The Band Perry brings country energy

The Band Perry brings country energy to 25,000 at New York State Fair's Chevy Court

"Country music," Kimberly Perry declared Sunday night at the New York State Fairgrounds' overstuffed Chevy Court, "is the people's music."

Many thousands of fans agreed with the lead singer for oh-so-popular The Band Perry. At one point, she estimated that she and brothers Neil and Reid were sharing their music with 15,000 fans. Fair officials estimated it at 25,000 as people stood dozens deep on the sides of the grassy court, packed the picnic area behind the bleacher seats and climbed on higher concrete anywhere they could find it on the surrounding buildings. Three screens at TV booths showed the action in addition to the screen to side of the stage.

What they saw is Kimberly Perry owning the night. While introducing her brothers, youngest Neil on mandolin and middle kid of the East Tennessee clan Reid on bass, Kimberly called herself the bossy oldest sister and the spitfire of the group.

Great choice of words.

With big and pretty voice always and work on an acoustic guitar for some songs, Kimberly Perry shined like a bright star. From the opener, "Sugar Sugar" to the band's first single "Hip to My Heart" to love songs "Miss You Being Gone" and "Walk Me Down the Middle," she had the crowd hanging on every word.

The Band Perry sprinkled the 75-minute set with well-chosen and superbly placed cover songs, too, including snippets from Tom Petty's "Free Fallin' '' a medley of classic "American Pie," "Jack and Diane" and "Me and Bobby McGee" and a rollicking turn on Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls."

They tested a new song, "It Burns for You," and the cheering crowd gave the love song a thumb's up. Latest single "Postcards from Paris" was a favorite, too.

Of course, they also had the big hit that brought them into America's lives, the song heard everywhere in 2010, "If I Die Young." The crowd easily passed the sing-it-alone test on that one, thundering verses into the night as the video for the bittersweet instant classic flashed on three cool video screens the band brought for behind them.

They started the encore with a snippet from the Fun. song "We Are Young." So true, and the perfect lead in to "Night Gone Wasted" laced with the Beatles' classic "With a Little Help from My Friends" and the rousing closer, "You Lie."

The Band Perry to perform at State Fair

The Band Perry to perform at State Fair

The New York State Fair has filled the last spot in its Chevy Court lineup with the Band Perry, which will perform at 8 p.m. Sept. 2.
The group's 2010 single, "If I Die Young,"was certified quadruple platinum. The band also won new artist of the year awards in 2011 at the American Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards. This year it was nominated for a Grammy for best new artist and for American country music vocal group of the year. Along with "If I Die Young," its singles include "You Lie,""All Your Life" and "Postcard From Paris." Its second studio album is to be released this fall.

The fair runs Aug. 23 to Sept. 3. All shows on Chevy Court are free with fair admission, which is $10. Children 12 and under are admitted free every day of the fair. Students 16 and under are admitted free on Aug. 31. Senior Citizens Days are Aug. 27 and 28, when all people 60 years and older are admitted free.
The Fair offers several concert venues during its run. National acts perform ticketed shows at the Grandstand, and free shows at Chevy Court. National, regional and local artists perform during the Midway Music Series, and regional acts get their own showcase at the Regional Artists Variety Stage.
Chevy Court, Midway and Regional Artist series shows are free with Fair admission.
“Being able to offer a wide variety of free entertainment in this economy gives Fairgoers more opportunity to enhance their experience,” Dan O’Hara, director of the State Fair, said in a news release.
Chevy Court began a new format last summer that finds two national acts performing each day -- one at 2 p.m., another at 8 p.m. The afternoon concerts are typically aimed at seniors and families; the evening performances often feature adult-oriented acts.
The Midway Music Series showcases up-and-coming performers, and also is an opportunity to have national artists and local bands perform on the same stage, O’Hara said.
The series debuted last year as the Talent Showcase Stage with six concerts, which included Andy Grammar and former lead Guns N’ Roses guitarist Buckethead.
This year, the number of shows in the revamped and renamed Midway series has been expanded to nine. Among the acts scheduled to perform are singer-songwriter Tyler Hilton, who gained attention through performances on CW’s “One Tree Hill,” Central New York’s Grateful Dead tribute band Dark Hollow, and alternative-pop group Wallpaper, with opener AM & Shawn Lee.

Rascal Flatts, the Band Perry

Rascal Flatts, the Band Perry + More to Appear on ‘A Very Special Christmas 25th Anniversary’ Album

Rascal Flatts and the Band Perry will join a host of music stars to bring the joy of Christmas to those less fortunate this year. The country music representatives will appear on the upcoming ‘A Very Special Christmas 25th Anniversary’ album to raise money for the Special Olympics.
Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, Michael Buble, Jason Mraz, One Republic and Train will also appear on the collection, which marks the 25th anniversary of a series of releases dating back to 1987. To date, the series has raised more than $100 million for the Special Olympics.
The new collection is slated to drop on Oct. 16 from Big Machine Records. The label announced the release date at a press conference Monday (Aug. 6) at Nashville’s Blackbird Studio, which is owned by super-producer John McBride and his wife, country star Martina McBride.
“This 25th anniversary will be the biggest year in the history of this series,” Special Olympics CEO Tim Shriver tells Billboard. “This is music that continues to sell. People buy it. They enjoy it. They think it’s just great Christmas music, but it’s more than that. It’s changing the world.”

The Band Perry Bobbleheads

The Band Perry Bobbleheads Commemorate Siblings' Success

 

The Band Perry returned home last week to enjoy America's favorite pastime and raise some dough for the United Way. Thursday (June 28), the sibling trio took in a baseball game in their hometown of Greeneville, Tenn., and played a private, acoustic concert for 200 guests prior to the first pitch.

"We love small towns and we especially love our small town," Kimberly Perry says. "Performing for our friends and neighbors and raising money for United Way at the same time meant a lot to us."

To celebrate the return of the hometown heroes, the team -- which is a Rookie-level affiliate of the Houston Astros -- created custom bobbleheads (pictured above) of the threesome. Each attendees received their own, and one dollar of each ticket sold benefited the United Way.

The trio even had the chance to take the field, throwing out the game's first pitch. After that, they chatted it up with the team's General Manager David Lane, and owner Scott Niswonger.

"It was an honor to spend time with Mr. Niswonger and Mr. Lane and be a part of such a special evening in the community," Reid Perry recalls.

"We were excited about throwing out the first pitch at the game!" adds Neil Perry. "We love sports and even though we are baseball rookies we had a blast on the field with the professionals."

The Band Perry didn't get to spend a lot time at home. After the game, they were back on the bus and headed out on tour with Brad Paisley. They're headed to Canada next, stopping in Calgary on July 14. See their full concert schedule here.

The Band Perry open 2012

The Band Perry open 2012 Country USA music festival

Country USA opened its gates on Tuesday afternoon for the 17th annual country music festival, running through June 23. The Oshkosh, Wisc. event takes place at Ford Festival Field and represents five days of performances by world class country artists. Performances over the next three days will include Sugarland (tonight), Brad Paisley (Friday) and Keith Urban on Saturday.
Fans were happy despite the heat wave--the rains and mud that plagued the 2011 festival were nowhere to be seen. Instead, they battled the 90-degree weather with carnival rides, beer, good music and a welcomed breeze.

View slideshow: The Band Perry / Thompson Square - 2012 Country USA

Tuesday's lineup introduced Thompson Square to Oshkosh. Signed in 2010 and already awarded the Academy of Country Music's "Top Vocal Duo" in 2012, the husband and wife pair of Keifer and Shawna Thompson were the perfect choice to open for headliners The Band Perry . Both artists are fairly new to the scene but have already garnered numerous awards and Billboard chart topping singles.
Thompson Square made the most of their 60-minute set, giving the crowd a mix of their hits with plenty of discourse from Keifer and Shawna between songs. The pair shared vocal duties and performed "I Got You," "Getaway Car," current hit "Glass" and the song that started it all, "Let's Fight."
They frequently joked with one another and performed a series of medleys while introducing their band, with each member showcasing their talent behind one of their inspirations. Songs ranged from Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" to Vanilla Ice's "Ice, Ice Baby" to Merle Haggard's "Okie from Moskogee."
Before closing out their set, Keifer asked the crowd, "Anybody's butt tired? You need to rest that butt." Fans finally left their chairs and stood up. He thanked the fans for their recent CMT award and they finished with their platinum single, "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not."
The Band Perry have been moving up the country ranks, recently opening for Brad Paisley's "Virtual Reality Tour ." The musical siblings, Kimberly Perry on vocals with brothers Reid (bass guitar) and Neil (mandolin) performed without much fanfare. Missing were the lasers and effects. Instead, they performed with a few backing video screens to show off their down-home country roots.
Kimberly led the crowd, frequently clapping her hands above her head and shooting smiles to various fans in the crowd. They opened with "Sugar Sugar," "Hip to My Heart" and "Miss You Being Gone." The siblings were constantly in motion and played off of Kimberly's energy.
Most of the crowd were aware of The Band Perry's music by now, and sang along to the majority of the songs. However, cover tunes "Free Fallin'" and their unique, country twist to Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls" might have brought the loudest sing-a-long.
Still performing on their self-titled, 2010 debut, they were able to perform all but three tracks from that album. "Lasso," "Walk Me Down the Middle," and "Quittin' You" were the only missing tracks. Though a few of the fans probably would have preferred the deeper cuts, most were very content with their cover medley that included American classics "Jack and Diane," "Me & Bobby McGee," and "American Pie."
They closed the set with their multi-platinum, smash-hit "If I Die Young." Those who waited out a lengthy break were treated to an encore of fun.'s "We Are Young" and The Beatles' "With a Little Help." Before leaving the stage for good, they finally performed "You Lie" to bring the opening night of Country USA to a successful finish. Individual day tickets are still available for Thursday through Saturday's performances.