Mockingbird Sun

Live performance video from CMT studios.
The first time I heard Mockingbird Sun‘s “My Hometown,” I was deeply touched. Rather than being a celebration of where you grew up, this lovely ballad acknowledges that some of us find our hometown much later in life. Teaming with songwriter Liz Rose, the Nashville-based trio captured the sense of peace and contentment that comes when you finally land where you belong. Check out this live version of Mockingbird Sun’s “My Hometown.” - CMT

Live performance video from CMT studios.
The first time I heard Mockingbird Sun‘s “My Hometown,” I was deeply touched. Rather than being a celebration of where you grew up, this lovely ballad acknowledges that some of us find our hometown much later in life. Teaming with songwriter Liz Rose, the Nashville-based trio captured the sense of peace and contentment that comes when you finally land where you belong. Check out this live version of Mockingbird Sun’s “My Hometown.” - CMT

Mockingbird Sun opened for Huey Lewis and The News in Omaha, NE recently at the pre-Independence Day celebration with attendance of 70,000. Mockingbird Sun is on the "We've Never Heard Of You Either" tour, which included recent shows with Eli Young Band, Martina McBride and Eric Church. The band’s single “That Girl Tonight” is climbing the Texas Music Chart. Photo: Mockingbird Sun's Brett Taylor, Adam Gardner, Truck Roley, Huey Lewis, Charlie Berry, and Barret Holloway. - Music Row

Lucky Guy music video on CMT.com. - CMT

Lucky Guy music video on CMT.com. - CMT

Lady Antebellum did it. The Band Perry did it. Now Mockingbird Sun hopes it can repeat the process.

The band, represented by the Paradigm booking agency and HK Management but not yet signed to a label, played what could be a predictive date at the Iowa State Fair, where its three-part harmonies, hooky choruses and upbeat presentation won over a small but enthusiastic crowd.

It wasn't glamorous -- Mockingbird Sun drove 12 hours each way from Nashville for the gig, ate dinner on a travel date in a Walmart parking lot and competed for fair publicity with a lot of other attractions. The fair's fare included campaign stops by both presidential candidates, hard-ticket attractions Rascal Flatts and Hank Williams Jr., the midway and the fair's much-publicized slate of unhealthy food: deep-fried Oreos, chocolate-dipped bacon, corndogs and deep-fried butter.
Lady Antebellum Teams With Lipton Tea & Honey For New TV Spot
But the date was worth it to Mockingbird Sun on several levels. The band, which has worked with "The House That Built Me" songwriter Tom Douglas and producer Mac McAnally in two years of steady development, sold more than enough merchandise after the concert at the fairgrounds' Susan Knapp Amphitheater to pay for the gas back to Tennessee. The performance earned more money, according to road manager Matt Price, than a two-week string of club dates in Texas. And the show added a few more bodies to the band's slowly-developing fan base. Of the estimated 1,200 people there at the beginning, about 600 stayed for the entire 90-minute set. And a very vocal contingent of 50-something fans -- including one who had made a point to see the band again after it opened for Huey Lewis in Omaha June 29 -- forced an unplanned encore at the close.

"If you can hold a crowd like that, you're doing well," Iowa State Fair special events director Tonya Cook says, "because there's a lot of other things going on."

The grandstand headliners at fairs invariably draw the most attention: Miranda Lambert at the Iowa State Fair, Jason Aldean at the Ohio State Fair or Blake Shelton at the Minnesota State Fair. But those free stages, often overlooked by everyone but Nashville's booking agents and the fair's talent buyers, are an essential part of building country careers.

As an example, Lady Antebellum played the Iowa State Fair's Knapp Amphitheater in 2008, and the Band Perry played the same venue last year. Both acts soon became hard-ticket draws at the same fair's grandstand. It's a fact that gives Mockingbird Sun hope every time it plays a state or county fair.

"How many different tents did we play in the last year," Mockingbird Sun's Truck Roley notes, "and [people] came up and said, 'You guys are great. Eric Church played here two years ago.' Or whoever. They drop somebody who's now a household name in country and they played this stage two years ago. That's awesome, and it's happening every single time, so the fairs are catching artists before they blow up. That is cool. It's a sort of cutting-edge thing."

It's also by design. The grandstand entertainment might get the big publicity, but the artists on the free stages add long-term value to the $10 fair admission and the additional parking fee. As those young acts continue to develop, some of them build careers that elevate them to hard-ticket status at the grandstand. In the process, fair-goers form an anticipation that they can see quality music by future stars for free.

"It's easier to bring a fair-goer back the next year than it is to get a new one the first time," Iowa State Fair manager/CEO Gary Slater says. "Once we get a new one, 90% of the time that person will come back the next year. And so you want to have something for everyone and you want to have something that's the wow factor -- whether it's entertainment, whether it's the double-bacon corndog or whatever it might be. But that free entertainment and that niche of up-and-coming entertainment, especially on the country side, is very important to us to attract those followers."

The free stages typically offer a decent number of legacy pop and rock acts -- Dave Mason, Kansas, the Commodores and Wilson Phillips are on this year's schedules at state fairs from Minnesota to Texas -- but when it comes to building future talent, the fair circuit "only works in country music," William Morris Endeavor Nashville co-head Rob Beckham observes. He points to a Jerrod Niemann appearance in Washington, Mo., that likely created a shared memory for the families that attended.

"There was 10,000 people in this little city park watching Jerrod Niemann on this night that was absolutely beautiful and perfect," Beckham says. "There were 80- and 90-year-old people, and there were 10-year-old kids. It was a place for everybody to come and be a part of something together in that community. It only happens once a year, but when it does come to town, it's a really big deal."

New country acts are - Billboard.biz

Lady Antebellum did it. The Band Perry did it. Now Mockingbird Sun hopes it can repeat the process.

The band, represented by the Paradigm booking agency and HK Management but not yet signed to a label, played what could be a predictive date at the Iowa State Fair, where its three-part harmonies, hooky choruses and upbeat presentation won over a small but enthusiastic crowd.

It wasn't glamorous -- Mockingbird Sun drove 12 hours each way from Nashville for the gig, ate dinner on a travel date in a Walmart parking lot and competed for fair publicity with a lot of other attractions. The fair's fare included campaign stops by both presidential candidates, hard-ticket attractions Rascal Flatts and Hank Williams Jr., the midway and the fair's much-publicized slate of unhealthy food: deep-fried Oreos, chocolate-dipped bacon, corndogs and deep-fried butter.
Lady Antebellum Teams With Lipton Tea & Honey For New TV Spot
But the date was worth it to Mockingbird Sun on several levels. The band, which has worked with "The House That Built Me" songwriter Tom Douglas and producer Mac McAnally in two years of steady development, sold more than enough merchandise after the concert at the fairgrounds' Susan Knapp Amphitheater to pay for the gas back to Tennessee. The performance earned more money, according to road manager Matt Price, than a two-week string of club dates in Texas. And the show added a few more bodies to the band's slowly-developing fan base. Of the estimated 1,200 people there at the beginning, about 600 stayed for the entire 90-minute set. And a very vocal contingent of 50-something fans -- including one who had made a point to see the band again after it opened for Huey Lewis in Omaha June 29 -- forced an unplanned encore at the close.

"If you can hold a crowd like that, you're doing well," Iowa State Fair special events director Tonya Cook says, "because there's a lot of other things going on."

The grandstand headliners at fairs invariably draw the most attention: Miranda Lambert at the Iowa State Fair, Jason Aldean at the Ohio State Fair or Blake Shelton at the Minnesota State Fair. But those free stages, often overlooked by everyone but Nashville's booking agents and the fair's talent buyers, are an essential part of building country careers.

As an example, Lady Antebellum played the Iowa State Fair's Knapp Amphitheater in 2008, and the Band Perry played the same venue last year. Both acts soon became hard-ticket draws at the same fair's grandstand. It's a fact that gives Mockingbird Sun hope every time it plays a state or county fair.

"How many different tents did we play in the last year," Mockingbird Sun's Truck Roley notes, "and [people] came up and said, 'You guys are great. Eric Church played here two years ago.' Or whoever. They drop somebody who's now a household name in country and they played this stage two years ago. That's awesome, and it's happening every single time, so the fairs are catching artists before they blow up. That is cool. It's a sort of cutting-edge thing."

It's also by design. The grandstand entertainment might get the big publicity, but the artists on the free stages add long-term value to the $10 fair admission and the additional parking fee. As those young acts continue to develop, some of them build careers that elevate them to hard-ticket status at the grandstand. In the process, fair-goers form an anticipation that they can see quality music by future stars for free.

"It's easier to bring a fair-goer back the next year than it is to get a new one the first time," Iowa State Fair manager/CEO Gary Slater says. "Once we get a new one, 90% of the time that person will come back the next year. And so you want to have something for everyone and you want to have something that's the wow factor -- whether it's entertainment, whether it's the double-bacon corndog or whatever it might be. But that free entertainment and that niche of up-and-coming entertainment, especially on the country side, is very important to us to attract those followers."

The free stages typically offer a decent number of legacy pop and rock acts -- Dave Mason, Kansas, the Commodores and Wilson Phillips are on this year's schedules at state fairs from Minnesota to Texas -- but when it comes to building future talent, the fair circuit "only works in country music," William Morris Endeavor Nashville co-head Rob Beckham observes. He points to a Jerrod Niemann appearance in Washington, Mo., that likely created a shared memory for the families that attended.

"There was 10,000 people in this little city park watching Jerrod Niemann on this night that was absolutely beautiful and perfect," Beckham says. "There were 80- and 90-year-old people, and there were 10-year-old kids. It was a place for everybody to come and be a part of something together in that community. It only happens once a year, but when it does come to town, it's a really big deal."

New country acts are - Billboard.biz