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Battle For The Jam Returns to Thirsty Cowboy

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Battle For The Jam

The Thirsty Cowboy in Medina will host the Battle For The Jam which will give the winning band the slot to perform at this year’s WGAR Country Jam at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea.

The competing bands will each perform a 45-minute set during the preliminary rounds on Thursdays (7/6, 7/13 and 7/20) in July at the country venue. The finalists will then perform on Thursday, August 3 with the winner performing at the Country Jam on Saturday, August 19.

The bands are judged on music, stage presence and crowd interaction, appearance and personality and applause. Each of the criteria will have points that will be awarded by the judges, with the highest number of points coming from the crowds applause and reaction for each performance. So, if you have a favorite local band that is competing, come out and give them the fan support that is a big part of winning.

In addition to performing at Thirsty Cowboy Saloon at the WGAR Country Jam, the winning band will also receive 25 tickets for the Country Jam; a custom stage back drop for the band; a Saturday Night booking at Thirsty Cowboy this fall and radio and social media exposure.

For a complete list of all the rules for the Battle For The Jam, and to register, click Here.

Erin Stoll

Erin Stoll has been filling out her summer schedule and will be performing this Saturday, June 10 at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville for a pre-race concert from 3:15pm-6:00pm. The Wadsworth, Ohio native will also be performing at BG’s Main Event in Rittman on Sunday, June 11 for an afternoon show that starts at 2:00pm.

The Nashville recording artist released her debut EP, Unfinished, last year and was awarded the 2016 Best Country Song for “Unfinished” by The Ohio Music Awards. Stoll will head back to Nashville in September to record her second EP and will start a crowd funding project next week to help support the project.

Stoll and her band will also be performing at the Rialto Theater in Akron on Friday, June 16 and the Whiskey Ranch in Green on Saturday, July 8. For a complete list of all of her upcoming shows check out her website Here.

Georgia Kostyack

Cleveland native Georgia Kostyack recently joined the Tom Frietchen Band and traveled with them to Patchogue, New York to perform at the Concert For A Cure at the 89 North Music Venue. The band will return to New York to perform at The Cutting Room on August 10.

Kostyack’s own group, The Casual Country Trio with Tommy Amamto and Dougie Manross, will be playing at the Lake Erie Crushers Stadium in Avon on Saturday, July 1 as the special musical guest and on July 8 they will be at Huron Point Tavern in Cleveland. Kostyack shot one of her music videos at the club and will release the video on that day along with her new single, “What’s Going On.” Kostyack and Manross will then head to Nashville in July for NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) where they will perform at Tootsies and The Commodore.

Find out more about Georgia and The Casual Country Trio at her website Here.

The Casual Country Trio – Dougie Manross, Georgia Kostyack and Tommy Amato

Southern Cross Band

The Southern Cross Band may have only formed earlier this year but they are quickly making a name for themselves around the region. The group will be performing at the Time Out Sports Bar & Grill in Garretsville this Saturday, June 10 and next Friday, June 16 at Jerzee’s on Fulton in Canton and on Saturday, June 17 at the Holiday Bar in Warren.

The band has been working on new material including original songs that were written by band members Ariel Petrella and Jeremy Fletcher. The new songs will be added to their set list and performances in the next month.

Follow Southern Cross Band and get show updates on their Facebook page Here.

Ryan Michael & The Redneck Romeos

The Canton based Ryan Michael & The Redneck Romeos are in full summer schedule mode. The band will be performing this weekend at Jimmy’s on Portage in North Canton on Saturday, June 10 and Vaughn’s Pub & Grill in Bolivar on Sunday, June 11.

The group continues with shows on Wednesday, June 14 at Quaker Steak & Lube in Canton; Thursday, June 15 for the WTUZ 99.9 Beach party at Atwood Lake; Friday, June 16 at the Coschocton Moose Club; Saturday, June 17 at Nathans Patio in Canton and they close out the month on Friday, June 30 at the Wagon Wheel Saloon in Randolph. July is just as busy with more shows including an appearance at The Smokin’ Claw Tavern (Formerly Dietz’s Landing) on Saturday, July 1; Atwood Lake on Sunday, July 2; an Independence Day show at First Town Days Festival in New Philadelphia on July 4; Wing Warehouse in Stow on Friday, July 7 and they return to Jimmy’s on Portage on Saturday, July 8.

Stay up to date on all of the shows by visiting the Ryan Michael & The Redneck Romeos website Here.

#17 Wayne Newbury – Wayne County Speedway

Cleveland Country Magazine is sponsoring the #17 race car of Wayne Newbury who races weekly at Wayne County Speedway.  Newbury also makes appearances at other tracks in Ohio including the 250 Speedway in Cadiz and Sandusky Speedway.

On Saturday, June 3, Newbury traveled to Iowa to race at the Quad City Raceway in an IMCA Racing event.  He finished fifth in the heat race and then started 18th in the feature race and charged his way to a 4th place finish in the 12 lap contest.

Find out more about Newbury’s home track Wayne County Speedway on their website Here.

Wayne Newbury’s #17 race car with the Cleveland Country Magazine logo on the hood.

F.A.T.H.E.R.S. / Kyle Thomas

Families Against The Heroin Epidemic Rally in Stark (F.A.T.H.E.R.S.) will be holding their 3rd Annual Motorcycle Run and Community Event to raise awareness of the heroin crisis and organize support to fight the epidemic on Saturday, June 17. The F.A.T.H.E.R.S. organization is again partnering with CommQuest, Stark County Sheriff George Maier, local police departments, area mayors and other municipal leaders to promote this sober event.

F.A.T.H.E.R.S. was founded by the parents of an addict. Their personal experience with the harrowing consequences of heroin addiction has led them to speak out about the problem.

The Motorcycle Run will start at Massilon Stadium Park at 9:00am with the first bike out at 9:30am. The Community Event will be held at Stark County Fairgrounds with bikes entering by 4:30pm for a catered dinner and then gates open to the public at 5:00pm. The event will include exhibitors, raffles, food vendors and live music from Kyle Thomas who will be returning from Nashville for the performance.

To find out more about the event and to register for the Motorcycle Run visit the F.A.T.H.E.R.S website Here.

When Thomas was asked to write a song to pay tribute to those facing the Heroine epidemic in his hometown for the event he immediately thought of his good friend Joe that he lost to this terrible sickness. Here is the heartfelt song that Thomas wrote for the F.A.T.H.E.R.S. event.

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