Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee at Hope,
An annual rite of passage for Southwest Arkansas, the 42nd annual Hope Watermelon Festival brings with it a nostalgic duo of country music entertainers this year: Mickey Gilley and Johnny Lee.
Gilley and Lee will perform in concert for this festival, which attracts thousands to town to enjoy a tasty summertime treat that’s locally grown to record proportions. The duo will take the stage with their Urban Cowboy Reunion Tour on Friday, Aug. 10. Show time is 8:30 p.m. with gates open at 6 p.m. at the city’s Fair Park.
The tour pairs Gilley, whose Gilley’s nightclub gained nationwide fame via the John Travolta film “Urban Cowboy,” with Lee, whose voice can be heard on the movie soundtrack with such songs as “Lookin’ for Love.”
Other Lee hits include “One in a Million,” “The Yellow Rose,” “Bet Your Heart on Me” and “Be There for Me Baby,” while Gilley’s top hits include “Roomful of Roses,” “City Lights,” “Don’t The Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time” and others.
This year’s Hope Watermelon Festival runs from Thursday, Aug. 9 through Saturday, Aug. 11. During that time, the stage at Fair Park will inspire festivalgoers with much more musical fun, including blues, country, rock and gospel. The Hope High School Band is among the performing acts slated to appear, as are the Watermelon Idol finalists and local singer Buddy Jewell.
Other festival highlights include the antique car show, a bike show, dog show, Mister & Miss Watermelon Festival Pageant, KIDZ Zone, fishing derby, Taekwondo exhibition, baggo tournament, Watermelon Waddle, pro wrestling, Money in the Haystack and, of course, the ever-popular and messy UAHT Politically Incorrect Watermelon Eating Contest.
The Gilley and Lee concert tickets are $15 for adults, $6 for children 4 to 10. Reserved seating is $40. Get tickets at UACCH.edu.
In other area entertainment festival news, the lineup has been announced for MusicFest El Dorado to the east of Texarkana this fall.
For opening day on Thursday, Oct. 18, the festival gets retro funky with Sheila E, Morris Day & the Time and George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic. Day two on Friday, Oct. 19, features Lita Ford, Bret Michaels, Sammy Hagar & the Circle and Cardi B. Then the festival closes with Jimmie Allen, Carly Pearce, Justin Moore, Toby Keith and Gucci Mane on Saturday, Oct. 20.
As part of the Murphy Arts District, the festival is bringing some of contemporary music’s top acts to small town Southwest Arkansas. Tickets and more information can be found at ElDoMAD.com.