Hunter Hayes, Kip Moore and James Wesley to headline 2012 Festival of the Bells

The city of Hillsboro will welcome country acts Kip Moore, James Wesley and Hunter Hayes to the 2012 Festival of the Bells. 

Festival entertainment chairman Rick Williams said that contracts were finalized this week, and he is excited about the three acts they were able to secure. 

Scheduled for July 5-7, Williams said, "We're going to have two acts on Friday night, as a 'thank you' to our corporate sponsors. Needless to say, the people who attend are the ones who are really going to get the benefit. But we couldn't do any of this if it wasn't for our corporate sponsors, and we want to say a big, big thank you to them." 

Moore and Wesley will perform Friday night of the festival, on June 6.

Wesley, who is originally from southeastern Kansas, with as voice his website describes as "whiskey-smooth" released his first album in 1999. His second studio album, which is scheduled for release, features the love song "Jackson Hole" and his breakout hit, "Didn't I." 

"Kip Moore's big song is 'Somethin' 'Bout a Truck," Williams said. "He has another one coming out that's really good, too."

Moore grew up in Georgia but spent time in Hawaii before he moved to Nashville in 2004. "Somethin' 'Bout a Truck' was his first top 20 hit, according to his website. His debut single, "Mary Was the Marrying Kind" was released in 2011. Moore also co-wrote Wesley's song, "Walking Contradiction." 

Hunter Hayes is nominated as best new artist by the Academy of Country Music Awards - an honor that was taken last year by 2011 Festival of the Bells performers The Band Perry. 

"We're been very fortunate, and we've picked people over the years who have won that award many times," Williams said.  

Hayes, who is from Breaux Bridge, La., co-wrote a song, "Play", at the age of 16 and was recorded by another Festival alum, Rascal Flatts.

His debut single "Storm Warning" came out in 2011, and he was an opening act for Taylor Swift during her Speak Now World Tour. 

Swift, according to Williams, brought in the largest crowd in festival history in 2007 with an estimated 17,000 packing the streets of Hillsboro. 

"We're just super happy with the three people we've got coming," Williams said.

With 2012 as his 26th year working with the festival, Williams said that he is now the longest-serving Festival of the Bells committee member. 

When it comes to booking the acts for each year's festival, Williams said it's almost a year-round activity traveling to see groups to find a good fit for the Highland County community.

"For me, it's a hobby. I don't golf," Williams said with a laugh. "I really enjoy doing it, and I do it to try to give back something to the people of Highland County. The most I've ever traveled at one time to see a show was nine hours, and then we had to turn around and drive back. I've done that more than once, but I love it." 

Williams said that after he watches a performance, he always meets the groups they're considering booking, and he likes to see if they have an appreciation for small towns.

"I think it's cool if you can find a group that has something in common with the Hillsboro area," Williams said. "I think that's important."

Williams said that he has turned down groups before because he felt that they didn't have an appreciation or good understanding of the proud rural roots in Highland County. 

Looking back over the years at the number of acts that have been booked for the festival, Williams said that it's difficult to choose a favorite act.

"There's probably three concerts that stick out in my mind," Williams said. "It would be hard to put them in order, but if I had to, I really liked Neal McCoy, Taylor Swift, and it's a tie between Lady Antebellum and The Band Perry."

Outside of putting on a great, energetic show, Williams said that McCoy is a great guy to just sit and talk to. 

"I think he's a really great, down-to-earth kind of guy," Williams said. "I've been fortunate to have been able to spend a lot of time with him. I got to see him last October, and we just sat and talked. It was right after my cousin, Chuck Collier had passed and it had been so sudden, and he just wanted to sit and talk." 

Collier, a New Vienna native, died suddenly of a heart attack in September. Collier had been a a radio personality on the air with WGAR in Cleveland for nearly 40 years and was a member of the Country Music DJ and Radio Hall of Fame. In February, McCoy, along with Phil Vassar, played in a concert honoring Collier, with proceeds going to St. Jude Children's Hospital.

Festival chairperson Michael Bradford said that in addition to the stage entertainment, the committee is working to develop new and exciting attractions for the 2012 festival. 

"The baby parade is making a comeback," Bradford said. "HUBA (The Hillsboro Uptown Business Association) is taking it over this year. It will most likely be on a Saturday morning, but we don't have the set schedule yet. We're really excited to be working with them and to have the baby parade back." 

The committee is also working with Hillsboro Mayor Drew Hastings to secure new events. 

"Drew is putting together some things that he'd like to see from the city's standpoint," Bradford said. "We're doing the team approach. We don't know exactly what is on his agenda and what his events will be, but we're really excited to be working with him and his administration." 

The festival footprint will be the same this year, Bradford said, with the 100 blocks of North and South High Street and East and West Main Street being shut down for festival activities. Gov. Trimble Place and Gov. Foraker Place will also be closed, with Gov. Trimble Place designated for the city's activities. 

Corporate sponsor NCB is also working with the festival to set up a pavilion that will feature the work and wares of Highland County businesses. 

"It's to promote Highland County," Bradford said. "I think there is going to be space for eight vendors and will feature products from Highland County, to bring awareness and attention to local businesses. 

"We're really excited," Bradford said. "I think it's going to be a really good weekend for everyone."