people like to have controversy to write about. However, the bigger story will be the great job she will do and that will get the coverage, too. We need to remember that she is taking the slot (last night and biggest stage) that Miranda Lambert had last year, so she is being held to a high standard. BTW, if anyone is coming, Eric Church is on the first Friday night (June 9th) and The Band Perry is on Wednesday night before Lauren on Saturday night. And yes, there will be many thousands there, so Lauren should be able to "wow" a really big crowd!

[ellen49]

Are you going ? This is an important leg of the music fests all year round, Miranda was already a huge star last year , and it's Laurens' turn this year.It is an intimidating event , I am intimidated , I'm sure Lauren will do fine,as long as her voice is okay and she won't get sick, she will do wonderful.

Have you ever been to this event?

[onlychildcherry]

I sure hope so, that gig is a big deal for her, it means her own people is going to see her perform. Though there has been talk of some of the local people not agreeing with her as the headlining act, I don't understand why.

I understand that point and she has had to overcome that general "feeling" with most of the country artists she has met so far, but what I don't understand is the lack of support of some of her hometown peers in her potential of being a good singer, at least. I mean if they were the ones trying to make it, they would hope for their own town people to wish them good and to support them in everything.
But maybe that's just me, jejeje.

You are not the only one feeling this way. I too don't feel the support from her hometown. Sorry to say some of her non-believers even come from her hometown. I guess the hometown folks just look at her as a little girl who can sing, nothing special. It seems they're pretty tough to please. Her parents have expressed their hurtful feeling from the comments when this article was published. This is lauren and family's night. She'll give it all she can to prove them she belongs in that big stage and she's worked for what she's getting. They may not like the fact she's young and up there but it's impossible not to like her singing. Come on lauren kick some butt up there. We can't watch and support you but we're behind you every step of the way. I'm the type who goes back to those who didn't believe in me and prove them wrong.

[ellen49]

You could be a motivational speaker,Nikki. What's up with her hometown not backing her? If she will have a fabulous review after the Riverbend, the whole town would probably adopt her as the favourite daughter.