Buddy Jewell to Open Saturday Show at Johnny Cash Heritage Festival
Northeast Arkansas native and award-winning country music artist Buddy Jewell will open the music at the “Cash Homecoming” concert scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 21 at the Johnny Cash Heritage Festival in Dyess.
Jewell, a native of the Arkansas Delta, surged onto the country music scene after winning the inaugural season of the USA Network’s hit television series Nashville Star. Soon after, he released his self-titled debut album Buddy Jewell, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Country Album charts as well as #13 on the Top 100 Pop Album Charts. His first two singles, Sweet Southern Comfort and Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey’s Song) both landed in the top 5 on the singles chart.
“This is one of those things that for me, is not just another feather in my cap,” said Jewell when asked about performing at the Johnny Cash Heritage Festival. “To me, it is a milestone in my career to get to come and perform with the Cash family and Kris Kristofferson and to do it there at the Boyhood Home. It is one of the coolest things that I will ever get to do, and I am really looking forward to it.”
The concert, which will be held in what was once a cotton field adjacent to the Johnny Cash Boyhood Home, will feature Grammy Award-winning artists Rosanne Cash and Kris Kristofferson, along with Joanne and Tommy Cash. Jewell will open the concert at 12:15 p.m., followed by Joanne and Tommy Cash at 1:30 p.m. Kristofferson and Rosanne Cash are scheduled for 3 p.m.
Reserved seating at the $100 level is sold out, but $50 reserved chair seating and $25 general admission tickets remain on sale. General admission ticket holders are welcome to bring lawn chairs and blankets.
“It is always great to get to come back and play in my home state, especially in the Northeast Arkansas region, where I still have a lot of friends and family,” added Jewell. “Every time I get to come home, it’s like slipping on a really comfortable jacket. It’s something that you are accustomed to and it just really feels natural. There is just a different feel to it when I get to come home and play, and I think a lot of that comes from me growing up there and never having the aspirations of becoming what I have become. It is where God led me to be, and as a kid I never envisioned this kind of thing for my life, and I am forever grateful for it. I am humbled and amazed that I still get to do what I love for a living, and to get to come back home where I have family, friends and people that I went to school with makes it a really, really special time.”
Tickets are on sale now and available online at AState.edu/tickets, or at the A-State Convocation Center Box Office on the A-State campus (lower red entrance), or by calling 870-972-2781 or 800-745-3000. Ticket holders will also have access throughout the afternoon to food vendors, arts and crafts booths, and artists’ merchandise.
In addition to the Saturday concert, regional music performances will be held Thursday and Friday, Oct. 19 and 20 during KASU Music Nights at the festival. Nine regional acts will entertain at the Dyess Colony Circle over the two-day span, and all Thursday and Friday performances at the Johnny Cash Heritage Festival are free. In addition to the concerts, the festival will also include a symposium from Thursday afternoon through Saturday morning in the Dyess Colony Circle, a “Memories of a Lifetime” oral history project, and food vendors, arts and crafts booths, and demonstrations throughout the three days.
