A lengthy lineup of artists will take the stage Friday and Saturday, Aug. 25 and 26, at the University of Idaho’s ICCU Arena for an event billed as the Summer Country Showdown.
Headliner Neal McCoy performs Friday, with Jake Owen topping the lineup Saturday.
Other acts include Shenandoah, RaeLynn, Hailey Whitters, Thompson Square, Colby Acuff, Mark Wills and Due West.
The Texas-based McCoy has released 15 albums, breaking into the country music scene in 1993 with No. 1 singles “No Doubt About It” and “Wink,” from his platinum album “No Doubt About It.”
Owen, originally from Florida and now working out of the Nashville area, is known for hits like “Barefoot Blue Jean Night and “I Was Jack (You Were Diane).”
Ticketholders gain admission not just to the evening shows but to “songwriters rounds” Saturday featuring a variety of artists from the country music industry. The writers will appear on stage together to take turns playing their songs and telling the stories behind them, according to the event website.
The first round, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., features Due West, a trio of singer-songwriters who have written for Tim McGraw, Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts; Sarah Buxton, who has written songs for Keith Urban, Lady A and Florida Georgia Line; and Jason Deere, a songwriter and producer who has penned hits for Lady A, Little Big Town, LeAnn Rimes and Marie Osmond.
Round two, from 2-3:30 p.m., includes Grammy-nominated songwriter Mark Nesler, writer of more than 50 top-10 hits Tony Martin and Toby Keith collaborator Scotty Emerick.
Organizers promise a festival atmosphere including food and beverage vendors and a mechanical bull “waiting to test your cowboy skills.”
Tickets for the two-day event, ranging from $87.75 for students to $199.75 for the first rows of arena floor seating, are at UITickets.com.
— Inland 360
IF YOU GO
Summer Country Showdown
When: Main gates open at 3 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday. Arena gates open at 5 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday. Full schedule at summercountryshowdown.com/schedule.
Where: ICCU Arena, 900 Stadium Drive, University of Idaho, Moscow.
Tickets: at UITickets.com.
More information: summercountryshowdown.com.
Summer Country Showdown
When: Main gates open at 3 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday. Arena gates open at 5 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday. Full schedule at summercountryshowdown.com/schedule.
Where: ICCU Arena, 900 Stadium Drive, University of Idaho, Moscow.
Tickets: at UITickets.com.
More information: summercountryshowdown.com.
