Rogers Bayfest 2006

Keith Urban

Keith Urban grew up in Australia with parents who loved American culture, especially country music. The first records he heard were by Charley Pride, Dolly Parton, Don Williams and Jim Reeves. He picked up a guitar at age 6 and knew by 7 that he would go to Nashville to play country music. By age 8, he was winning country music talent shows and had steady work in a band as a teenager. After hearing the music of Dire Straits, he bought the band's albums and learned every song note by note. He began to throw what he learned into his solos onstage. The resulting fusion of rock-style guitar work with country music has become Urban's signature style.

In 1988, Urban formed a three-piece band whose distinctive take on country music led to solid success in Australia. After charting four No. 1 country singles there, he made the move to Nashville. Once in Music City, he formed another three-piece band, The Ranch. The trio's live shows caused a buzz in town, eventually leading to a deal with Capitol Nashville and a self-titled album in 1997. Critics raved about the album's unique take on country music and Urban's virtuoso guitar playing. Other artists also took notice, and when the group disbanded, they called on Urban to add some of his fleet-fingered magic to their records. Garth Brooks asked Urban to play on Double Live, and the Dixie Chicks invited him to play on Fly.

Urban released his debut self-titled album in 2000 on Capitol Nashville. Despite his somewhat grungy look, he was gradually accepted at radio with "It's a Love Thing," "Your Everything" and the No. 1 "But for the Grace of God." (The latter was written by Urban and two members of the Go-Gos.) He toured with Brooks & Dunn's Neon Circus in early 2001 and won the CMA Horizon award later that year.

Urban finished 2002 on a high note. "Somebody Like You," the first single from his album Golden Road spent six weeks at No. 1, and the video featured supermodel Niki Taylor. In 2003, another single from the album, "Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me," also reached No. 1.

TWO SHOWS
ONE TICKET

Collective Soul

With eight #1 rock hits to their credit and worldwide sales in excess of 7 million, Collective Soul stands as one of the definitive groups of the decade.

After four years out of the public eye, Collective Soul singer Ed Roland has a message for the world. "Let the word out/I gotta get it out. Whoa, I'm feeling better now," he declares in "Better Now," the energetic rocker that launches Youth, the Georgia rockers' first studio album since 2000's Blender.

If Collective Soul seems to have recaptured the hunger and determination of an indie band just starting out, rather than an act that had 19 different singles reach the Billboard charts during a seven-year span, it's because they are an indie band again for the first time since 1993's Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid (later re-released on Atlantic as Rising Storm). And Collective Soul is taking the "Do It Yourself Philosophy" to its limits.

After a seven-year run that that was highlighted by such rock radio smashes as the catchy as hell "Gel," one of seven songs during that interval to go to #1 on the Billboard Rock Tracks charts, the omnipresent upbeat number "Shine," the soaring ballad "The World I Know," "Blame," "December," "Precious Declaration," another rock radio chart-topper, and the list goes on and on, Collective Soul has learned a few things about writing memorable hooks.

Everclear

Before Everclear was formed in early 1991, Art Alexakis had previously worked as a roadie for a succession of Punk bands. Early comparisons to Nirvana (exacerbated by the singer's blonde hair) went into overdrive when Kurt Cobain publicly stated his approval. Everclear made their debut in 1994 with "World Of Noise", which included the intriguing "Sparkle".

The mini-album "White Trash Hell", again on Fire Records, was released in 1995. The band was subsequently offered a major label recording contract with Capitol Records. They were signed by Gary Gersh, who had previously taken both Nirvana and Sonic Youth to Geffen Records. During the same year the band released their first album for the new label, the critically lauded and commercially successful "Sparkle And Fade". They repeated this success two years later with the release of the infectious and highly melodic "So Much For The Afterglow".

With hit songs like "Santa Monica", "Father of Mine", "Everything To Everyone", "I Will Buy You A New Life" "Am Radio" "Volvo Driving Soccer Mom" and new album coming out in 2006, Everclear is sure to reclaim their rightful spot at the top of the charts.

Gretchen Wilson

Wilson signed with Epic Records in 2003 and recorded Here for the Party in 2003. The first single, "Redneck Woman," was released in early 2004 and quickly became a hit reaching the top of the Billboard country singles charts and #22 on the Billboard Hot 100. Due to the success of "Redneck Woman," Here for the Party was released earlier than planned on May 11, 2004, and debuted at #1 on the Billboard country chart. It also reached #2 on the Billboard 200 and Billboard Internet album sales charts. She built on the success on the album by performing as support artist for Brooks & Dunn and Montgomery Gentry.

The album and single have been released in markets outside the US and the album has reached #2 on the Australian country charts (behind Kasey Chambers) and the top 50 of the Australian charts. As of 5 July 2004, "Redneck Woman" was #1 on a world composite country chart (based on the US, UK and Australia), and "Here for the Party" was #4 as an album track.

Gretchen's award history includes: 2005 CMA Female Vocalist of the Year; 2004 CMA Horizon Award; 2004 Grammy Award Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Gretchen's "All Jacked Up" has been nominated for Best Country Album for 2006, Best Female Country Vocal Performance for 2006, Best Country Song for 2006 and "Policitcally Uncorrect" has been nominated for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for 2006.

Brooks and Dunn

With Red Dirt Road, Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks began a soul search that saw them strip away much of their bulked-up honky tonk in the name of a more organic kind of country. Not the archaic Smithsonian-type, per se, but something that rocked harder and dug deeper into what the music meant to them as men, musicians and writers. It was the beginning of a journey that would bring them to Hillbilly Deluxe, a potent cocktail that merges the influences, moments and reasons for kicking up a cloud of dust in a beer joint in the first place - and in these 13 songs, the pair offer up a collection of songs that run the gamut and hit the mark of what lights up the night and saves the morning after every time.

Rowdy. Bawdy. Raucous. Revel-ready. Hillbilly Deluxe is music for late nights, juke boxes, car radios and anywhere that people jettison expectation in the name of high-timin' and good-livin'. Hillbilly Deluxe is a state of mind and a frame of reference that's about scraping back the high tech, drop and rolling into the arc of Saturday night and the occasional pounding in one's head on the way to church on Sunday morning.