Organizers of the Pine Tree Music Fest in Ackerman have announced that Big Joe Shelton and HanaLena are featured performers at the 2016 event June 3-4.
Friday night, June 3, marks the kickoff concert in downtown Ackerman at 7 p.m. with Shelton, a Columbus native and Macon resident. HanaLena — fronted by Starkville natives and Nashville residents Hannah and Caroline Melby — perform at 8:30 p.m.
“The Pine Tree Music Fest offers great entertainment every year, and this year is no different,” said Amber McBride of the Choctaw County Chamber of Commerce.
Prior to the concert, bingo begins at 5:30 p.m. at Pap’s Place, 125 E. Main St. Kids’ World will open at 5:30 p.m. at the downtown walking track with inflatable water slides, dragon obstacle course and train rides. Armbands will be $10 per child; train rides will be $3 per ride.
“This year the festival offers two days of fun and something for everyone,” McBride said.
Attractions June 4 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. downtown include a 5K run/walk, a fiddle contest, Kids’ World, arts, crafts and food vendors and local entertainment.
Big Joe
Big Joe Shelton has released three albums on his Alt 45 Records label. The title track of his 2013 “I’d Never Let Her Down” won the Jimi Award for Song of the Year. He has garnered nominations for Blues Music Awards, including a Song of the Year nod for his “The Older I Get the Better I Was.” His 2011 album by the same name made the Top 10 on multiple national and international blues radio charts. Shelton’s 2008 album “Black Prairie Blues” was one of six finalists for Best Self-Produced CD in the 2009 International Blues Challenge.
Shelton has performed at numerous festivals and has toured in England, France, Belgium, Bulgaria and the Netherlands. He is a Mississippi Arts Commission Artist Fellowship recipient and member of MAC’s Artist Roster and Mississippi Folk Arts/Folk Life Directory.
HanaLena
Hannah and Caroline Melby began as instrumentalists in the band Nash Street in Starkville in the late 1990s. They relocated to Nashville in 2010, where their debut album was produced by Bil VornDick. They have been featured in Nashville Music Guide, Maverick magazine, Country Weekly, Catfish Alley magazine and Town and Gown magazine. In addition to their own recording, the sisters performed on the compilation CD “The 1861 Project,” as did Marty Stuart and John Anderson.
HanaLena released the book “Recipes and Road Stories” in 2014, with stories of life on the road and recipes from friends, family, fans and others who have been part of their professional music lives.
For more festival information, contact the Choctaw County Chamber of Commerce at 662-285-3778, email [email protected], [email protected] or visit the Pine Tree Music Fest Facebook page.
Ackerman is approximately 51 miles from Columbus and approximately 26 miles from Starkville.
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