Festival of the Bells welcomes Dustin Lynch, The Farm and Brandon Heath

Year after year, the Festival of the Bells attracts some of country music's most promising rising stars. So much so, in fact, that the annual Fourth of July weekend celebration in historic uptown Hillsboro might be considered the launching pad for up-and-coming musicians.

Many of today's country music greats have performed on the Festival of the Bells stage before they became household names.

Maybe you've heard of Brad Paisley? He played the Festival of the Bells. Dierks Bentley? Ditto. Taylor Swift? She had one of the biggest crowds in festival history. The Band Perry? Yes, they were in Hillsboro. Rascal Flatts? Of course. Neal McCoy? Always a fan favorite.

For 2013, Festival of the Bells committee member and entertainment chairman Rick Williams says another rising star will take center stage at 9 p.m. Saturday, July 6.

The 2013 Festival of the Bells will be July 4-6 in uptown Hillsboro.

Dustin Lynch will bring his hits "Cowboys and Angels" and "She Cranks My Tractor" – which he co-wrote with Brett Beavers and Tim Nichols – to Hillsboro as one of the entertainment headliners of the summer 2013 Festival of the Bells.

"We're very pleased to welcome Dustin Lynch to the festival," Williams told The Highland County Press. "We think the community will really enjoy his music."

Lynch, 28, wrote his first song, "Solitude," at age 15. His debut single "Cowboys and Angels" has been a C&W chart-topper this summer.

Visitors to Lynch's website – dustinlynchmusic.com – can read about the young star's emphasis on writing his own music.

"Bluebird Café’s Facebook page says it all: Customers who visit the Nashville songwriters club – instrumental in the development of Garth Brooks, Faith Hill and Kathy Mattea – are expected to keep quiet and listen to the words from some of Music City’s most influential composers. Listening has an added benefit – it gives the listener a chance to learn, Lynch says.

That’s how Lynch used the Bluebird. He rented an apartment behind its parking lot and literally "walked to the Bluebird several times a week to listen and learn about the mysterious art of creating songs from some of Nashville’s most important writers."

“I was soaking it in, trying to be a sponge,” Lynch says. “I was mainly trying to hear the story behind the song, how it came about, what it’s really about. There’s something about understanding the songwriter’s realm. You get a little more grip on the way it was written and why it was written and how they got to the finished product.”

That education has paid off. Lynch has signed with Broken Bow Records – the home of Jason Aldean.

In keeping with the Festival of the Bells' tradition of attracting country music's rising stars, Lynch is among those considered for the Horizon Award, according to Williams.

"We won't know that until October, but Dustin will be in the running."

(By the way, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley, Taylor Swift and Hunter Hayes are some of the Horizon Award – or New Artist – winners to have performed at the Festival of the Bells.)

* * *

• The Farm to perform at Festival of the Bells

Hillsboro will be having a "Farm Party" at the 2013 Festival of the Bells, when The Farm Inc. will be the Friday night concert headliners for this year's event on July 5.

The Farm joins Dustin Lynch, who will perform on Saturday, July 6 at the annual festival.

The band, made up of vocalists Nick Hoffman (who also plays fiddle), Damien Horne and Krista Marie, was founded in 2010. The Farm's debut album "The Farm," released in 2012, includes the hits "Be Grateful," "Farm Party" and "Home Sweet Home."

"'Be Grateful' is a song I personally really, really like, and 'Home Sweet Home' got in the top 10 last year," Festival of the Bells committee member and entertainment chairman Rick Williams said.

The band's website, thefarmmusic.com, describes their music as incorporating "unique harmonies and multi-layered influences."

"Nick was a country traditionalist, Krista was a former solo vocalist with a background in opera and standards, and Damien had first moved to Nashville with an alternative-rock band and ended up opening concerts for R&B artist John Legend," the website states.

The three met together to write music, which they based around Hoffman's fiddle instead of a guitar, and The Farm's website says that "once they launched into the 'Home Sweet Home' chorus, the three voices fell into place with an unexpected, other-worldly sound."

The Festival of the Bells has a history of welcoming rising country music stars, including Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, The Band Perry, Rascal Flatts and Brad Paisley.

"They're very energetic, and they're tremendous entertainers," Williams said. "They may be the best energetic group ever to come to Hillsboro.

"We're happy to have them, and they are good young entertainers coming to Hillsboro."

* * *

• Heath to open 2013 Festival of the Bells

Popular Christian singer-songwriter Brandon Heath will open the 2013 Festival of the Bells on July 4 at 9 p.m.

Heath's concert will mark the eighth annual Christian opening act organized by the Hillsboro Ministerial Association for the Festival of the Bells.

Heath, who is currently promoting his 2012 album "Blue Mountain," is known for the 2009 Grammy-nominated and Dove Award-winning Song of the Year "Give Me Your Eyes," as well as the hits "I'm Not Who I Was," "Our God Reigns" and "Your Love."

A former songwriter, Heath's debut album, "Don't Get Comfortable," was released in 2006, and was followed by the top-five hit albums "What If We" and "Leaving Eden."

"The struggles he's had in his life and how it's affected his ability to write music about those struggles are very common threads that all of us here in our own community face every day," event organizer Brian Robinson said. "I think there's a natural bond there."

Robinson said that he has seen Heath in concert twice, including seeing him on Sunday, March 17, and that his high-energy, uplifting performance is sure to be popular with Festival audiences.

Local churches interested in helping to fund this event are encouraged to contact Robinson at (937) 393-2532.

"We've been blessed, that the churches have made this happen in years past and obviously allow us to continue to do this," Robinson said.

"We're excited that Brandon's coming, and we're excited to see what great things will happen that night."

The Festival of the Bells will be July 4-6. To find out more information on the Festival of the Bells, visit www.festivalofthebells.com.