Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Citadel heralds Rising Stars
August music festival to feature music from 3 area performers
EXTON » The votes are in. Citadel has announced the results of its Rising Star Contest. Three artists from the Greater Philadelphia area have been chosen to perform Aug. 24, 25 and 26 during Citadel County Spirit USA.
Citadel Country Spirit USA will be held at Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show Grounds in Chester County’s Brandywine Valley, and it features more than 20 country music artists on two stages. The threeday music festival features headliners Alabama, Toby Keith and Brad Paisley.
It will also feature the names of three rising stars:
• Brian McConnell of West Chester
• Stephanie Grace of Doug- lasville
• Derek Crider of Hamilton, N.J.
The three were determined by online fan voting. Each artist will perform two sets between acts on the Main Stage during Citadel Country Spirit USA. One winner will perform on Friday, one on Saturday, and one on Sunday during the festival.
“We look forward to seeing these local artists shine at this spectacular event,” Jeff March, president and CEO, Citadel said in a press release.
Brian McConnell spent a decade as a personal executive assistant to Van Halen front man David Lee Roth before deciding to get back to writing and recording his own songs. He has shared the stage with Doors guitarist, Robby Krieger and Garth Brooks. McConnell splits his time between Nashville, Tenn. and Chester County.
Stephanie Grace grew up in Douglassville and has been writing songs since she was 10 years old. She decided to pursue music full-time after graduating from high school in 2015. She has opened shows for artists like Taylor Swift, Scotty McCreery, John Michael Montgomery and The Charlie Daniels Band.
Derek Crider is a singer/song-
writer from southern New Jersey, where he started playing the guitar and writing songs at age 13. After graduating from Rowan University, Crider released his debut album “Lost & Found” in 2015. He has opened for artists like Tyler Farr, Brandy Clark, Dylan Scott, Joe Nichols and Bret Michaels.
Citadel’s Rising Star contest launched in May with the search for artists. Finalists were announced last month, and online voting was held through June 20.
Grace was chosen in a similar online contest for Citadel Palooza, a one day music festival held in Pottstown in October 2017. The headline act for that event was Hunter Hayes. A total of $55,000 was donated to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Citadel Country Spirit USA is hosted by the Chester County Conference and Visitors Bureau. The venue has a capacity of 15,000 daily.
The Main Stage lineup and schedule is available at CountrySpiritUSA.com. Single-day tickets and three-day passes are on sale now at CountrySpiritUSA. com. A portion of ticket sales from the event will be donated to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.