This Saturday night (Feb. 10) four of the area’s best local country acts come together to perform at PetFest: A Four-Legged Fundraiser at Thirsty Cowboy in Medina. These country acts have donated their time and talent to the benefit and were all quick to answer “yes” when approached to perform.
The live country music acts include Matt Goodrich, Shooter Sharp & The Shootouts, Chris Kraft and Country Reign.
The event will also offer silent auctions, 50/50 raffles, pet rescue information and pet adoptions on-site which will be managed by Maggie’s Mission of Sharon Center. Tickets for the event are only a $5 donation, with all proceeds going to Pay It Forward For Pets in Akron. Doors open at 6pm and live music will kick off at 7:15pm.
Matt Goodrich (7:15pm-8:00pm)
Matt Goodrich performed his first show in May 2016 and has been non-stop ever since performing anywhere from 100-120 a year. He has been a featured artist on Northwest Ohio radio stations including Coast Country 100.9, 103.7 CKY iHeart Radio and K96 WKFM.
In 2017 he was named Beacon’s “Best of the Best” Best Local Artist for Ottawa County and was named the Cleveland Country “Favorite Local Artist” in a fan voted poll.
He has opened shows for Brett Eldredge,David Allan Coe, Chris Lane, Shane Owens, Frankie Ballard and Rodney Atkins.
Shooter Sharp & The Shootouts (8:30pm- 9:45pm)
Shooter Sharp & The Shootouts bring a unique style of music with their vintage country western & honky tonk music group.
Led by award-winning singer-songwriter Ryan Humbert, the group has opened for Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jim Lauderdale, Radney Foster and many more. Since they formed the group has been performing all over the area including shows at Cain Park, The Music Box Supper Club, Canton First Friday, The Stark County Fair, The Kent Heritage Festival, The Kent Stage, The University of Akron, The House of Blues Cleveland, Stocker Arts Center, Akron Civic Theatre and The Beachland Ballroom.
Shooter Sharp & The Shootouts were also invited to perform a headlining set at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in October 2016 for the American Music Masters weekend celebrating the music and life of Johnny Cash.
Chris Kraft (10:15pm-11:00pm)
As a solo performer he has only his voice and his guitar to rely upon, but that has worked out well for the Alliance, Ohio based Chris Kraft. His strong following of fans and supporters helped get him nominated to be considered for an opening slot for Joe Nichols. He eventually was chosen by Nichols management and opened the show at the Goodyear Theater in Akron in May of 2017.
In addition to the opening for Nichols, he has opened shows for everyone from Eric Church to Uncle Kracker. He also was the first local artist to have a Sold Out show at Dusty Armadillo in Rootstown when he performed there last August.
Country Reign (11:30pm-12:45am)
Country Reign may have only started performing as a group in 2016, but this group of seasoned veterans brings year’s of experience to the stage every time they perform.
The band features both a female lead singer (Mellissa Kay Wilson), and a male lead singer (Justin Schrock). The versatility let’s them cover a wide range of country favorites and classic throwbacks that have made them a local favorite in just a short time. It doesn’t hurt that they always bring a high-energy show that keeps the crowd on the dance floor.
The Akron based group has already played shows at venues all over Northeast and Central Ohio including dates at two of the areas largest country clubs, Thirsty Cowboy and Dusty Armadillo. The band was also invited to perform at last year’s Thunder in the Boro which is Portage County’s largest bike rally.
